Check or change your work visa conditions
Find out how to check your work visa conditions and apply for a variation of conditions or Job Change.
Check your work visa conditions
Your work visa comes with conditions on it. Conditions tell you what you can and cannot do on your visa.
You can find your visa conditions:
- in your
- on the visa label in your passport, if you have a label
- in the letter we sent you when we gave you the visa
- online using the Visa Verification Service.
Using the Visa Verification Service
To change your visa conditions, you will need to apply for a
If you cannot change your visa conditions, you will need to apply for a new visa.
Note
Changing the conditions of your visa will not change its expiry date.
- a ticket to leave New Zealand to a
- enough money to buy a ticket out of New Zealand, or
- an acceptable sponsor who can pay for your ticket out of New Zealand.
- who you can work for
- the occupation or job you can work in
- the location of your job.
The following are some common conditions of work visas.
Visa expiry date
The last day you can stay in New Zealand on your visa.
Return/onward travel not required
Unless your visa states 'Return/onward travel not required', you must have:
Travel conditions
First entry before
The 'First entry before' travel condition means that you must travel to New Zealand before this date.
If you do not enter New Zealand before the 'First entry before' date, your visa will no longer be valid.
Number of entries
If your visa states you have
Expiry date travel
The last day you can enter New Zealand using this visa.
Your visa will expire if you are outside New Zealand and your 'Expiry date travel' has passed.
Work conditions
You must only work under the conditions specified in your visa.
The conditions can include:
Study conditions
Some visas allow you to study for a set amount of time.
If your visa allows you to study, you must only study under the conditions specified in your visa.
If you are in New Zealand and want to stay past the date your visa expires, you cannot extend your visa — instead, you must apply for another temporary visa to visit, study or work before your current one expires.
To apply for another temporary visa while you are in New Zealand, you must have a current visa that is not a limited visa, Interim Visa or Transit Visa.
You should apply for another visa at least 1 month before your current visa's expiry date.
How long it takes to process a visa application
If your current temporary visa is going to expire while you are waiting for our decision, we will normally issue you an Interim Visa to let you stay in New Zealand lawfully. The conditions on an Interim Visa depend on the visa you previously had and the new visa you have applied for.
Warning
You must have a current New Zealand visa to be in New Zealand lawfully. If your visa expires and you are still in New Zealand without a new visa or an Interim Visa, you will be here unlawfully and may be deported.
Conditions you can change
If your work visa comes with conditions on any of the following, you can apply to change them:
- the employer you work for
- the job you are doing
- the location you are working in
- how long you can study for while you work.
Note
If you have a working holiday visa or a partnership work visa (such as a 'Partner of a Worker Work Visa'), you do not need to let us know about changes to your employer, job, or location of your work — but you must continue to meet all the conditions on your visa.
- your job, or job location, is changing because of a restructure, liquidation or bankruptcy, or
- you are being made redundant — meaning your employer can no longer employ you in your job.
- Your employer must be
to hire migrants for the AEWV and have a valid job check for your new job. - You will need the job token number (also called your job check number) for your application.
- you applied for your current AEWV before 6 April 2024
- you were paid at least NZD $29.66 an hour when you got your AEWV, and
- your job is Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) skill level 4 or 5.
- you applied for your first AEWV between 21 June 2023 and 6 April 2024, and
- your current job is an AEWV job that can have a maximum visa length of 5 years and is at
level 4 or 5. - it is on the Essential Skills in Demand List and you meet the requirements
- it pays at least $59.32 an hour, which is twice the February 2023 median wage rate, or
- the job is on the Green List, and you meet the requirements on the list.
- a letter from your employer that declares they could not find suitable or available New Zealanders for the job — if they were required to advertise the job
- evidence to show that you are qualified for the job — if the new job has different skills and requirements to your old job.
- is accredited under the Talent (accredited employer) rules
- was previously accredited under the Talent (accredited employer) rules but their accreditation expired after 31 March 2021
- is not accredited under the Talent (accredited employer) rules, if your current job is no longer available for reasons outside your control.
- was accredited under the Talent (accredited employer) rules and their accreditation expired after 31 March 2021, or
- is currently accredited under the Talent (accredited employer) rules or the AEWV rules.
- accredited employer, or
- employer who is not accredited but meets the base salary conditions required at the time we gave you your visa.
- your new employer must be accredited, and
- you must apply for a different work visa, like the Accredited Employer Work Visa.
- earns at least NZD $26.85 an hour (80% percent of the
) and works in an level 1, 2 or 3 job and they have an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) or Essential Skills Work Visa (ESWV), or - earns at least NZD $26.85 an hour on their AEWV and they were already supporting your Partner of a Worker Work Visa on 26 June 2024.
