Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has been working quickly to support ni-Vanuatu Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers who could not return home last week due to Air Vanuatu flight cancellations.
In a coordinated response, working closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), we are ensuring RSE:
- workers from Vanuatu with visas expiring can remain in New Zealand lawfully, and
- employers with workers from Vanuatu are also supported.
We are managing this in groups based on the expiry of the workers’ visas. After we work through solutions for these initial groups we will contact other RSE workers and employers who are impacted.
This is a developing situation, and we are monitoring it closely.
RSE worker support
We have granted RSE limited visas of up to 1 month to 350 workers from Vanuatu currently in New Zealand with visas expiring by 22 May, ensuring they can stay in the country lawfully.
These RSE limited visas will start from the expiry of the current visa and align with medical insurance end dates.
The visa entry dates for Vanuatu-based workers who are still to travel to New Zealand have also been extended by 1 month.
There are 1458 RSE workers from Vanuatu with visas expiring by 9 June 2024.
RSE employer support
We are in regular contact with RSE employers.
Our expectation is that employers continue their provision of accommodation and pastoral care until the workers depart New Zealand.
Employers have been encouraged to continue to look for solutions for workers to return home as soon as possible.
As of 16 May, 79 workers have been able to get a flight and return home.
