For Whom the Rule Changes? : The Justification Logic of English Language Requirements in New Zealand’s Immigration Policy

In April 2024, the New Zealand government announced that English language testing would be required to apply for the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV). This visa scheme, which was established in 2022 to fill the workforce shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, was under review because there were multiple reports of migrant exploitation. Therefore, this policy change was unfathomable, which imposed another burden on migrants (the potential victims of exploitation): to sit the language test. Why does this kind of policy change takes place? This article examines the driving forces and the government’s justification logic behind the introduction and transitions of such rules. Immigration and the English language were both impacted by globalization. Globalization increased human mobility and made the English language into a lingua franca for communication. However, in the nexus of these two global phenomena, English has also been used as a tool to restrict immigration in testing. New Zealand, a dominantly English-speaking country, has been accepting “skilled” migrants since the 1980s, which is in line with the neoliberal structural reforms, and English language testing was introduced in the 1990s for residency visas. This article examines the government’s policy announcements and statements to unearth the embedded power relations in immigration language policies. As a result, the individual responsibility doctrine, which has been one of the main principles of neoliberalism, was the main justification for the requirements. The findings of this global case study can be applicable to other countries that are facing common global phenomena.