Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Scheme Cap Increase to 14,400

Policy effect

Increased the annual administrative quota limit for the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme from 12,850 to 14,400 places for the seasonal horticulture and viticulture workforce intake.

Conditions and exceptions

Validated condition or limit: Increased the annual administrative quota limit for the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme from 12,850 to 14,400 places for the seasonal horticulture and viticulture workforce intake.

Official source excerpt

Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.

Employer scheme research The Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme allows the horticulture and viticulture industries to recruit workers from overseas for seasonal work when there are not enough New Zealand workers. Find research that relates to the RSE scheme. There is an administrative limit or cap on the number of RSE places that can be taken up in any one year. This cap was set at 5,000 places when the scheme was established in 2007, but the success of RSE has led to increased demand from employers and the cap was set at: 8,000 places in 2009 9,000 in November 2014 9,500 in December 2015 10,500 in December 2016 11,100 in December 2017 12,850 in November 2018 14,400 in October 2019 14,400 for 2020/21 16,000 for 2021/22 19,000 for 2022/23 20,750 for 2024/25. Unless employers can show they have pre-established relationships with workers from other countries, they may only recruit workers under RSE policy from the following eligible Pacific countries: the Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Kiribati Nauru Palau Papua New Guinea the Republic of Marshall Islands Samoa Solomon Islands Timor-Leste Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Workers must meet health and character requirements and provide evidence …

Review method

Two separate automated exact-claim source reviews

Other New Zealand changes operative in 2019

• 2019-04-24Establishment of the Christchurch Response (2019) Permanent Residence Category