If you can't find New Zealand citizens or residents to plant, maintain, harvest and pack crops in the horticulture and viticulture industries, you can apply to be a Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE). Once you have RSE status, you can apply for an Agreement to Recruit (ATR), which allows you to recruit non-New Zealand citizen or resident workers.
See the of employers who have already become RSEs and agreed to make their contact details public.
The RSE Policy has up to 8000 places available to overseas workers per year (year ending 31 March). Note that everyone approved to work under RSE policy will be granted an RSE limited purpose visa or permit. This means they cannot apply for a different type of permit while they are in New Zealand and cannot lodge an appeal if they stay in New Zealand beyond the expiry of their permit.
See an overview of our seasonal work policies in Solutions for Seasonal Labour Shortages PDF [192KB].
The RSE process
For employers, there are four steps in the RSE process:
Step 1 – Becoming an RSE
The first step in the process for employers is applying for recognition as a recognised seasonal employer (RSE). To find out about the requirements you will need to meet, and how to apply for RSE status, see the RSE requirements pages.
Step 2 – Getting an ATR
Once you have RSE status you need to apply for an agreement to recruit (ATR) workers from offshore. To find out about the requirements you will need to meet, and how to apply for an ATR, see the ATR requirements pages.
Step 3 – Offering a job and employing overseas workers
When you have an ATR you can make a job offer. Your prospective worker will need to provide us with evidence of your offer to get a visa from offshore (see the how a worker applies for a limited purpose permit/visa page for details on where a worker can submit their RSE work visa application). Then they can come to New Zealand, work for the length of time their permit is issued for, and return home. To find out about the requirements the job offer must meet, how you can help the workers that you want to apply, and where they can submit their application, see the employment agreement page.
Step 4 – Bring your workers back next season
Finally, if you want to get your workers back for another season, they may be able to return to New Zealand under a new ATR if the conditions of their permit have been met, and if there is a continued labour shortage.