As the United States continues to crack down on foreign inflows, immigration has become a new source of tension between India and New Zealand following the conclusion of talks on their new free trade agreement (FTA). The trade agreement allows for more temporary work visas for Indians.
What does an FTA include?
In accordance with the provisions of the FTA, New Zealand will offer Indian professionals in skilled trades a temporary work tour for an entry visa with an annual quota of 5,000 visas and a maximum stay of up to three years.
This pathway includes professions such as AYUSH practitioners, yoga instructors, Indian chefs and music teachers, as well as high-demand sectors including IT, engineering, healthcare, education and construction, boosting labor mobility and trade in services.
Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal announced on Monday, December 22 that graduates of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) or post-graduate courses will be eligible for four-year work visas, while those who complete a bachelor’s degree with honors will be eligible for a three-year work visa.
“Those who complete an undergraduate or bachelor’s degree with honors will be eligible for a three-year work visa, while those who complete a STEM or post-graduate degree will be eligible for a four-year work visa,” he said.
New Zealand will also offer two-year work visas to students going to the country for further study.
Obstacles already?
But when the draft was finalised, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters criticized the FTA with India, calling it “neither fair nor free”. He warned that his New Zealand First party would oppose the deal when it was approved by parliament.
Peters said New Zealand First, which holds eight of the 123 seats in parliament and is part of a coalition with the National Party, would vote against the deal.
The Coalition has 67 seats, but the National Party only has 48 and relies on the support of coalition partners, including New Zealand First.
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The minister explained why parliamentary approval of a new free trade deal with India could hit hurdles, saying the deal was too concessional, particularly on immigration.
The deal “delivers too much, particularly on immigration, and doesn’t get enough in return for New Zealanders, including dairy,” Peters said in a statement.
The foreign minister also raised concerns about the deal, which he said was too generous on international migration compared to local workers, and by creating a new work visa specifically for Indian citizens, the New Zealand government had, he said, encouraged more Indians to want to move to the country when “the labor market is tight”.
He said: “New Zealand first looks at all proposed migration changes from the same perspective: do they protect the ability of New Zealanders to find meaningful employment and the integrity of our immigration system? The India deal fails this test. Creating a new work visa specifically for Indian citizens is likely to generate much more interest in Indian migration to New Zealand – at a time when we have a very tight labor market.”
That said, anti-immigration sentiment in New Zealand has also been evident, as reflected in a recent incident where a Sikh gathering was confronted with placards reading “This is New Zealand, not India” along with the performance of the Haka.
The incident was one of a number of videos that have surfaced over the past few months highlighting the growing anti-immigration sentiment in New Zealand.
