H5.30 Definitions (25/11/2020)

H5.30.1 Critical health workers

1. A critical health worker is a person who will work in New Zealand in a job or occupation described on the Immigration New Zealand website as a critical health worker.
2. The jobs and occupations considered as critical health workers are agreed to by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
3. Any partners or dependent children (see E4.1) of critical health workers who have been granted a visa or a variation of conditions on the basis of this critical purpose, may be granted a visa to travel to New Zealand together with, or separately from, the critical health worker.

H5.30.5 Other critical workers

1. An ‘other critical worker’ is a person who is required to come to New Zealand and:
   1. has unique experience and technical or specialist skills that are not readily obtainable in New Zealand, or
   2. is undertaking a time-critical role:
      • for the delivery of an approved major infrastructure project (as defined in H5.30.10); or a government approved event or a major government-approved programme (as defined in H5.30.15), or
      • in support of an approved government-to-government agreement (as defined in H5.30.15); or
      • for work which brings significant wider benefit to the national or regional economy; or
   3. meets the requirements of an approved class of worker listed at H5.30.20.
2. Where H5.30.5(a) applies, the ‘other critical worker’ may be granted a visa or variation of conditions for up to six months.
3. However, a visa or variation of condition as an ‘other critical worker’ may be granted for more than six months (up to a maximum of 12 months), if the person meets the criteria at H5.30.5 (a) (i) or (ii), and also:
   1. earns at least twice the median salary (currently $106,080 per annum); or
   2. has a role that is essential for the completion or continuation of a science programme under a government funded or partially government-funded contract, including research and development exchanges and partnerships, and has the support of MBIE Science, Innovation and International Branch to travel to New Zealand to carry out their work; or
   3. has an essential role for delivery or execution of an approved major infrastructure project (as defined in H5.30.10); or for a government approved event or a major government-approved programme (as defined in H5.30.15).
4. Despite, (b) and (c) above, a person may be granted a visa or variation of conditions for less or more than six months, if the person is an ‘other critical worker’ approved on the basis of being part of a class of workers, and a maximum duration is specified at H5.30.20.
5. When considering H5.30.5 (a)(i) and (ii), an immigration officer who is a National Manager in the Border and Visa Operations Branch will determine who is an ‘other critical worker’ and whether they are eligible for a visa of up to six months under H5.30.5 (a) (i) or (ii) or a visa of up to 12 months under H.5.30.5 (c).
6. Factors an immigration officer who is a National Manager in the Border and Visa Operations Branch may take into account when determining whether a person is an ‘other critical worker’ as defined in H5.30.5 (a)(i) and (ii), include:
   1. why that person is needed to ensure the delivery, continuity or execution of the work or service, and the effect on the work or service if the person was unable to come; and
   2. why it is not possible to re-deploy workers already in New Zealand (this could include time constraints or the specific nature of the work or service to be done); and
   3. the situation of the staff (if any) currently performing the role(s), and whether they can remain or not in the roles; and
   4. the length of the visa required and the reason for that length of visa.
7. Any partners or dependent children (see E4.1) of an ‘other critical worker’ who has been granted a visa or a variation of conditions on the basis of this critical purpose, may be granted a visa to travel to New Zealand together with, or separately from, the ‘other critical worker’ (except where H5.30.20(c) states that partners and dependent children are not eligible to be included).
8. When considering H5.30.5 (a)(i), the factors that an immigration officer may take into consideration when assessing:
   1. "unique experience and technical or specialist skills" include, but are not limited to, whether these skills or experience:
      • have been gained in a specialist training institution or by working in a highly-specialist firm
      • can be demonstrated through global experience
      • are inherent to a person
   2. "not readily obtainable" include, but are not limited to, whether:
      • there are no workers in the country who could perform the role, or
      • there is a very limited pool of available workers who could perform the role and they are not available to the employer.
9. When considering H5.30.5 (a)(i), applications for seasonal workers will generally not be approved under these instructions. The only exceptions will be if the nature of the work is highly skilled or uniquely specialised.
10. "Time critical" in H5.30.5 (a)(ii) includes if the person does not come to New Zealand, the project, work or event will cease or be severely compromised, or significant costs will be incurred.

Note: Examples of workers meeting this standard may include: some highly specialist veterinarians, vendor-appointed engineers required to install major equipment, or an actor in a key film role.

H5.30.5.1 Other critical worker requests received prior to 18 June 2020

1. The Minister for Economic Development and the relevant portfolio Minister were responsible for determining whether a person was an ‘other critical worker’ before these instructions took effect on 18 June 2020.
2. Despite H5.30.5, the determination that a person is an ‘other critical worker’ for requests from employers received before 18 June 2020, that were made by the Minister for Economic Development and the relevant portfolio Minister, on the advice of MBIE, mean that a person is an ‘other critical worker’ for visa applications and invitations to apply made on and after 18 June 2020.

