Who can work in New Zealand?

• New Zealand citizens, including Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau nationals
• New Zealand residents and permanent residents
• Holders of Australian current permanent residence visas (including a resident return visa) and who are granted a New Zealand resident visa on arrival
• Australian citizens who entered New Zealand on a current Australian passport
• Non-New Zealanders who hold a valid visa with work entitlements.

How will an employer be able to check a foreign national’s entitlement to work?

Employers can:

• use VisaView
• ask if the person is entitled to do the work (eg is the person entitled to work in Marlborough picking grapes?)
• seek documentary evidence of entitlement
• check the evidence
• keep a record of the evidence.

How will an employer be able to check a New Zealand citizen’s entitlement to work?

Employers can:

• use VisaView 
• seek documentary evidence (see A guide to help employers check work entitlement PDF [466KB] for details).
  

How does the introduction of the Immigration Act 2009 affect employers?

Under the Immigration Act 2009, an employer must not employ a foreign national who is not entitled to work in New Zealand or entitled to work for that employer. This applies whether or not the employer knew that the foreign national was not entitled to work.

What if an employer holds an IR 330 (tax code declaration) form for the employee?

The provision of an IR330 tax declaration form is no longer a reasonable excuse for employing a person who is not entitled to work in New Zealand or entitled to work for that employer. Instead, an employer must show that they took reasonable precautions and exercised due diligence to check whether the foreign national was entitled to work for the employer in New Zealand.

What does the change mean for employers?

The Department of Labour recognises that most employers are already very good at checking a person’s entitlement to work. Our guide to help employers check work entitlement suggests that:

• Employers have secure and robust systems and processes in place for:
  • checking a potential employee’s immigration status
  • retaining copies of the documentation that was checked.
• Employers review their recruitment processes to ensure they are communicating to potential employees at the earliest opportunity the need to provide evidence of eligibility to work in New Zealand.

How will an employer be able to check a foreign national’s entitlement to work?

Employers can:

• Ask if the person is entitled to do the work (eg is the person entitled to work in Marlborough picking grapes?)
• Seek documentary evidence of entitlement
• Check the evidence
• Keep a record of the evidence

What documents are acceptable as evidence of entitlement to work?

The Department recognises (and proposes that as a matter of best practice employers only accept) the following documents as acceptable evidence of a person’s eligibility to work in New Zealand:

What support does the Department provide employers?

The Department has developed an online service (VisaView) that will let an employer check a prospective employee’s entitlement to work in New Zealand for that employer.

The Department has developed A guide to help employers check work entitlement PDF [466KB] and a Work Entitlement Checklist PDF [681KB].

The Department’s Contact Centre (0508 WORK NZ) is also available to assist with queries.

Can any employer use the online enquiry system?

Employers must be required to register and be verified as a New Zealand employer.

What information can I get about a potential employee?

Employers are able to check whether a person is able to work for that employer, any conditions attached to that particular visa and the expiry date of that visa.

What are the penalties for employers who employ foreign nationals not entitled to work in New Zealand?

Penalties for offences committed by employers are:

• The maximum penalty for allowing a foreign national who is not entitled to work in the employer’s service to do that work is a fine of NZ$10,000.
• The maximum penalty for allowing or continuing to allow a foreign national to work while knowing that person is not entitled to work is a fine of NZ$50,000.
• The maximum penalty for exploitation of a foreign national whom the employer has allowed to work while knowing that person was not entitled to work is:
  • imprisonment for seven years, or
  • a fine of NZ$100,000, or
  • both.