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. ImmigrationImmigrationACT New ZealandNZ First Announces Immigration Reform PoliciesNZFirst to Scrap Accredited Working Visa ModelManifesto 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 ZealandEnglish language requirements extended to AEWV skill level 3 roles :: Immigration New ZealandCheck if a migrant is suitably qualified for an AEWV :: Immigration New ZealandImmigration

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: ImmigrationImmigration

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 2026Complete Party PolicyImmigration and visas: party comparison 2026

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 ZealandImmigrationImmigration and visas: party comparison 2026

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 PoliciesNZFirst 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: ImmigrationImmigration and visas: party comparison 2026

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 ZealandWork visa wage rates :: Immigration New Zealand

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 ManifestoMEDIA 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
• ACT – Making immigration work for New Zealand
• NZ First – Immigration reform proposals
• NZ First – Replacing the AEWV
• Green Party – 2026 manifesto
• Hospitality New Zealand – 2026 election manifesto
• Retail NZ – Party immigration policy comparison

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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