By Gurbir Singh Hamilton(New Zealand), 02 June,2018:
In an early morning announcement, the New Zealand Immigration Minister, Iain Lees-Galloway, has announced proposals to change international student post-study work rights that will help eliminate migrant exploitation.
These proposed immigration changes include removing the requirement for post-study work visas to be sponsored by a particular employer, and those coming here for courses of less than two years will not have post-study rights.
"There have been too many cases where migrant workers have been subject to exploitation because they are dependent on a particular employer to stay in the country.
“Alongside this, I propose to limit the length of post-study work visas for courses below degree level to one year and remove post-study work rights for courses of less than two years in duration. Graduates can apply for other visas at the end of their post-study work visa but will need to meet the usual skills and labour market tests," the minister said in a statement released today.
Iain Lees-Galloway
“Work experience in New Zealand is important to many students who come here to study. My proposals retain this while restricting an avenue of exploitation...
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Gurbir Singh is a New Zealand-based Freelance Feature Writer & Journalist. He can be contacted at: gurbir@journalist.com