You must include an offer of employment ('a job offer') from a New Zealand employer with your application for a residence visa or permit under the Samoan Quota Scheme.
Find out about opportunities to work in New Zealand on our Discover & Decide section.
Acceptable job offers
The job offer may be for you or your partner, and it may be in either skilled or unskilled work. However, the offer must be for “ongoing and sustainable employment” with a single New Zealand employer.
What does ongoing and sustainable mean?
We define ongoing to mean that your job offer is:
- work in a job which is clearly stated to be permanent, or indefinite, or
- work for a stated time of at least 12 months, with an option for you of further employment after that time.
We define sustainable to mean that we are satisfied that your employer can afford to pay you the stated salary or wages.
Job offers must also be:
- for full-time employment (employment is full time if it amounts to, on average, at least 30 hours per week) unless your partner has an offer of full-time employment
- current at the time INZ assesses your application, and at the time your residence visa or permit is granted of assessing the application and at the time your visa / permit is issued
- genuine
- for a position that is paid by salary or wages (not by commission, by self-employed income, or retainer positions of self-employment, payment by commission and/or retainer are not acceptable)
- accompanied by evidence of professional or technical registration if this is required by law to take up the offer; and
- the offer must meet the requirements of relevant New Zealand employment law; and
- if you have dependent children, your offer of employment must also meet the minimum income requirement.
Evidence of job offer
Acceptable evidence of a job offer includes original or certified copies of the following documents:
- written offer of employment which includes a note stating whether or not occupational registration is required by law for you to take up this position
- a detailed job description
- an employment agreement entered into by the employer and you stating:
- the terms of employment
- the hours of work
- the period during which employment may begin.
And, if your occupation requires you to be registered in New Zealand, we’ll also want to see evidence of your occupational registration. This could be full or provisional registration depending on your occupation.
Additional evidence may include:
- any information requested by Immigration New Zealand
- the results of verification undertaken by Immigration New Zealand
- information from the employer or recruitment agency
Note:
The employment agreement doesn’t need to be supplied until after your application has been approved in principle.