# Question 55: I run a café with a small team. Food and power costs are squeezing margins, customers are spending less, and we've experienced a break-in. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. How do parties compare on immigration settings for hospitality workers?

Collected 31 October 2026

[NZ Election 2026 · Edition 7 study](https://nzbrands.ai/research/nz-election-2026/editions/7)

## ChatGPT

Answer ID: 36c76a21-eaad-4fc3-9671-b0275916923f

# 2026 New Zealand election: immigration policies and hospitality workers

For a café owner, immigration policy matters in a fairly practical way: Can you recruit reliable kitchen and front-of-house staff when local recruitment falls short, can you afford to employ them, and can experienced migrant workers stay in New Zealand?

As at 30 October 2026, the parties have quite different approaches to those questions.

The main distinction is between:

- Parties wanting to maintain relatively accessible employer-sponsored work visas.
- Parties wanting tighter controls, with overseas recruitment restricted to demonstrable skill shortages.
- Parties prioritising migrant-worker protections, job security and longer-term settlement.

There is also an important distinction between immigration policy and your other business pressures. Immigration can affect labour availability, but it won't directly solve food inflation, electricity prices, lower customer spending or retail crime.

## 1. Party comparison

| Party | General approach | What it could mean for your café |
| --- | --- | --- |
| National | More flexible employer-led recruitment, with tighter compliance and English requirements. | Retains access to migrant recruitment through the existing AEWV system, subject to job and worker requirements. |
| Labour | Managed immigration, workforce planning and stronger migrant protections. | More flexibility for migrant workers to change employers after three months; potentially better staff retention, but longer residence pathway. |
| Greens | Fairer, more humane immigration and stronger migrant-worker rights. | Greater emphasis on equal employment conditions and treating experienced migrant workers fairly. |
| ACT | Immigration focused on verified skill shortages and economic need. | Hospitality recruitment could face greater scrutiny if occupations are no longer considered sufficiently skilled or in demand. |
| NZ First | Substantially tighter immigration and preference for training and employing New Zealanders. | Potentially more difficult to recruit overseas for ordinary café and hospitality roles. |
| Te Pāti Māori | Limited specific 2026 immigration policy detail identified. | Not enough published detail to establish what would change for café employers. |

Sources: Retail NZ's October 2026 party comparison, party policy announcements and the parties' published policies. [Immigration](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/policy-positions-immigration/)[Immigration](https://www.labour.org.nz/immigration)[ACT New Zealand](https://www.act.org.nz/news/making_immigration_work_for_nz)[NZ First Announces Immigration Reform Policies](https://www.nzfirst.nz/nz_first_announces_immigration_reform_policies)[NZFirst to Scrap Accredited Working Visa Model](https://www.nzfirst.nz/nzfirst_to_scrap_accredited_working_visa_model)[Manifesto 2026](https://www.greens.org.nz/manifesto_2026)

## 2. What each party is proposing

### National

National's approach is broadly based on retaining the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), while tightening compliance and immigration controls.

Relevant developments under the current Government include:

- Removal of the general AEWV median-wage threshold in March 2025.
- Reduction of the minimum relevant work-experience requirement from three years to two.
- Greater flexibility in employer recruitment.
- English-language requirements extended to skill-level 3 AEWV occupations from 1 June 2026.

Implications for your café: The existing system allows employers to recruit migrant workers without the previous general median-wage threshold, provided they meet market-rate and other employment requirements.

However, additional English requirements could make recruitment more demanding for some positions.

Sources: [Changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) and median wage :: Immigration New Zealand](https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/news-centre/changes-to-the-accredited-employer-work-visa-aewv-and-median-wage/)[English language requirements extended to AEWV skill level 3 roles :: Immigration New Zealand](https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/news-centre/english-language-requirements-extended-to-aewv-skill-level-3-roles/)[Check if a migrant is suitably qualified for an AEWV :: Immigration New Zealand](https://www.immigration.govt.nz/work/for-employers/getting-accreditation-or-approval-to-hire/employer-accreditation-for-the-aewv/recruiting-and-supporting-a-migrant-to-apply-for-an-aewv-process-steps/check-if-a-migrant-applicant-is-suitably-qualified-for-an-aewv/)[Immigration](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/policy-positions-immigration/)

### Labour

Labour's September 2026 immigration policy includes:

- Planning immigration around workforce demographics, housing and infrastructure.
- Allowing migrant workers to change accredited employers after three months.
- Strengthening the AEWV system.
- Extending eligibility for permanent residence from two years to four years.
- Improving migrant-worker protection and support.

