Do We Have Sustainable Business Policies? Darren Calder Manager, Business Migration NZAMI Annual Conference, August 2015

What is sustainable? Sustainable to who? Entrepreneur Policy Investor Policy Summary View The next 15 minutes…..

What is Sustainable? sustainable 1. able to be maintained at a certain rate or level. "sustainable economic growth" 2. able to be upheld or defended. "sustainable definitions of good educational practice" Ngram Viewer on the terms Immigration and Sustainable (source: Goolge.com)

Sustainable is not a new term with regards to Immigration Policy Employment must be ongoing and sustainable. - SM7.15 b Your employment is sustainable if the employer is in a position to meet the terms and conditions they specify in your employment offer. – Summary of terms Creating sustainable and full-time employment for New Zealand citizens or residents – BC4.15 “..capacity building, sustainable growth and innovation” – SMC Objectives (SM1) “job offer is for genuine, sustainable and full time employment for the duration of the period for which employment is offered” - WK2.1 The Immigration System is complex Multiple stakeholders What is Sustainable?

The Perfect World for the Immigration System! Everyone in agreement Sustainable to Who? Industry Applicant INZ Benefit to NZ Industry Applicant INZ Benefit to NZ Sometimes it may feel a little one sided…..

The reality of the Immigration System Tension and complexity exists everywhere Sustainable to Who? Benefit to NZ INZ FAMILIES SOCIETY POLITICAL ADVISORS BUSINESSES BANKS COMMUNITIES COSTS CULTURE GOVERNMENTS ENVIRONMENT SOCIAL HOUSING WELFARE LAWYERS GROWTH REGIEONS SECURITY COURTS PROTECTION

Policy become effective 24 March Applications have been received – now averaging 20/month 139 Decided – 61 Approvals, 28 Withdrawals, 50 declines Approval rate for the last 5 months - 53% Approvals from Vietnam, USA, Switzerland, South Korea, Singapore, Pakistan, Malaysia, Germany, Austria, Egypt, France, UK, HK & China (26) 50% outside of Auckland 2.5 FTE average employment creation $350k average capital investment (4 Capital Waivers) $372k average export potential Industries covering IT, Exporting, Tourism, Agriculture, Construction, Manufacturing, Importing Regional announcement concerning additional points due in November may create an easier pathway Entrepreneur Work

Relatively untouched since 2009 Has seen unprecedented growth over the last 2 years As a July 2015, $3.5b of total investment funds via the policy $1.6b transfer and invested $775m approved for transfer $1.1b under assessment China is now the predominate source county (90%) of new applications, but is this actually a problem? Demand continues to outstrip supply Investor Policy

Policy capped at 300 approvals per year Changes to selection criteria have not impacted demand Investor Policy

But requirements for selection have raised the bar in terms of requirements Does this lead to a higher quality applicant? Investor Policy

Applicants in flight – (excludes already removed Section 49 conditions) Where should we focus? Investor Policy Res Application Criteria Total Investor 1 CategoryInvestor 2 Category Res Application Number Investment Funds Available ($) Res Application Number Investment Funds Available ($) Res Application Number Investment Funds Available ($) Number of Applications SumNumber of ApplicationsSumNumber of ApplicationsSum RankNationality 61610,000, ,750, ,432,750,000 1China 2 United States of America 27270,000, ,250, ,250,000 3Great Britain 880,000, ,500, ,500,000 4Japan 10100,000, ,000, ,000,000 5Hong Kong 550,000, ,500, ,500,000 6Singapore 330,000, ,000, ,000,000 7Switzerland 440,000,000610,000, ,000,000 8Malaysia 110,000, ,750, ,750,000 9South Korea 330,000, ,000, ,000,000 10Russia 330,000,000813,750, ,750,000 11Canada 330,000,000711,000, ,000,000

Growth has been steady at a sustainable rate Demand currently controlled by supply side levers Investor Policy (*excludes already removed Section 49 conditions)

Government recently announced migrant attraction strategy under the Business Growth Agenda (BGA) 3 Key focus areas – Foreign Direct Investment, Research & Development and Investor & Entrepreneur Migrants Investor Attraction Strategy seeks to lift current $3.5b to $7b over the next 3 years. This is not just about $$ through the Investor policies, but also includes investment made outside of immigration requirements. Currently “quality” is not defined, but selection criteria focuses on English, business experience, age and investment funds Our own research tells us that applicants choose NZ for lifestyle reasons ahead of investment objects, invest in passive investments but want to contribute more Investor Policy

The quality of applicants under EWV has improved given employment, capital and export potential nominated by current applicants Still to early to see any impacts of EWV policy moving to residence applications as visa is for 36 months Regional Investment due 1 November will be “a wait & see” to see if business quality is impacted. i.e. Less investment or an easier hurdle Investor demand continues to outstrip supply, but managed through supply side levers Focus given to lift investment levels will no doubt see changes to Investor & Entrepreneur policies or even the introduction of new polices. Changes could include a focus on active and regional investment, defining quality, lifting the threshold for acceptance (English, business experience, International connections, monetary) Sustainable is a relevant term based on your perspective, but overall I believe they are working well. So do we have sustainable business policies?