Government gives migrant partners work rights, overturning Labour ban

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford was critical of Labour's near ban on migrants' partners working. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Immigration Minister Erica Stanford has announced she is overturning a near ban on partners of migrants working, restoring work rights to partners of high-skilled migrants.

The last Government restricted work rights for migrants’ partners. In the past, the partner of someone migrating to New Zealand had been able to get an open work visa. The last Government tightened those rules, restricting the work rights of the partners of migrants by requiring them to also work for accredited employers and be paid at least the median wage. Labour declined to comment.

Stanford has partly rolled these changes back by restoring work rights to partners of high-skilled migrants, but the Greens’ immigration spokesman Ricardo Menéndez March has called on her to go further and restore work rights for the partners of all migrants.

Under changes announced today, open work rights will be available to partners of Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) holders working in higher-skilled roles who earn at least 80% of the median wage. The changes will take effect from December 2.

The same rights will also be available for partners of AEWV holders working in lower-skilled roles who are on a pathway to residence

The changes deliver on the coalition commitment between National and Act to make it easier for family members of visa holders to work here. Act’s immigration spokeswoman Parmjeet Parmar described the change “common sense”, saying it effectively lifted a “ban contributing to New Zealand – something most migrants would be more than happy to do”.

She said that employers were at risk of “losing valuable staff” under the current regime.

“We saw what happened when our borders were sealed shut. Businesses went to the wall, fruit was left to rot on the ground, the health system struggled to keep up with demand, and families were separated.

Stanford had spoken critically of the changes when they were introduced under Labour.

Menéndez March told the Herald that the decision was actually a “broken promise” because it only applied to a restricted number of high-skilled migrant partners, rather than to all partners.

“We know that restricting working rights for partners puts people in more financial duress and increases the risk of family violence,” Menéndez March said.

Critics of the current regime argue that it makes the partners of migrants dependent on the main earner, making it difficult or impossible to leave if they are abused.

Menéndez March said the “workers most prone to exploitation, for example construction workers, workers in hospitality are being left out from these changes and these workers are the ones whose partners are, because of the industry they are working in, more likely to need to get into other work or work under the table”.

Menéndez March said in a cost-of-living crisis it was unreasonable for these workers to be expected to support an entire family on a single income.

Thomas Coughlan is Deputy Political Editor and covers politics from Parliament. He has worked for the Herald since 2021 and has worked in the press gallery since 2018.