- earn at least NZD $47.41 an hour (150% of the February 2023 median wage), or
- earn at least NZD $31.61 an hour in a Green List job and meet the Green List requirements for that job.
- be in New Zealand
- aged 55 or younger when you apply
- have had an LTSSL Work Visa for at least 2 years, and
- meet the other requirements for the resident visa.
You may need to vary the conditions of your work visa, apply for a Job Change or apply for a new work visa if you have been told:
If any of these happen to you, contact us for more information. Our Customer Service Centre staff can explain how this will affect your work visa.
The Employment New Zealand website has information for workers affected by a redundancy, liquidation, restructure or bankruptcy, including how to make a claim for any money owed.
Redundancy — Employment New Zealand
When your employer goes into liquidation or bankruptcy — Employment New Zealand
Restructuring and workplace change — Employment NZ
If you have an AEWV and your employer is changing due to a business sale or restructure, check the 'Changing your Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV)' drop down for more information.
If your employer sells the business or has a restructure
Your employer may be able to transfer AEWV workers to another business, due to a business sale or restructure. You will need to apply for a Job Change.
Reusing or resending AEWV job tokens and transferring AEWV workers
If your employer loses accreditation
If your employer loses accreditation, you can apply to change your employer to another
Changing your accredited employer, job or location
You can apply for a Job Change to change your employer, job, location, or a combination of these.
The time left on your AEWV does not change if you get a Job Change.
If you are changing your job you must meet any qualification or work experience requirements that your new employer listed in the job advertisement.
Visa length and changing your job
Note
The maximum visa length
Check your AEWV length and the total time you can stay for your current job and new job, before you check if you can change jobs.
How long you can stay on an AEWV
If your current job is entitled to a maximum visa length of 5 years, you cannot change to a job that has a maximum visa length of 3 years, unless:
You can change to a job at the same ANZSCO level or higher than your current job, without losing your 5-year AEWV if:
Example
You have 4 years remaining on your current AEWV. You cannot move to a job that has a maximum visa length of 3 years.
You have been in New Zealand for 4 years on an AEWV. You cannot move to a job that has a maximum continuous stay of 3 years.
If you have an ESWV, you can apply to change your employer, job, location or a combination of these.
Your new employer must have advertised the job, unless:
You will need:
Before 4 July 2022 employers were able to apply for accreditation under the Talent (Accredited Employer) Work Visa rules. It was replaced by the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) from 4 July 2022. Visas given under the Talent (Accredited Employer) rules are still valid.
You can apply to change the conditions of your Talent (accredited employer) Work Visa to work for an employer who:
Your new job must pay at least the minimum salary you needed to earn when you applied for your visa.
You will need an 'Employer supplementary form (INZ 1113)' completed by your new employer, unless your employer:
Talent (accredited employer) Work Visa
If your employer loses their accreditation
If your employer loses or does not renew their accreditation, you can keep working for them without applying for a variation to the conditions of your visa.
You can apply for a variation of conditions to change your Work to Residence Visa.
Changing to a different accredited employer
You can change your conditions of your Work to Residence Visa to work for a different
Apply for a Job Change or a variation of conditions if you have a work visa
Changing employer because they lost accreditation
If your employer is no longer an
Apply for a Job Change or a variation of conditions if you have a work visa
If you want a new work visa
If you have a Work to Residence Visa and want a new work visa:
Note
From 2 December 2024, more people will be able to apply to change their Partner of a Worker Work Visa to an open work visa.
Changing your employer, job or location
You can change your employer, job or location without letting us know, but you must continue to meet the conditions on your Partner of a Worker Work Visa — this includes working for an
Changing to an open work visa
Your partner now earns at least NZD $26.85
You can apply to change your visa to an open work visa if your partner now:
You can also apply to change to an open work visa if your partner has an AEWV for an ANZSCO level 4 or 5 role, and they now:
Note
The Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (
District Health Boards (DHBs) are now called Te Whatu Ora — Health New Zealand.
If your employer is listed as a District Health Board (DHB) in your visa conditions, you can leave it as is. We accept your DHB visa condition as working for Health New Zealand.
If your job has been removed from the long term skill shortage list, your current Long Term Skill Shortage List (LTSSL) Work Visa will not be affected.
You can still apply for residence if you have been employed in New Zealand for 2 years on your visa, even if your job has been removed from the list. You must:
Changing how long you can study for on a work visa
To study for more than 3 months on a work visa, you may need to change the conditions of your current visa. If your main reason for being in New Zealand will be to study, you will need to apply for a student visa instead.
You do not need to do anything if:
- your employer has asked you to attend a course as part of your job, or
- you have a working holiday visa and are studying for less than 6 months.