H5.30.10 Approved major infrastructure projects

For the purposes of these instructions, approved major infrastructure projects, are:

H5.30.15 Major government-approved programmes, government-approved events and government-to-government agreements

For the purposes of these instructions, major government-approved programmes, government-approved events, and government-to-government agreements are:

H5.30.20 Approved classes of workers

1. For the purpose of these instructions, the authorised government organisation or relevant departmental agency, as specified in column F below, will liaise with relevant industries and employers and provide a list of nominated workers to Immigration New Zealand.
2. An immigration officer will determine whether a person is part of an approved class of workers based on whether they are on a list of nominated workers provided by the authorised government organisation or relevant departmental agency, as specified in column F below.
3. The classes of workers that have been approved by Cabinet are:

H5.30.21 Approved classes of individuals

1. For the purpose of these instructions, the authorised government organisation or relevant departmental agency, as specified in column F below, will liaise with relevant parties and provide a list of nominated individuals to Immigration New Zealand.
2. An immigration officer will determine whether a person is part of an approved class of individuals based on whether they are on a list of nominated individuals provided by the authorised government organisation or relevant departmental agency, as specified in column F below.
3. The classes of individuals that have been approved by Cabinet are:

Note: For the purposes of H5.30.21(c)(ii), essential activities can include, but are not limited to: activities related to key sectors vital for Pacific economies; critical relief and development activities; technical specialists to support good governance; and staff for diplomatic missions.

H5.30.25 Humanitarian reasons

1. Humanitarian reasons are exceptional circumstances of a humanitarian nature that make it strongly desirable for the applicant to travel and enter New Zealand.
2. When considering whether a person has humanitarian reasons for travelling to New Zealand, immigration officers must consider the purpose of these instructions and the strong public interest in protecting the health of New Zealanders and supporting Government agencies’ response to the risks posed by the COVID-19 situation.
3. Relevant factors when considering if humanitarian reasons justify the grant of a visa under these instructions include:
   1. the applicant’s connection to New Zealand
   2. the applicant’s connection to the place they are currently located
   3. whether New Zealand is their primary place of residence, and their period of absence from New Zealand
   4. whether the applicant has any alternative options
   5. the impact of not granting a visa and entry permission to the applicant.

Note: Where a person is applying under the critical purpose of humanitarian reasons and are likely to require medical treatment in New Zealand, that person must have the support of the Ministry of Health or a District Health Board.

H5.30.30 Replacement cargo ship crew

1. A replacement cargo ship crew member is a person travelling to New Zealand as a passenger on a commercial aircraft for the purpose of leaving New Zealand as crew on a cargo ship.
2. After arriving in New Zealand, replacement cargo ship crew must transfer as soon as reasonably practicable to a cargo ship to depart New Zealand.
3. ‘Cargo ship’ means a ship that is a commercial craft and that is carrying primarily cargo into or out of New Zealand.

Note: For the avoidance of doubt, crew subject to regulation 25 of the Immigration (Visa, Entry Permission, and Related Matters) Regulations 2010 are not subject to this instruction (namely cargo crew on a ship when arriving by sea in New Zealand).

H5.30.35 Essential Skills, Entrepreneur and Work to Residence visa holders who normally live in New Zealand

A principal applicant will be considered to have a critical purpose for travel to New Zealand (H5.25.15(j)) if they meet the following requirements:

1. The principal applicant departed New Zealand between 1 December 2019 and 9 October 2020 (inclusive) and is currently outside of New Zealand.
2. At the time of departing New Zealand, the principal applicant held either a current:
   1. Work to Residence visa; or
   2. Entrepreneur work visa; or
   3. Essential Skills visa based on mid-skilled or higher-skilled employment, or based on employment assessed as being paid at or above the median wage.
3. The visa held by the principal applicant at the time of departure from New Zealand has or had an expiry date of:
   1. on or after 1 January 2021; or
   2. before 1 January 2021 and the principal applicant has:
      • submitted a further visa application on or before 9 August 2020; and
      • the further visa would, or if already granted does, allow the principal applicant to stay in New Zealand for at least 12 months; and
      • that visa would allow the principal applicant to work in the same position or operate the same business as referred to in H5.30.35(d); and
      • if the further visa is a temporary visa, that visa is approved.
4. The principal applicant has retained their job or business in New Zealand in that they:
   1. were employed at the time of departing New Zealand in accordance with the conditions of their existing visa, are employed in the same position and have maintained their employment relationship continuously since departing New Zealand; or
   2. if the principal applicant held an Entrepreneur work visa at the time of departing New Zealand, they operated a business in New Zealand at the time of departing New Zealand in accordance with the conditions of their existing visa, and have continued to operate that same business since departing New Zealand.
5. The principal applicant was in New Zealand for either:
   1. at least 273 days in each of the two 12 month periods immediately preceding the date of their departure from New Zealand; or
   2. at least 273 days in the 12 month period immediately preceding the date of their departure from New Zealand and meet one of the following:
      • if the principal applicant held an Entrepreneur work visa at the time of departing New Zealand, they operated a business at the time of departing New Zealand in accordance with the conditions of their visa, and have continued to operate the same business since departing New Zealand; or
      • had one or more dependent children with them in New Zealand for at least 6 months of that 12 month period; or
      • have parents or siblings who are 18 years or older, who are currently in, and who are ordinarily resident (E4.10) in, New Zealand; or
      • submitted an application for a resident visa on or before 9 August 2020.

Notes:
- Work to Residence visas include Talent (Accredited Employer), Talent (Arts, Culture and Sports), Long Term Skill Shortage List, Skilled Migrant Category Job Search, South Island Contribution and Global Impact visas.
- Partners and dependent children of the principal applicant may be eligible to be included (see H5.10). Invitations to apply will be given where any partner or dependent children (see E4.1) of the principal applicant included on the Expression of Interest:
- have been born on or after 1 December 2019; or
- currently hold, or held at the time of departing New Zealand, a visitor, work or student visa based on their relationship to the principal applicant.

Effective 25/11/2020