Accredited Employer Work Visa

The total amount of time you can stay in New Zealand (also called your maximum continuous stay) on 1 or more Accredited Employer Work Visas (AEWVs) depends on:

• when you applied for your first AEWV
• the skill level of your job on the , and
• how much you are paid.

The total amount of time you can stay in New Zealand can be 5 years for most jobs, or 3 years if your job is ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5.

How long you can stay on an AEWV

Wage rates for work visas

If the length of your visa is less than the total amount of time you can stay in New Zealand (your maximum continuous stay), you can apply for further AEWVs to be able to stay for that maximum time. 

Applying for another AEWV

When you have stayed for as long as you can, you must leave the country for a period of time before you can come back to New Zealand on another AEWV.

To apply for this visa, you must:

• have an offer of full-time work from an accredited employer
• meet our skill requirements
• meet the requirements of your job's ANZSCO skill level and qualifications
• have the skills and experience your employer requires
• have occupational registration, if your job requires it to work in New Zealand
• have spent the required time outside New Zealand if applying for another Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) after staying for as long as you can on previous AEWVs
• speak and understand English, if your ANZSCO job skill level is 4 or 5 and not exempt
• not include your partner and dependent children
• be in good health
• have a good character
• have a genuine reason for coming to New Zealand.

New Zealand job offer

You must have an offer of full-time work from an accredited employer.

Your job offer must be:

• current at the time you apply for your visa
• for at least 30 hours of work a week
• from an employer who is accredited to hire migrants for the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) and has an approved job check for your job
• paid at least the for your job.

AEWV employer accreditation and job check process

In your visa application you must include:

• a copy of the employment agreement and job description
• a signed copy of the job offer.

The employment agreement must include:

• your employer's name, address and phone number
• your name and address
• your job title
• the address for your place of work
• the kind of work you will be doing and your responsibilities at work
• details of any necessary qualifications or experience of working in that type of job
• information about whether you need New Zealand registration to do the job
• what hours you will work and how long the job will be for
• how long you have to take up the job offer
• pay and job conditions that comply with New Zealand employment law.

The employment agreement cannot include:

• clauses that do not comply with employment law
• unlawful deductions
• a trial period
• unacceptable bonding clauses — these are provisions in an employment agreement that require you to repay money to your employer if you leave your job within a certain timeframe.

If you apply for a work visa or apply to vary the conditions of your work visa based on a new offer of employment, and the employment agreement does not meet these requirements the application may be declined.

Your employment agreement must be with an accredited employer who has a history of compliance with immigration and employment law. 

Accredited employer list

Immigration stand-down list

Employers on stand-down — Employment New Zealand

Your job offer cannot be for:

• planting, maintaining, harvesting or packing crops in the horticulture or viticulture industries
• foreign crew of fishing vessels, or
• self-employed work.

You must apply for a different work visa for these types of jobs.

Visas for working in New Zealand

Minimum AEWV skill requirements

You must show you meet the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) job skill requirements that we set.

You must have either:

• 2 years or more of relevant job experience, or
• a qualification at level 4 or higher on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF).

Your qualification or job experience must be in the same field or industry as the job you have been offered. If you have a Bachelor's degree or higher, your qualification can be in any field or industry.

Job experience evidence

You must provide evidence that you have work experience — evidence that you have worked in the job before. The evidence must be from someone other than yourself, and can include:

• letters of reference from a former employer
• certificates of employment
• pay slips
• tax certificates.

Providing a CV or resume is not sufficient.

Employment certificates should be on the employer's official letterhead. They must be complete and be independently verifiable. The certificate must show as a minimum: the positions you held, the periods of your employment, your employer's address and contact details.

Your 2 years of work experience does not need to be consecutive, and it does not have to be full time. It must amount to a total of 2 years equivalent full-time work experience. You must provide evidence of the number of hours you have worked.

Citizens of Brazil applying from Brazil

If you are a citizen of Brazil you should provide your work book as evidence of your work experience.

Applicants from Eastern Europe

If you are from and you need to provide evidence of relevant work experience in Eastern Europe, you should provide a copy of your from that country.

Applicants from Europe applying from within Schengen member states

If you need to provide evidence of work experience in a European country but are not a citizen of a , you should provide evidence of your right to work in that country.

Evidence of your right to work is a copy of your Schengen visa for the time you were working.

Filipino citizens applying from within the Philippines

Evidence of work experience includes employment certificates, employment contracts, payslips, Social Security System (SSS) records, PhilHealth records and income tax returns (with receipts).

If you have worked overseas, you should provide a copy of your work visa and POEA Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) or e-Receipt, along with a copy your job descriptions.

