Immigration Policy

Looking abroad these days it’s easy to see why so many people want to move to New Zealand. But we can’t let every Tom, Dick and Harriett in, or our country physically and economically won't be able to cope.

First up, TOP believes immigration reform must be colour-blind and without fear or prejudice. Anyone who calls New Zealand home is a New Zealander, and TOP’s priority is to make the system work better for everyone, including new migrants. But it’s a fine balance - on the one hand NZ needs highly-skilled professionals like doctors, ICT experts and engineers to help us grow and look after ourselves. But on the other hand we don't need migrants competing for low-skilled jobs that New Zealanders should be first in the queue for. This just results in keeping wages down and contributes to unemployment.

So what are TOP going to do about this? In the first instance TOP will:

Place a moratorium on issuing any visa to any person whose occupation falls outside an area of absolute skill shortage, and impose a minimum standard of English competency. All applicants will be expected to have a job that pays no less than $53,000 per annum, unless a strong argument can be made as to why not. TOP proposes to make all Family Partnership residence visas conditional on a three year period during which time the couple will be required to provide evidence the relationship is genuine and stable. TOP will restrict international student visas to only those enrolled in postgraduate qualifications (Level 8 or higher). This removes the path of low level education courses leading the way for migrants to move here with the intention of eventually gaining employment in low-income work. TOP will also end the practice of open-work visas for graduates. Only those with prospective employment in a field relevant to their programme of study will be entitled to remain in New Zealand upon completion of their studies.

It's not forever. Whilst the moratorium is in place TOP’s priority will be to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry to evaluate the success of New Zealand’s past immigration systems. It will focus on how immigration addresses our skill shortages and consider the social and economic impacts of high net migration. It will also investigate systemic issues, our refugee commitments, and then recommend appropriate long term policy changes.

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Page last updated on 24-Sep 2020