Relaxation and Short-Term Variation of Visa Conditions for Essential Services (Amendment Circular 2020-16)

Policy effect

Implements temporary COVID-19 response measures allowing immigration officers to grant a variation of conditions for student and work visa holders to support essential businesses operating during Alert Level 4. Student visa holders employed on 16 April 2020 may be granted full-time work rights. Employer-specific work visa holders may be varied to work in any occupation for that same employer. Work visa holders may be varied to work for a different employer in the same region in the same occupation. The duration of the variation applies while New Zealand is at Alert Level 3 or 4 and for a period of six weeks after a shift to Level 2 or below. Employers must submit a request including a declaration confirming operation during Alert Level 4, meeting essential service criteria from covid19.govt.nz, worker agreement, and adherence to minimum employment standards.

Conditions and exceptions

Validated condition or limit: The duration of the variation applies while New Zealand is at Alert Level 3 or 4 and for a period of six weeks after a shift to Level 2 or below.; Employers must submit a request including a declaration confirming operation during Alert Level 4, meeting essential service criteria from covid19.govt.nz, worker agreement, and adherence to minimum employment standards.

Official source excerpt

Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.

An immigration officer may grant a variation of conditions to a student or work visa subject to receiving a request from an employer … The conditions of the student visa may be varied to state that the holder can work full-time for the specified essential business employer. … The occupation may be varied to state that the visa holder can work in ‘any occupation’ for the employer specified on their visa. … The employer on a visa may be varied if the new employer meets the requirements set out in E3.26.15 above, and there is no change required to the occupation of the visa holder. … Changes have been made to immigration instructions effective on and after 16 April 2020 … E3.26.15 Varying the conditions of student and work visas to support essential businesses during the COVID-19 response period … The student visa holder must have been employed by the employer specified in (a) above on 16 April 2020. … If granted, any variation of conditions will apply only while New Zealand is at Alert Level 3 or 4 on the COVID-19 Alert System and for a period of six weeks after a shift to Level 2 or below. … An immigration officer may grant a variation of conditions to a student or work visa subject to receiving a request from an employer which includes a declaration confirming that: i. The employer was operating during Alert Level 4; and ii. The employer meets the criteria for a business providing an essential service as published on the www.Covid-19.govt.nz website; and iii. The worker has agreed to be redeployed and that minimum employment standards will be adhered to (including where applicable a new written employment agreement). … Due to public health considerations, variation requests to change regions of employment may not be considered under these instructions …

Review method

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite extraction with independent Gemini 3.8 Flash verification

Other New Zealand changes operative in 2020

• 2020-02-24General Instructions on Order and Manner of Processing Residence Applications (Amendment Circular 2020/4)
• 2020-02-24Reopening and Restructuring of the Parent Category Residence Instructions
• 2020-09-11Special Direction: Grant of Resident Visas to Offshore Persons with Expired Travel Conditions
• 2020-09-11Special Direction: Imposition of Mandatory COVID-19 Public Health Compliance Visa Condition
• 2020-09-11Special Direction: Variation of Travel Conditions for Offshore Resident Visa Holders
• 2020-10-12Special Direction: Automatic Grant of Supplementary Seasonal Employment (SSE) Visas