Implications for your café: The ability for workers to change employers after three months is particularly relevant.

It could give workers greater freedom to leave unsuitable employment, while potentially making it harder for businesses to retain staff through employer-tied visa arrangements.

Labour's policy also seeks to balance immigration with New Zealand's capacity and workforce requirements.

Source: [Immigration](https://www.labour.org.nz/immigration)[Immigration](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/policy-positions-immigration/)

### Green Party

The Greens support a more progressive immigration system, with an emphasis on dignity, fairness and migrant rights.

Their published positions include:

- Equal pay and working conditions for temporary migrant workers.
- Increased refugee support and settlement assistance.
- A more humane immigration system.
- Greater recognition of the rights and circumstances of migrants.

Implications for your café: The emphasis is less on making it easier to recruit cheap labour and more on ensuring migrant workers receive fair treatment.

This could mean stronger expectations around employment conditions and worker protections.

The Greens' 2026 manifesto describes migrant workers as people who deserve the opportunity to settle and build their lives in New Zealand.

Sources: [Manifesto 2026](https://www.greens.org.nz/manifesto_2026)[Complete Party Policy](https://www.greens.org.nz/policy)[Immigration and visas: party comparison 2026](https://partymap.co.nz/compare/immigration/)

### ACT

ACT wants a more tightly targeted immigration system.

Its May 2026 proposals include:

- Annual reviews of AEWV skill categories.
- Automatic expiry of categories unless current evidence demonstrates demand.
- Stronger English-language requirements for AEWV applicants.
- A NZ$6-per-day infrastructure surcharge on temporary work visas.
- Stronger enforcement against immigration breaches.

Implications for your café: The annual review of skill categories is especially relevant.

If a particular hospitality occupation is no longer considered to have a genuine shortage, access to migrant workers could become more difficult.

The proposed infrastructure surcharge would also increase the cost of employing some temporary migrant workers.

ACT's approach does not mean all hospitality recruitment would stop: the party says skilled immigration should continue where genuine shortages exist.

Source: [ACT New Zealand](https://www.act.org.nz/news/making_immigration_work_for_nz)[Immigration](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/policy-positions-immigration/)[Immigration and visas: party comparison 2026](https://partymap.co.nz/compare/immigration/)

### New Zealand First

NZ First has announced some of the most substantial proposed changes.

Its September and October 2026 announcements include:

- Substantially reducing non-essential immigration.
- Replacing the AEWV with a shortage-led Skilled Work Visa.
- Requiring employers to demonstrate genuine recruitment efforts in New Zealand.
- Restricting overseas recruitment for routine roles.
- Giving priority to training and employing New Zealanders.
- Introducing a proposed annual resident visa cap of 20,000, subject to a referendum.

The proposed replacement visa would be tied to a named occupation, region and demonstrated shortage.

Implications for your café: This is particularly significant if you rely on migrant workers for ordinary operational positions.

Under NZ First's proposal, it could become harder to recruit overseas for routine kitchen, cleaning, counter-service and other hospitality roles.

The party's stated position is that overseas recruitment should be reserved for genuine shortages that cannot reasonably be addressed through local recruitment or training.

Sources: [NZ First Announces Immigration Reform Policies](https://www.nzfirst.nz/nz_first_announces_immigration_reform_policies)[NZFirst to Scrap Accredited Working Visa Model](https://www.nzfirst.nz/nzfirst_to_scrap_accredited_working_visa_model)

### Te Pāti Māori

I could not identify a sufficiently detailed, specific 2026 immigration proposal from Te Pāti Māori covering hospitality work visas.

It would therefore be misleading to assume that the party would retain or substantially restrict the existing AEWV system.

The absence of a detailed published position is worth distinguishing from opposition to immigration.

Source: [Immigration](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/policy-positions-immigration/)[Immigration and visas: party comparison 2026](https://partymap.co.nz/compare/immigration/)

## 3. What matters most for a small café

Looking beyond the parties' general immigration philosophies, I would pay particular attention to five policy questions.

| Issue | Why it matters to your business |
| --- | --- |
| Access to migrant workers | Can you recruit overseas when you cannot find suitable local applicants? |
| Occupation classifications | Will chefs, cooks, kitchenhands and café supervisors qualify for relevant work visas? |
| Visa costs and wages | Will visa charges, wage requirements or compliance costs increase? |
| Staff retention | Can experienced workers remain in New Zealand and develop long-term careers? |
| Employer obligations | Will recruitment, accreditation and migrant-worker compliance become more complicated? |

One important detail: the current AEWV system does not simply require every migrant worker to earn the median wage. Since March 2025, the general requirement has been payment at the market rate, alongside applicable minimum-wage and other legal requirements. [Changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) and median wage :: Immigration New Zealand](https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/news-centre/changes-to-the-accredited-employer-work-visa-aewv-and-median-wage/)[Work visa wage rates :: Immigration New Zealand](https://www.immigration.govt.nz/work/requirements-for-work-visas/wage-rates-for-work-visas/)

## 4. What the hospitality industry itself is asking for

An especially relevant contribution comes from Hospitality New Zealand, which published its 2026 election manifesto on 18 August.

