New Zealand visa rules change for seasonal workers

June 04 2009 by Robbie Ragless

Seasonal workers with big boobies on New Zealand visas

Seasonal work in NZ gets hot

Employers who want to attract foreigners to work in New Zealand on a seasonal basis have to adhere to the Recognised Seasonal Employer policy.

However, this policy is facing some changes, and entails the introduction of a new New Zealand work permit, says New Zealand immigration minister Jonathan Coleman.

The new New Zealand work visa will be called the Supplementary Seasonal Employment (SSE) permit and will be available to foreign workers already living in New Zealand.

Workers can then move around SSE-approved employers over a period of six months. Most of these types of permits are used to employ workers to pick fruit during the harvest season.

Deductions from seasonal workers’ wages will be the same as those from New Zealanders under the new rules. Workers will also have to pay for health insurance, which will need to be arranged by SSE employers. This minimises the burden on the New Zealand taxpayers while ensuring that workers have access to good healthcare.

Coleman says the new New Zealand visa plan will be labour-market tested to ensure that the policy does not limit jobs for New Zealanders and that the country continues to attract the extra labour to work in New Zealand during the fruit harvesting season.

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