Recognising new National Occupation List (NOL) occupations in the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV)

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is making changes to how occupations are assessed under the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) programme, following the creation of new roles in the National Occupation List (NOL) July update.

These updates will ensure that workers in new higher-skilled roles can continue to qualify for AEWV pathways, while INZ transitions its systems to fully reflect the NOL framework.

The National Occupation List (NOL) became New Zealand’s official job classification system in November 2024, replacing the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO). A further update was made on 1 July 2025.

While INZ continues to use ANZSCO to set visa rules for AEWV applicants, work is underway to integrate the NOL into INZ’s systems.

The NOL includes new occupations at skill levels 1 to 3, which may allow some workers currently in Level 4 or 5 roles to apply for a further AEWV to extend their maximum continuous stay.

What is happening next

INZ is updating its systems so that Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) applicants in around 90 new higher-skilled (levels 1 to 3) roles can apply based on their National Occupation List (NOL) skill level.

These changes are scheduled to go live on 3 November 2025. Employers will need to undertake the full AEWV process for these roles. Further details will be available in early October. .

Temporary pathway

For approximately 30 of the new roles a temporary Specific Purpose Work Visa (SPWV) pathway will be in place from 8 September until 2 November for current visa holders whose MCS will end on or before 30 November 2025 where an employer wishes to appoint them to a new role and the employee meets relevant criteria. 

Accredited employers do not need to advertise the role for SPWV applicants. 

The roles eligible for the interim pathway are listed in table 1 and table 2.