Review of the Accredited Employer Work Visa Scheme w John Crocker: February 28, 2024

The public service commission recently conducted a review into the Accredited Employer Work Visa, a visa scheme given to foreign workers with job offers from New Zealand-based employers. The review was conducted following a number of incidents, where migrant workers in Aotearoa were found to have been exploited by their employers, with some paying upwards of SIXTEEN-THOUSAND New Zealand dollars to receive visas for non-existent jobs.
The review found that the visa scheme reduced the number of checks Immigration officers were required to perform on employers, which was done to reduce processing times so more workers could be brought into Aotearoa, which ultimately led to the exploitation of workers across the country. 

Oto spoke to John Crocker from Unite Union, a union that advocates for migrant workers amongst a number of groups, who said that there was more to the scheme than what was found in the review.