RSE employer update

Samoa to New Zealand inbound flights

As previously advised, the Samoan Government is conducting a review of the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme. The Samoan Government continues to have in place a limit of one RSE Samoa to New Zealand inbound flight per month.

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Labour (MCIL) is required to submit a list of flights that have been booked for RSE workers. This will be submitted to their Cabinet for approval over and above the one flight per month. They have asked industry to support them with the collation of this information.

Employers, please advise meredith@applesandpears.nz by 12pm, Friday 18 November, the following information:

• Number of RSE workers from Samoa booked and their travel date for December 2022 and January, February and March 2023

Please provide the date and numbers of workers by month, from December 2022 through to end of March 2023
 

Please note the following:

• There are no delays with issuing visas or changes to INZ visa processing and the usual five-day approval time continues to be in place
• Incomplete applications that have been submitted are missing information and supporting documents. Unfortunately, this will slow the visa processing time
• MCIL has requested that employers allow eight weeks to process paperwork. Please ensure your paperwork is sent to them early, that it is correct and complete, with all necessary supporting documentation. MCIL is currently experiencing very heavy workloads and there have been some delays with processing times
• MCIL has requested that employers note their Team Leader and their phone number. This would help streamline processing
• Approval has been made for MCIL to recruit an additional three employees to support the visa application team. We understand recruitment for these positions is underway.This email is being sent to those identified as employers of Samoan RSE workers. If you are a Labour Cooperative or have joint partners that should be receiving this email, please forward it on.

Be assured that we are working hard to support a change to this flight limitation and once we have more information we will advise. Should you wish to discuss any of this information further, contact: meredith@applesandpears.nz