Chinanews.com, August 21. According to a comprehensive report by the New Zealand Chinese Pioneer Network, the New Zealand Immigration Service has issued three notices in the past two days announcing the extension of the validity period of some spouse and child visas and seasonal employer (RSE) program visas; And relax some work and study permit work restrictions to help supermarkets cope with labor shortages under the epidemic.

Some work permit holders’ spouses and children receive visa extensions

　　On July 7, the Immigration Department announced that some temporary work permit holders in New Zealand will receive a 6-month visa extension. According to this short-term change, if the holder’s employer-sponsored work permit will be issued in December 2020 Expiration before the 31st, their visa validity period will be extended for 6 months.

　　However, the Immigration Bureau did not announce at the time whether spouse and child visas based on these work permits would be extended.

　　According to the latest notice issued by the Immigration Bureau on August 19, if you have obtained an automatic visa extension under the new July regulations, your spouse or dependent child has applied for a spouse or dependent child visa based on your relationship with you , And their visa will expire between August 17th and December 31st this year, so their visa validity period will be automatically extended like yours, and the expiration date will be the same as your work permit.

　　The visa categories for spouse or dependent children include:

　　·Partner of a worker visa work visa

　　·Partner of a worker visa visitor visa

　　·Dependent child student visa

　　·Child of a worker visitor visa

　　Holders of the above visas or their immigration consultants will receive an email confirming visa extension from the Immigration Bureau before August 25 (Tuesday).

Relaxing visa restrictions for supermarket employees

　　Similar to the regulations in March, the Immigration Bureau again announced on the 20th that it would relax the visa restrictions for the two groups of supermarket employees in order to deal with the shortage of labor in supermarkets in Level 3 or Level 4 alert areas.

　　· Relax the visa restrictions for work permit holders and allow them to work in positions other than those specified in the visa conditions;

　　· Relaxation of work restrictions for student visa holders, allowing them to work more than 20 hours a week.

　　This change took effect on August 19 and will be applied until July 31, 2021, in order to cope with the situation that the alert will be raised to level 3 or 4 again in the future.

　　It should be pointed out that the above two groups of supermarket employees must be employees of the supermarket before entering the level 3 or 4 lockdown in their area in order to be eligible for work restrictions.

　　The definition of "supermarket" is very strict and is limited to retailers that mainly sell food and daily necessities under Woolworths or Foodstuffs.

Seasonal work permit holders get an extension

　　For Seasonal Employers (RSE) program visa holders, if your visa expires between August 17 and December 31 this year, you will also get a 6-month extension. This policy has taken effect from August 18 this year.

　　According to the Immigration Department, this will allow the approximately 8,000 seasonal workers and their employers in New Zealand to have greater certainty so that they can continue to work in New Zealand.

　　After this additional 6 months, seasonal workers who want to stay in New Zealand for the same job can also apply for a longer stay. Due to travel restrictions under the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the New Zealand government has cancelled the requirement that seasonal workers must return to their country of origin between the two seasons.