New Zealand Still a Good Option for Immigration
Immigration New Zealand has announced that their policy to skilled immigration has remained competitive in the current economic climate.
Whilst the global recession has caused some countries to request temporary workers without work to go home or to severely slash the number of skills on immigration shortage lists, New Zealand has been less affected.
Andrew Annakin, head of Immigration New Zealand, said their policy towards skilled migration was “generally more moderate” than that of other countries. New Zealand was less affected than some other countries, allowing them to better control immigration to the country, minimising the “dramatic responses” to immigration that some nations have recently implemented.
Mr Annakin also said New Zealand’s 6 per cent unemployment rate was lower than in many OECD countries, where the average is 8 per cent.
He reiterated that New Zealand will always need skilled migration, and said that by allowing the “availability of unemployed New Zealanders and the reduction in employment to manage the flow of temporary work permits”, the country was able to ensure the skills base necessary for after the recession whilst managing employment levels and still allowing for skilled migration. LF