Changing the conditions of a work visa or applying for a Job Change

Some work visas come with conditions or rules about your employment. Find out if you can change these conditions or apply for a Job Change.

Finding your visa conditions

Your conditions are recorded in your eVisa, on the visa label in your passport, or explained to you in a letter we sent you.

Check your visa conditions

Conditions you can change

If your work visa comes with conditions you can apply to change:

the employer you work for
the job you are doing
the location you are working
how long you can study for while you work.

Note

Even if you change the conditions of your visa, it will still expire on the same date.

You want to change job, employer or location

If your work visa lets you work in any job, for any employer and in any location, you do not need to apply for a variation of conditions or a Job Change.

Before you apply

If you are changing your job, employer or the location where you work, you need to include in your application:

an offer of employment
an employment agreement
our Employer supplementary form (INZ 1113), completed by your new employer if they are not an accredited employer
if you need to work out a notice period, a covering letter that sets out how long your notice period is
if you have an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), the job check approval number
if you have an Essential Skills Work Visa, a letter from your employer confirming they advertised the job, if required
if you have an Essential Skills Work Visa or AEWV and you are changing occupation, evidence that you are suitably qualified for the role.

Employer supplementary form (INZ 1113) PDF 388KB

If you have an Accredited Employer Work Visa

You can apply for a Job Change to change your employer, job, location, or a combination of these.

Your employer must be accredited to hire migrants for the AEWV and have a valid job check for your new job. You will need the job check approval number for your application.

If you want to change to a job paid below the median wage, it must be exempt from paying the median wage. Your current visa must also be valid for no longer than the maximum visa length allowed for roles paid below the median wage. You must apply for a new AEWV if your current visa is valid for longer than the time allowed.

Roles exempt from the median wage

We use the current median wage when assessing Job Change applications.

Note

We will use NZD $27.76 an hour as the median wage until 27 February 2023. From 27 February 2023 we will use NZD $29.66, unless your role is exempt.

If you have an Essential Skills Work Visa

You can apply to change your employer, job, location, or a combination of these.

If you are changing your job or location, your employer must:

have advertised the job and
been unable to find suitable or available New Zealand workers.

During your application you will need to upload a letter from your employer. In the letter they must declare they could not find suitable or available New Zealanders for the job.

Your employer does not need to advertise your new job, and you do not need to upload a letter, if the role is:

on the Essential Skills in Demand List and you meet the requirements of the list
on the Green List and you meet the requirements of the list or
paid at least twice the median wage.

If your new job has different skills and experience requirements to your old job, you will need to show that you are suitably qualified for the job.

Essential Skills in Demand list

Green list roles

How we calculate pay rates for AEWV

If you have a Post Study Work Visa (employer-assisted)

If you have a Post Study Work Visa (employer-assisted) or we accepted your application for one before 26 November 2018, you can choose to have the job, location and employer removed. You can then work for any employer.

Changing a Post Study Work Visa

If you have a Talent (accredited employer) Work Visa

Before 4 July 2022 employers were able to apply for accreditation under the Talent (accredited employer) Work Visa policy. It was replaced by the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) from 4 July 2022. Visas granted under the Talent (accredited employer) policy are still valid.

You can apply for a variation of conditions to change your employer.

You can change to an employer:

who is accredited under the Talent (accredited employer) policy
who was previously accredited under the Talent (accredited employer) policy but their accreditation expired after 31 March 2021
who is not accredited under the Talent (accredited employer) policy, if your current job is no longer available for reasons outside your control.

You do not need to complete an Employer supplementary form (INZ 1113) if your new employer:

was accredited under the Talent (accredited employer) policy and their accreditation expired after 31 March 2021, or
is currently accredited under the Talent (accredited employer) policy or the AEWV policy.

Your new job must pay the same or more than the minimum salary you needed to earn when you applied for your visa.

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.

If you have a Partner of a Worker Work Visa

If you hold a work visa with conditions you can change to an open visa if your partner has either:

been given a pay rise and now earns at least twice the median wage, or
had their role added to the Green List, they meet the role's Green List requirements, and they earn at least the median wage.

The wage requirements page has the current median wage rate.
Wage rate requirements for visas

Green List roles

Pay rise or Green List evidence you need for your application

Pay rise evidence you need for your application are your partner's:

employment agreement or a letter from their employer confirming the pay and hours, and
full bank statements showing a salary payment or a summary of income details from Inland Revenue or pay slips.

Green List evidence must show that your partner meets the Green List requirements. These are set out for each role in the Green List.

How to apply to change your work visa conditions

Download and complete the application form.
INZ 1020 Application for a Variation of Conditions PDF 268KB

Our online fees tool can tell you how much your application will be and where to send it.
Fees, decision times, where to apply

Changing your job or location due to extreme weather events

If you need to change your job and/or location because your work has been impacted by the extreme weather events that happened in January and February 2023, you can do this for up to 2 months without breaching your visa conditions.

You cannot change your employer. If you want to change your employer you must apply for a Job Change. If you want to change your job and/or location for more than 2 months you also must apply for a Job Change.

You and your employer must both agree to vary your location or job. You or your employer do not need to let us know about the change. This measure is only for situations where workers need to work outside their conditions as a direct result of extreme weather events.

Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers

RSE employers have additional obligations towards their workers. We have communicated directly with RSE employers about options for flexibility within the RSE scheme. You can speak with your employer for more information if you are an RSE worker.

You want to study

If you want to study for more than 3 months on a work visa, you may need to apply for a variation of conditions or a student visa.

Your visa must match your main purpose for being in New Zealand. If your main purpose is still to work, but your study will complement this work, then normally you need to apply for a variation of conditions. If your main purpose is to study, then you should apply for a student visa.

When to apply for a variation of conditions

Apply for a variation of conditions if you want to study part time for more than 3 months.

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.

When to apply for a student visa

Apply for a student visa if your study will be more important than your work.

Explore visa options to study

When you can work and study without a student visa or a variation of conditions

If you are planning to study for more than 3 months, you do not need to apply for a variation of conditions or a student visa if:

your employer requires you to undertake the study as part of your employment, or
you have a working holiday visa and are studying for less than 6 months.

How to apply for a variation of conditions or Job Change

Online form

Work visa holders can apply online for a variation of conditions and AEWV holders can apply online for a Job Change.

If you need to apply for a variation of travel conditions, you will need to apply on paper.

Application for a Job Change or a variation of conditions for work visa holders

On paper

Follow these steps.

Download, print and complete the application form for a variation of conditions.
Use our online tool to find out where to send your application and how much it costs.
Send in your application with the fee and any supporting evidence.

Application for a Variation of Conditions or a Variation of Travel Conditions (INZ 1020) PDF 268KB

Our online tool also tells you how long it normally takes us to make a decision.

Fees, decision times and where to apply

Assessing your application

Before we approve your application we check that:

the new conditions you are asking for align with the reason your visa was originally granted
you have met the conditions of your current visa, and
you still have a genuine intention to work in New Zealand.

Genuine intentions to visit, study or work in New Zealand