Author Archives: Simon Laurent, Lawyer

About Simon Laurent, Lawyer

Principal of LaurentLaw Barristers & Solicitors. NZ immigration law specialist.

Why is there a Visa Glacier?

Posted on June 19, 2019

We’ve seen a big slow-down across the board in the speed of processing applications for New Zealand Visas.  Employers claim that, when it takes several months to be able to hire migrants, this does significant harm to their businesses with lost … Continue reading →

Posted in Immigration Visas | Leave a comment

The Trouble with Visas for Restaurant Managers

Posted on May 23, 2019

Last week, Immigration New Zealand refused a request by the hospitality industry to add Café and Restaurant Managers to its Immediate Shortages List (“ISSL”).  This is despite the claim that most employers have real difficulty in finding people to fill … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Immigration Appeals, Immigration Industry, Immigration Problems, Immigration Visas, Practice of Law | Leave a comment

Parent Visas – Hurry Up and Wait

Posted on May 9, 2019

Since mid-2018 the Government has made noises about reopening the Parent Residence category from time to time.  The Minister of Immigration at the NZAMI Conference in August 2018 said that his people would be looking at it soon.  Then Immigration … Continue reading →

Posted in Citizenship, Immigration Appeals, Immigration Industry, Immigration Problems, Immigration Visas, Politics | Leave a comment

Work Visas on the Move (Again)

Posted on February 14, 2019

Just before Christmas (possibly strategic timing in light of criticism he faced in the last few months) the Minister of Immigration announced a scheme to overhaul the entire employer assisted Work Visa system.  The proposals are set out in a detailed … Continue reading →

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Rowdy Tourists Facing Deportation

Posted on January 16, 2019

I was interviewed yesterday by Newshub about the Irish visitors who are at the centre of a media storm owing to their antics from Auckland to Hamilton.  They have been served Deportation Liability Notices (“DLN”s) and are apparently planning to leave.  … Continue reading →

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Migrant Exploitation – a Clear and Present Danger for Employees

Posted on November 8, 2018

  In the last couple of years – and especially since the Labour Government took office last year – both Immigration New Zealand and the MBIE Labour Inspectorate have upscaled their efforts to find and punish employers who misuse the … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Immigration Appeals, Immigration Industry, Immigration Problems, Immigration Visas, Politics | 1 Comment

Interim Visas -More Breathing Space

Posted on September 11, 2018

At the end of August, Immigration New Zealand made some simple but significant changes to the way that Interim Visas work.  This has injected some humanity and common sense into a process which was, until now, producing some poor outcomes … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Immigration Appeals, Immigration Industry, Immigration Problems, Immigration Visas | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment