If you are overseas, aged 18 years and over, you want to work in New Zealand’s horticulture and viticulture industries, and you have a job offer from an employer whom we have approved, you may be eligible for a visa and/or permit under the Recognised Seasonal Employer Work Policy. Please note that people approved to work in New Zealand under this policy will be issued limited purpose visas and permits.
Requirements your employer must meet
The first step is to ensure that your job offer is from an employer who meets our requirements and whom we have already approved to employ workers. The employer must have applied to us for:
- recognised seasonal employer status – we will only recognise employers who meet our requirements
- our approval to employ a number of workers (called an Agreement to Recruit).
If you want to find out more about this process, or you are an employer, see the Recognised Seasonal Employer Work Policy pages for employers. When you apply for a limited purpose permit or visa under this policy we will ask to see your job offer, and we will want to know that it meets our requirements for employment agreements. You can see these requirements on our pages for employers.
Requirements you must meet
You may be eligible for a visa and/or permit under this policy if you:
- are aged 18 or over
- have a job offer in New Zealand from an employer who meets our requirements
- meet our health and character requirements (see below)
- are genuine in your intention to work
- are offshore (or in some cases if you are in New Zealand and hold an RSE permit).
Health requirements
Before we give you a limited purpose visa and/or permit we want to know that you have an acceptable standard of health. You may have to provide an X-ray certificate or undergo HIV/AIDS screening.
The evidence that you must provide depends on where you are from, and your travel history.
Applicants for an RSE limited purpose visa or permit who are HIV-positive are not eligible for a visa or permit under RSE work policy.
Limited purpose visas and permits
If you apply for a limited purpose visa, and you are subsequently granted a limited purpose permit, your stay in New Zealand is restricted to fulfilling the express purpose for which the permit was granted.
There are several restrictions on people who hold limited purpose permits:
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You must leave New Zealand no later than the date that your permit expires.
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You may not apply for a different kind of permit while you are in New Zealand. You can apply for a further limited purpose permit, but it must be for the same express purpose.
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You may not request a special direction or a permit under section 35A of the Immigration Act 1987 while you are in New Zealand.
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You do not have any of the appeal rights that holders of other kinds of permits have, such as the right to appeal to:
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the Removal Review Authority
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the Residence Review Board
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the Deportation Review Tribunal
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the High Court.
If you are in New Zealand unlawfully after your limited purpose permit expires, you will be liable for immediate removal from New Zealand.
How do I apply?
If you think you are eligible you should:
Where the application must be sent
RSE limited purpose 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 their applications to Nuku'alofa branch.
RSE limited purpose visa applications from applicants in the rest of the world must be sent to the closest Immigration New Zealand branch listed below.