It identifies immigration as one of six major priorities for the hospitality and accommodation industry.

Its immigration recommendations include:

- Practical residency pathways for experienced hospitality workers.
- Recognising work experience, rather than placing excessive emphasis on formal qualifications.
- Immigration settings that help hospitality businesses attract and retain talent.

This is worth considering because an experienced café worker may have considerable practical ability without holding formal qualifications that fit conventional skilled-migrant pathways.

Hospitality NZ's position is an industry recommendation, not a commitment made by any particular political party. [MEDIA RELEASE: Hospitality New Zealand releases 2026 Election Manifesto](https://hospitality.org.nz/advocacy-and-insights/media-release-hospitality-new-zealand-releases-2026-election-manifesto)[MEDIA RELEASE: Hospitality New Zealand releases 2026 Election Manifesto](https://hospitality.org.nz/advocacy-and-insights/media-release-hospitality-new-zealand-releases-2026-election-manifesto)

## 5. How to use this information when considering your vote

Given the pressures you describe, I would separate your election considerations into three areas:

A. Workforce availability

Consider whether you want a system that:

- Makes it easier to recruit overseas when local workers are unavailable.
- Requires stronger evidence of genuine skill shortages.
- Prioritises training and employing New Zealanders.

B. Workforce stability

Consider whether you favour:

- Longer-term residency opportunities for experienced hospitality workers.
- Greater freedom for migrants to change employers.
- Tighter restrictions on temporary work visas.

C. Small-business operating conditions

Immigration is only one part of the picture. You may also want to examine each party's proposals on:

- Electricity prices and energy policy.
- Food production, supply chains and grocery competition.
- Small-business tax and compliance costs.
- Minimum wages and employment regulation.
- Retail crime, burglary prevention and policing.

A party's immigration policy alone cannot tell you how its overall economic policies would affect your café.

## 6. My suggested questions to put to candidates

These are questions I would consider particularly useful when attending local candidate meetings or contacting party representatives:

1. Will you guarantee that small hospitality businesses can recruit overseas workers when they cannot find suitably qualified New Zealanders?
2. Will you recognise practical hospitality experience when determining work visa eligibility?
3. Will you provide a realistic residency pathway for experienced chefs and hospitality workers?
4. Will you reduce the administrative and financial burden of employing migrant workers?
5. What specific measures will you introduce to help small cafés manage electricity, food and employment costs?
6. What additional measures will you introduce to protect small businesses from break-ins and repeat retail crime?

## Further reading

These are useful primary sources to examine before making your decision:

- [Labour – Immigration policy](https://www.labour.org.nz/immigration?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
- [ACT – Making immigration work for New Zealand](https://www.act.org.nz/news/making_immigration_work_for_nz?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
- [NZ First – Immigration reform proposals](https://www.nzfirst.nz/nz_first_announces_immigration_reform_policies?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
- [NZ First – Replacing the AEWV](https://www.nzfirst.nz/nzfirst_to_scrap_accredited_working_visa_model?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
- [Green Party – 2026 manifesto](https://www.greens.org.nz/manifesto_2026?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
- [Hospitality New Zealand – 2026 election manifesto](https://hospitality.org.nz/advocacy-and-insights/media-release-hospitality-new-zealand-releases-2026-election-manifesto?utm_source=chatgpt.com)
- [Retail NZ – Party immigration policy comparison](https://retail.kiwi/insights-media/election-hub/policy-positions-immigration/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

One final consideration: Your café's situation involves both the ability to find good staff and the ability to keep the business financially viable. Those are related, but different, election issues.

I can also put together a side-by-side comparison of National, Labour, Greens, ACT and NZ First across all the issues affecting your café: immigration, food costs, electricity, wages, small-business tax and crime prevention. That would give you a broader basis for assessing the parties rather than judging them on immigration alone.

