It's a great day to be over 30 in New Zealand and the UK, as visa changes mean we can stay and work in one another's countries older and stay and work for longer.
It's a change the Government hopes will help fill regional labour market gaps and is expected to impact more than 3000 people currently visiting New Zealand from the UK.
From today, an extension to the UK Working Holiday visa means the eligible age will extend to people aged 35 years old.
The length of stay and work period will also be extended to three years.
Until now, the visa had been limited to those aged between 18 and 30 years old, with a length of either one or two years.
It also limited the ability of those on the visa to just one year of work.
It follows similar changes - which took effect on June 29 - for Kiwis in the UK. Under the UK's equivalent Youth Mobility Scheme, New Zealanders aged between 18 and 30 could live and work in the UK for up to two years.
The two schemes will now match in age of eligibility and the time allowed to stay and work.
Immigration Minister Andrew Little - who recently took over the role from Michael Wood, who resigned last week - said the visa upgrades were being implemented early to help businesses and regions experiencing labour shortages.
“We’ve heard the concerns about skill gaps, particularly in our regions, and that’s why we’ll now see more UK Working Holiday makers coming to New Zealand for longer periods of time and working for the full duration of their visas.
“We expect over 3000 young Brits currently visiting New Zealand to be able to benefit from this and for our employers to benefit from their skills.”
The changes were part of negotiations alongside the NZ-UK Free Trade Agreement signed last year.
“These changes speak to the strong relationship we have with the UK, and it’s great we can provide better opportunities for our young people travelling under these schemes,” Little said.
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