The SSE category is for horticulture and viticulture employers who need to supplement their New Zealand workforce with people who are visiting New Zealand. It allows employers to recruit people who are already in New Zealand to undertake seasonal work, if Work and Income confirms that there are no suitable and available New Zealanders to fill these positions.
For immigration purposes seasonal work in the horticulture and viticulture industries is defined as planting, maintaining, harvesting and packing crops.
Two applications are required, one for employers and one for workers.
An employer applies for an SSE approval in principle to recruit a set number of workers for a set period. If approved, then the employer can offer employment to SSE work visa holders to fill the positions. They cannot employ more than the total number of SSE workers they have been approved for.
Non-New Zealand citizens or residents lawfully in New Zealand can apply for SSE work visas. People holding SSE work visas may work for any employer with a current SSE approval in principle. A SSE work visa must be approved before a person can start working. SSE work visas will be granted for no longer than six months.
People will not be granted a SSE work visa if they have held a work visa since their most recent entry to New Zealand, or if they have held a SSE or TRSE work visa at any time.
Note: SSE work visas will only be approved where the immigration officer is satisfied that the applicant has a genuine intention to work for an SSE-approved employer. To see how applicants may demonstrate this intention, take a look at the SSE requirements for workers.
You must have tried to fill your vacancies with New Zealand workers, and you should have contacted your local Work and Income office to see if they have, or will have at the time you need them, any suitable and available workers. It is important that you work with the local Work and Income office as it should speed up your SSE application.
You also need to have complied with the conditions of previous SSE approvals in principle. During periods of SSE approval in principle, you should keep trying to fill the vacant positions with New Zealand citizens or residents. You must not employ SSE workers to fill more positions than you were approved for.
We will not be able to make a final decision on your application until one month before the work is due to begin. This ensures that we use up-to-date labour market information when a decision is made. However, we recommend you apply earlier than this, for example two months in advance of the start of the work. This will give us time to assess the rest of your application so a quick decision can be made once we conduct a labour market test to check if there are suitable, available New Zealanders. If you already have a relationship with your local Work and Income office and have made efforts to fill your vacancies through them, the labour market test process is likely to be quicker.
If you are an employer, and you are applying for a SSE approval in principle, then you must send your applications to the Recognised Seasonal Employer Unit:
Recognised Seasonal Employer UnitImmigration New ZealandPO Box 27149WellingtonNEW ZEALAND
If you are a worker, and you are applying for a SSE work visa, then you must send the application to the INZ branch nearest to where you will be working. For example, if you have obtained a job offer from an SSE-approved employer in Central Otago, you must lodge your application with the Dunedin branch.
To access application forms see:
If you are an employer you must provide:
If you want to work for an employer with SSE approval in principle you must provide:
You must show that an SSE-approved employer has a position for you. Given the seasonal nature of these positions, employers do not always have positions for all the SSE workers they have been approved for.
Yes. However, as you have already provided us with a lot of information about your business, there are some sections of the application form that you will not have to complete. The SSE approval in principle form contains instructions about what sections you can miss.
There is no set limit. We will need to check with Work and Income that there are no suitable and available New Zealand workers to fill these positions.
You can make another application for SSE approval in principle, and you will need to submit another application form and pay the fee again.
To qualify for a SSE work visa, you must:
You will only be granted an SSE work visa if you can satisfy an immigration officer that you genuinely intend to work for an SSE-approved employer.
There are a limited number of places available for workers under the SSE category. The number of places reflects the total number of SSE approval in principle places. Your application cannot be approved if there are no remaining places when you apply. See if there are places available.
Yes, your variation of conditions is not a work visa, so you are eligible to apply under the SSE category.
It depends on the countries you have been to and how long you wish to spend in New Zealand in total (including any time you have already been here). Applicants who have risk factors for TB will be required to provide an X-ray certificate for temporary entry if they intend to remain in New Zealand for more than six months in total. All applicants must complete a medical and X-ray certificate if they intend to remain in New Zealand for more than 12 months in total.
No. Partners and dependent children of SSE workers are not eligible for a work or student visa on the basis of their relationship with the SSE worker. Partners and dependent children of SSE workers will need to meet normal temporary entry class visa requirements.
Employers can find out more about SSE and other seasonal categories in our Employ and Assist section.
Workers can find out more about SSE and other work categories in our Apply and Settle section.
