New Zealand First are promising to scrap the Accredited Working Visa and replace it with a "shortage-led" Skilled Work Visa if re-elected.
Entry into New Zealand under the scheme would be tied to an occupation, region and "demonstrated need", not an employer getting accreditation.
In a statement, the party said skilled migrants were needed where New Zealanders could not "reasonably fill" a job. The current system had become a "general recruitment channel" for jobs with little connection to a genuine skills shortage.
"The policy will put New Zealand workers first, lift confidence in the immigration system, protect migrant workers from exploitation, and preserve a clear route for employers who genuinely cannot find critical skills here," the party said.
"Immigration must serve New Zealand's economic interests, fill identifiable shortages, and complement our workforce, not become a general source of labour for ordinary jobs. Nor be used as a back door to bring in friends and family or exploit the system."
If re-elected, New Zealand First will:
- Scrap and replace the Accredited Employer Working Visa
- Limit access to genuine shortages
- End routine retail access
- Apply a New Zealand worker safeguard
- Restore a proper wage floor
- Require real domestic recruitment
- Strengthen employer accreditation
- Target enforcement where risk is highest
- Publish meaningful transparency data
- Protect workers without rewarding bad sponsors
The party said New Zealand had around 171,000 unemployed people and an underutilisation rate of 13.8%.
"There will still be genuine shortages, in particular occupations and regions, but employers seeking migrant workers for routine roles should have to prove that they have made a serious effort to employ or train New Zealanders.
"We are a country with an immigration system, not an international labour-hire agency with a flag."
The party said if New Zealanders could be trained to do a job, they should be.
"If the shortage is real, prove it. If the skill is critical, New Zealand will welcome it.
"But if the job is routine, the evidence is fiction, and the so-called shortage can be solved by offering a proper wage, the answer will be no," the party said.
The policy was announced at a public meeting in Dunedin.
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