Key Takeaways:
- New Zealand has scrapped plans to open new Pacific worker pathways in the meat and seafood processing sectors
- The Peak Seasonal Visa (PSV) and the Global Workforce Seasonal Visa (GWSV) began being issued in December 2025, but come with high fees and experience requirements
- The PSV replaces the Labour government’s Pacific Programmes for meat and seafood, which would have offered Pacific workers a special deal
- The high fees and experience requirements for the PSV are a significant barrier for Pacific nationals, and may limit the number of workers who can participate
- The New Zealand government has stated that the fees will be reconsidered in an upcoming annual review
Introduction to the Issue
New Zealand has quietly scrapped plans to open new Pacific worker pathways in the meat and seafood processing sectors, according to documents obtained by RNZ Pacific under the Official Information Act (OIA). The move has been met with criticism from migrant worker facilitators, who say that the new visas come with high fees and experience requirements that are a significant barrier for Pacific nationals. The Peak Seasonal Visa (PSV) and the Global Workforce Seasonal Visa (GWSV) began being issued in December 2025, and open seasonal migrant workers to seven months of work in a number of industries, including forestry, dairy, meat, and seafood processing.
The Abandoned Pacific Programmes
The PSV replaces the Labour government’s Pacific Programmes for meat and seafood, which were announced by Labour in 2022. According to an Immigration New Zealand (INZ) information paper, Labour struck agreements to add 600 spots for seasonal workers in seafood, and 320 for the meat sector. These workers would then transition to their own "Pacific programme" by 2024, which appeared to offer unique rights to recruit Pacific workers as they saw fit. However, work on this programme appears to have fizzled out by July 2025, with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) advice noting that the whole thing had been tossed.
The Challenges of the PSV
The PSV comes with a number of challenges, including a proposed fee of NZ$1540, which is a significant barrier for Pacific nationals. Additionally, the visa requires one year’s worth of experience in the relevant sector, which was not a requirement under the proposed Pacific Programmes. Cabinet was advised that Pacific officials preferred no experience requirement, so more workers could meet the criteria, but the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) had retained it "to decrease the risk of misuse… and the potential displacement of New Zealand jobseekers." The insurance requirement for the PSV is also the same as the RSE scheme, which adds an estimated NZ$920 to the cost.
The Impact on Migrant Workers
The high fees and experience requirements for the PSV are having a significant impact on migrant workers. Beryl Razak, a migrant worker facilitator helping Solomon Islands workers into seafood processing, said that she has struggled to help migrant workers overcome the cost and experience hurdles. "What the government has done really has had to make people on the ground work harder, the company has to spend money on the visas, and (the workers) are already in debt before they even start working," Razak said. Razak also noted that the window of time spent working is too limited for either party to benefit from the investment, and that the experience requirements are limiting the number of workers who can participate.
The Government’s Response
A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Erica Stanford told RNZ Pacific that it would be impossible to compare the PSV with Pacific Programmes, because the details were never finalised. However, Stanford’s office noted that the PSV is designed to fill specific needs in New Zealand’s labour market, and that the requirement for one season of work experience helps ensure workers are suitably skilled. The office also stated that the fees will be reconsidered in an upcoming annual review later in the year. However, for migrant worker facilitators like Razak, this may be too little, too late. "Where is that experience gotten? It pulls back the selection and choices of people that (the company) will bring in, and sometimes it can be the same workers that come back," she said.
Conclusion
The scrapping of the Pacific Programmes and the introduction of the PSV has significant implications for Pacific workers and the industries that rely on them. The high fees and experience requirements for the PSV are a significant barrier for Pacific nationals, and may limit the number of workers who can participate. While the New Zealand government has stated that the fees will be reconsidered in an upcoming annual review, it remains to be seen whether this will be enough to address the concerns of migrant worker facilitators and Pacific workers. As Razak noted, the current system is not working, and it is time for the government to reconsider its approach to Pacific worker pathways.