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## Gemini

Answer ID: 997c0bc3-b109-4221-868d-1a9483aa7d10

Running a café under those pressures—squeezed margins, lower customer spending, power costs, and the stress of a break-in—makes workforce stability and access to reliable staff a critical consideration. 

Ahead of the **2026 New Zealand general election**, political parties hold distinct positions on immigration settings, which directly intersect with the key priorities outlined by sector groups like Hospitality New Zealand (who are pushing for practical residency pathways and settings that recognize industry experience over formal qualifications). 

Here is how the major parties compare on immigration settings relevant to hospitality and small business employers:

---

### 1. National (Current Coalition Lead)
* **Approach:** Pragmatic/incremental adjustments with a focus on economic alignment.
* **Hospitality Context:** While National has historically focused settings around skilled and high-wage thresholds, they have generally resisted the more extreme tightening or dismantling of visa categories proposed by minor parties. They have publicly distanced themselves from some radical overhauls (such as ACT’s proposal to abolish permanent resident visas). 
* **Outlook:** If you rely on accredited employer work visas (AEWV), National's focus tends to center on managing processing times and balancing employer demand against infrastructure, though they have not championed broad, low-skilled exemptions for hospitality specifically.

### 2. ACT New Zealand
* **Approach:** Market-driven, flexible, and aimed at reducing bureaucratic friction for employers.
* **Hospitality Context:** ACT generally advocates for fewer bureaucratic barriers when businesses need to hire. They have proposed a specific **three-year rural workforce visa with employer mobility** (though this is targeted geographically rather than nationally). 
* **Outlook:** ACT’s philosophy favors making it easier for businesses to source labor based on market demand, which aligns with employer calls for flexibility, though some of their broader structural ideas (like overhauling permanent residency) introduce separate policy debates.

### 3. New Zealand First
* **Approach:** Tight restriction, significantly reducing non-essential immigration, and viewing immigration as a strict privilege.
* **Hospitality Context:** NZ First takes a hardline stance on population growth and migrant labor numbers. Their proposed policies include a referendum on capping annual resident visas at 20,000, doubling qualifying periods for permanent residence from 5 to 10 years, and restricting automatic work rights for international students (who often form a core part of the flexible hospitality workforce). 
* **Outlook:** For a café owner struggling to find staff, NZ First’s platform aims to prioritize domestic workers and significantly tighten the pool and retention of migrant labour, which could make filling front-of-house or kitchen roles harder.

### 4. Labour Party
* **Approach:** Managed and structured immigration with an emphasis on preventing worker exploitation and protecting domestic training pipelines.
* **Hospitality Context:** Labour historically emphasizes robust employer accreditation and checks to protect against migrant exploitation. While they recognize skill shortages, their framework leans heavily toward ensuring that local training (such as vocational pathways) is prioritized alongside regulated access to temporary migrant workers.
* **Outlook:** Labour opposes radical loosenings that bypass local workforce development, meaning entry paths for lower-skilled hospitality roles remain tightly regulated under their settings.

---

### Summary for a Café Owner
* If you are looking for **less red tape and more fluid employer access to migrant labor**, market-oriented parties (like ACT or a National-led continuation) align more closely with easing business friction, though neither has offered a sweeping carve-out for low-skilled hospitality roles.
* If you are looking to **curb migration numbers and prioritize local training/hiring**, parties like NZ First and Labour propose tighter controls, longer residency pathways, and stricter limits on temporary work rights (such as student work limits).

Because immigration policy is heavily shaped by MMP coalition negotiations, any party's manifesto promises will ultimately be moderated by compromises reached after election day.

<FollowUp label="Want to know how other 2026 election policies (like tax changes or crime measures) address café margins and safety?" query="How do the 2026 election policies of the major parties compare on small business tax settings, support, and retail crime/security measures?"/>

## Google AI Mode

Answer ID: 02766b51-043e-4123-a18b-3dbaa77d3252

Running a café under those pressures—margin squeezes from food and power, softer consumer spending, and the added stress of a break-in—is a lot to handle, especially when trying to staff your kitchen or front-of-house.

When looking at the 2026 general election, New Zealand’s political parties approach immigration settings and the workforce needs of the hospitality sector through different lenses. Peak industry bodies like Hospitality New Zealand have been actively advocating for settings that better recognise practical experience over strict formal qualifications and create clearer, more reliable paths for retention.

The main political parties generally approach these workforce and immigration settings with distinct priorities:

 * **National and the Incumbent-led Government Approach:** Focuses tightly on balancing business workforce needs with broader economic and net migration settings. While acknowledging processing improvements and sector engagement, the current government framework under the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) system has generally retained a strong emphasis on median wage thresholds and structured skill bands. They lean toward a market-led approach for businesses, though industry groups continue to lobby them to loosen restrictions around experienced-but-unqualified kitchen and front-of-house staff.