Studying for more than 3 months
Apply for a variation of conditions if you want to study part-time for more than 3 months on your work visa. Your main reason for being in New Zealand is still to work, but you want to do extra part-time study.
With your application you need to include:
- an offer of place from the education provider you want to study with, and
- evidence that you have paid the tuition fees.
If study will be more important than work
Apply for a student visa if your study will be more important than your work. Your main reason for being in New Zealand will be to study.
Visas for studying in New Zealand
Changing your travel conditions
If you need to change the travel conditions on your work visa, you can apply on paper for a 'variation of travel conditions'.
For example, if you have a 'single entry' travel condition, you can apply to change it to a 'multiple entry' travel condition to let you travel in and out of New Zealand many times.
When you need a new visa
In some cases, it is not possible to apply for a variation of conditions, and you will need a new visa.
Examples of when you will need a new visa include the following.
- contact Immigration New Zealand to let us know about your job loss and apply for a new temporary visa to work, visit or study, or
- apply for a partner-based visa if you have a
who can apply for their own work visa and support your application.
If you lose your job or it ends unexpectedly, you will need to apply for a new visa.
You can:
If you lose your job during a 90-day trial period, you may be able to get a Dismissed Worker Visitor Visa.
Note
From 29 October 2023, accredited employers must not use trial periods in employment agreements when hiring people on an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV). The 90-day trial rule will not apply to migrants who already have, or have applied for, an AEWV based on a job check that was approved before 29 October 2023.
If you lose occupational registration for your job, and the law requires that you have it, you cannot work in that job.
You will need to apply for a new work visa in a job that does not require registration.
If you have a work visa with open work conditions, you can be self-employed.
Otherwise, check your visa conditions for the types of work you can do and cannot do.
If your visa conditions say that you cannot be self-employed, you will need to apply for a different visa. We have visas that let you start or invest in a business.
Note
You must apply for a new visa before your current visa expires. If your current temporary visa is going to expire while you are waiting for our decision, we will normally issue you an Interim Visa to let you stay in New Zealand lawfully.
How to apply for a variation of conditions or Job Change
Documents you need
For all applications you will need a copy of your passport or
If you are changing your job, employer or the location where you work, you will also need:
- an offer of employment and employment agreement
- the job check approval number, if required for an AEWV
- your Employer supplementary form (INZ 1113) completed by your new employer, if they are not an accredited employer
- a covering letter that sets out the length of your notice period, if required
- a letter from your new employer that declares they could not find suitable or available New Zealanders for the job, if required.
If you are applying to change your visa to an open work visa, you will also need evidence:
- of your partner's pay rise, or
- that your partner meets their Green List job requirements.
If you are changing your conditions to study for more than 3 months, you will also need:
- an offer of place from the education provider
- evidence you have paid the tuition fees.
- Job Change, if you have an AEWV
- variation of conditions, if you have a different work visa.
- your original work visa would have been given for the new work conditions you are asking for
- you have met the conditions of your current visa, and
- you still have a genuine intention to work in New Zealand.
- your original work visa would have been given for the new work conditions you are asking for
- you have met the conditions of your current visa, and
- you still have a genuine intention to work in New Zealand.
You can apply online for a:
Note
To apply for a variation of travel conditions, you will need to apply on paper.
1. Submit your application and pay the fee
To apply online, log in to your account, or set up an account if you do not have one already.
You can then fill in your application, upload your documents and pay the applicable fees.
Apply online for a Job Change or a variation of conditions for work visa holders
2. Wait for our decision
We will check that:
Genuine intentions to visit, study or work in New Zealand
We will let you know when we make a decision.
We may need more information from you before we can fully approve your application. We will contact you and let you know what we need.
When we fully approve your application, we will give you an updated eVisa.
Note
The changes to your visa do not start until we fully approve your application and give you an updated eVisa.
You can apply on paper to vary the conditions of your visa including travel conditions.
Note
To apply for a Job Change for an AEWV, you will need to apply online.
1. Complete the application form
Complete the application form and attach all supporting documents.
2. Submit your application and pay the fee
Use the tool on the page 'Fees, decisions times and where to apply' to find out how much it costs to apply for a variation of conditions, where to submit your application, and how long a decision will take.
Fees, decision times and where to apply
Note
Type in 'variation' to start your search when using the tool.
How long it takes to process an application
3. Wait for our decision
We will check that:
Genuine intentions to visit, study or work in New Zealand
We will let you know when we make a decision.
We may need more information from you before we can fully approve your application. We will contact you and let you know what we need.
When we fully approve your application, we will give you an updated eVisa.
Note
The changes to your visa do not start until we fully approve your application and give you an updated eVisa.
To apply for another temporary visa, you must:
- be in New Zealand when you apply
- have a current visa that is not a limited visa, Interim Visa or Transit Visa.