Two new seasonal visas announced by the government have been welcomed by Central tourism operators.

The up to three-year Global Workforce Seasonal Visa (GWSV) and up to seven-month Peak Seasonal Visa (PSV) will help businesses access the workers they need during peak periods, while also prioritising jobs for New Zealanders, immigration minister Erica Stanford announced last week.

“The new visa is great news for … tourism operators, from snow making to wine making, allowing highly skilled seasonal talent to return to the region for work,” Destination Queenstown chief executive Mat Woods told The Central App.

“It will help create more consistency and less disruption across the tourism sector, ensuring visitors can enjoy world class experiences across all four seasons.”

Cardrona & Treble Cone chief mountains officer Laura Hedley said the GWSV will “provide greater confidence for the Aotearoa ski industry and many of its key staff”.

“While the majority of our workforce is from New Zealand, we also rely on seasonal snow sports professionals from around the world to open Cardrona and Treble Cone each winter. These staff come back year after year in roles such as instructors, groomer operators and patrollers and they bring a huge amount of skills and knowledge to our team each winter.

“This new visa pathway gives both them and us more certainty, and we welcome the change.”

The GWSV is for highly experienced seasonal workers in roles such as rural contracting, sheep scanning, winemaking, and snow instruction. It enables skilled workers to return for subsequent seasons on the same visa. Visa holders will need to spend a minimum of three months out of every 12 months offshore before returning to New Zealand. 

The PSV is for short-term seasonal roles such as meat and seafood processing, calf-rearing, and wool handling. Visa holders will have to have at least one season of previous relevant experience and people will need to leave New Zealand for at least

four months before the visa can be renewed. For visa over three months there will be a new requirement for insurance with health coverage.

Waitaki MP Miles Anderson said many seasonal businesses in the electorate have “recruitment challenges”.

“A huge part of the Waitaki’s prosperity centres around the meat, fruit and tourism industries. These new visas will help these businesses access the workers they need throughout their respective seasons,” he said.

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