 * **Labour Party Approach:** Generally frames immigration around protecting local employment standards and ensuring migrant workers are not exploited, while balancing critical skill shortages. Labour historically places strong regulatory requirements on employers wanting to hire internationally (such as robust labour market testing and wage requirements), positioning itself as cautious about broad-brush loosening of lower-skilled or hospitality-specific visa categories unless clear domestic shortages are proven.

 * **ACT New Zealand Approach:** Advocates for a more flexible, market-driven immigration framework where businesses that can afford and need labour can access it with fewer bureaucratic hurdles. ACT generally favors reducing red tape and compliance costs for businesses sponsoring international talent, arguing that businesses are best positioned to judge their own workforce needs rather than central government settings.

 * **Green Party and Te Pāti Māori Approach:** Typically emphasize human rights, robust worker protections, and fair pathways to residency for all migrant workers already living and contributing to communities in New Zealand. Their policies tend to focus heavily on addressing migrant exploitation, improving baseline employment rights across low-wage sectors, and creating human-centric pathways rather than treating migrant labor purely as an economic valve for business margins.

To dive deeper into the specific, up-to-the-minute policy manifestos as they finalize for the election, you can review the candidate and party positions directly through [Elections NZ](https://elections.nz/) or sector-specific guidance via [Hospitality New Zealand](https://www.hospitality.org.nz/).

## AI Overviews

Answer ID: 517e6425-cd8d-42d5-9765-2915e8c83eb5

For a hospitality business dealing with rising overheads and tight margins, workforce availability is a critical factor. Ahead of the **7 November 2026 general election** , political parties have distinct positions on **immigration settings** that affect the ease of hiring overseas hospitality workers. livinginnz.co.nzNZ Election 2026: Immigration Policy by Party | Living in NZNew Zealand election 2026: What you need to know - BBC

A direct comparison of how the main parties approach immigration for sectors like hospitality shows differing priorities:

Political Party| Core Stance on Immigration| Impact on Hospitality Hiring & Visas
---|---|---
**National**| **Pro-immigration & Growth-focused**| Assured continuation of current pathways (like the Accredited Employer Work Visa / AEWV). Prefers market-led settings to fill labor gaps and recently opened new skilled residence pathways in late 2026 to help retain talent.
**Labour**| **Infrastructure & Workforce Matching**| Aims to tie immigration levels strictly to what domestic housing and infrastructure can handle. Would increase the time required to get permanent residency from 2 years to 4 years but would allow migrants to switch accredited employers after 3 months to reduce exploitation.
**ACT**| **Libertarian & Productivity-led**| Supports market-driven visas to address rural and worker shortages. However, proposes adding physical presence rules, removing the Permanent Resident Visa category in favor of a 5-year renewal system, and enforcing a 5-year welfare stand-down for migrants.
**New Zealand First**| **Strict Reduction & Protectionist**| Promises to **scrap the AEWV scheme completely** and replace it with a highly restrictive, "shortage-led" Skilled Work Visa. Proposes an annual cap referendum (e.g., 20,000 resident visas), higher fees, and a 10-year stand-down for public benefits.
**Greens**| **Humanitarian & Worker Rights**| Opposes anti-migrant rhetoric and focuses heavily on migrant worker welfare, rights, and path-to-residency certainties rather than adjusting thresholds solely for economic growth.

Summary for Your Business

 * If you want stability in the current visa structures to easily recruit overseas chefs, managers, or front-of-house staff, **National** or **ACT** lean toward more open market settings. eastasiaforum.orgNew Zealand's coalition government diverges on immigrationImmigration Policy: Where NZ Parties Stand in 2026 | WhichParty NZ

 * If you favor settings that might slow total migration volumes but give workers more flexibility to move between employers to prevent exploitation, **Labour** aligns with that model.

 * If you believe immigration numbers should be heavily curtailed to relieve broader infrastructure pressures, **NZ First** takes the most restrictive approach, which would likely narrow the pool of available temporary migrant workers for hospitality. rnz.co.nzImmigration policy guideNew Zealand First: Party Vote to Cap Mass Immigration

Given the other challenges you mentioned, would you like to see a breakdown of party policies regarding **small business cost-of-living relief** (such as power/food costs) or **retail crime and security**? rnz.co.nzLabour releases manifesto collating policies ahead of election