Recognised Seasonal Employer Instructions - employment agreements

To get a limited visa, overseas workers employed in New Zealand under the Recognised Seasonal Employer Instructions must have an employment agreement with their New Zealand employer. This agreement must:

be in writing and current at the time the RSE limited visa application is assessed by INZ, and at the time the limited visa is granted, and
be consistent with the terms of the current ATR held by the employer, and
be for employment in New Zealand planting, maintaining, harvesting, or packing crops in the horticulture or viticulture industries, and
be for no more than seven months, with the exception of citizens of Tuvalu and Kiribati normally resident in Tuvalu or Kiribati, who may be granted a maximum stay of nine months, including the time for internal travel and induction arrangements within New Zealand, and
be genuine, and
specify a "per hour" rate for the work to be performed by the worker, consistent with the typical rate a New Zealand citizen or resident worker is paid for the equivalent work, in the same period and region, and
where piece rates apply to the work to be performed by the worker, also specify the piece rate(s), which must be consistent with the typical rate a New Zealand citizen or resident worker is paid for the equivalent work, in the same period and region; and
comply with the minimum remuneration requirements (see the pay and conditions requirements on the ATR requirements page) and
pay deduction requirements (the pay and conditions requirements on the ATR requirements page), and
comply with all relevant employment law in force in New Zealand, such as the requirements of the Employment Relations Act 2000, holiday and leave requirements, statutory health and safety obligations, and other minimum statutory requirements.

For full details see our Operational Manual under Temporary Entry Class Visa, Work Visas, WH1 RSE Instructions.

How a worker applies for a visa

Once you've made a job offer to the overseas worker, they should apply to Immigration New Zealand for a limited visa. They will be able to work for seven months in any 11-month period. Citizens of Tuvalu or Kiribati normally resident in their country may be granted a visa for a maximum stay of nine months.

The employee will have to fill in the form Application to Work for a Recognised Seasonal Employer (INZ 1142) PDF. The form asks the overseas worker for information about your business and your ATR. You should make sure the employee has the following details when they begin filling the form:

the name of your business
your business's contact details
the position offered, eg planting, maintaining, harvesting, or packing crops
your ATR number
their start date.

The full requirements that employees must meet are available on our Apply and Settle site.

Where the application must be sent

RSE limited visa applications from applicants in the Pacific must be sent to the Immigration New Zealand branch indicated below, according to country of citizenship.

Citizens of: Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu must send their application to Suva branch.

Citizens of Samoa must send their applications to Apia branch.

Citizens of Tonga must send applications to Nuku'alofa branch.

RSE limited visa applications from applicants in the rest of the world must send their applications to the closest Immigration New Zealand branch listed below.

Page Last Updated: 24 Aug 2011