Qualifications evidence

You must provide copies of your qualifications with your application.

You also must provide an from the if your qualification is:

• below a Bachelor's degree, and
• from outside of New Zealand.

This is to check if your qualification is comparable with a level 4 New Zealand qualification or higher.

Apply for an International Qualification Assessment (IQA) – NZQA website

When evidence is not required

You do not need to provide any additional evidence to show you meet our minimum skill requirements if: 

• your job is on the Green List of jobs in demand in New Zealand, and you provide evidence that you meet the Green List requirements for that job
• you have occupational registration for your job, which required evidence of job experience or qualifications to get, and you provide this evidence to us
• you are paid at least NZD $59.32 an hour (2 times the February 2023 median wage), or
• you have already given us evidence of your level 4 or higher qualification, or that you have worked in a similar job for 2 or more years on a previous visa application.

Green List roles — jobs we need people for in New Zealand

Check if you need occupational registration for your job

If your job is paid less than $29.66 an hour

You may not need to provide evidence showing you meet our minimum skill requirements if your job is paid less than the $29.66 an hour (the February 2023 median wage) and was part of the:

• meat processing sector agreement
• seafood processing sector agreement
• care workforce sector agreement, or
• tourism and hospitality wage exemption.

To find out if your job is exempt from meeting minimum skill requirements, check the list of AEWV jobs that were part of a sector agreement or wage exemption. You can filter by sector agreement, job title, or use keywords.

Sector agreements and wage exemptions for AEWV workers

ANZSCO skill levels and qualifications

We use the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) to check:

• the skill levels of jobs
• the qualifications and experience you need to work in those jobs.

There may be other skill and qualification requirements to meet depending on the ANZSCO level of your job.

Find your ANZSCO skill level list

If your job is at ANZSCO level 4 or 5:

• you must show that you can speak and understand English
• you may have a shorter total time you can stay in New Zealand of 3 years instead of 5 years.

How long you can stay on an AEWV

Employer's requirements of skills and experience

You must show you have the job skills and experience your employer has asked for.

These requirements may include evidence of your:

• job experience
• skills
• qualifications
• registration for your job, known as occupational registration.

If you are providing this evidence for other Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) criteria, you do not need to provide it again.

However, it may include other evidence such as:

• additional qualifications specific to the role, or
• certifications specific to the role.

Occupational registration

In New Zealand you have to be registered to work in some jobs — this is called occupational registration. 

If you need occupational registration, you must provide either:

• a of your full or provisional New Zealand registration
• confirmation from the appropriate registration body that your job is eligible for New Zealand registration.

Check if you need occupational registration for your job

Time required outside New Zealand

If you have stayed in New Zealand for as long as you are allowed on 1 or more Accredited Employer Work Visas (AEWVs), you must leave New Zealand for a required amount of time — normally 12 months in a row — to be eligible for another AEWV.

The total amount of time you can stay in New Zealand (also called your maximum continuous stay) can be

• 3 years, if your job is level 4 or 5 on the
• 5 years in most cases, if your job is level 1, 2 or 3 on the ANZSCO list.

How long you can stay on an AEWV

If you have an AEWV with a visa length that is less than the total time you can stay in New Zealand, you can apply for another AEWV before your current AEWV expires without leaving New Zealand for 12 months.

Applying for another AEWV

English language

If your job skill level is 4 or 5 on the , you must show that you can speak and understand English.

There are 2 ways to show us you speak and understand English – either through:

• your citizenship, where you studied and the qualifications you gained, or
• English language tests.

The results of your English language test must:

• meet the minimum score we set, and
• be no more than 2 years old when you apply.

If your job skill level is 1 to 3 on ANZSCO, you do not need to show you can speak or understand English.

f your job is recognised as ANZSCO skill level 3 you do not have to show that you can speak and understand English.

ANZSCO occupations recognised at a higher skill level

Find out about the citizenship requirements, the evidence needed for study and qualifications, or the test results required.

English language requirements for the Accredited Employer Work Visa

Partner and dependent children

You cannot include your partner and dependent children in an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV). However, if you have an AEWV you may be able to support:

• a visitor visa for your partner
• a work visa for your partner
• visitor visas for your children
• student visas for your children.

Supporting a visa for your partner or dependent children depends on how much you earn and your job skill level on ANZSCO.

Bringing family if you have an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV)

Health

To get an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), you need to have good health. After you submit your application, we will check any medical information you have submitted and contact you if we need new medical information.

If staying for more than 6 months

If you will stay in New Zealand for more than 6 months, you must have a chest X-ray if you:

• are a citizen of a country that does not have a low incidence of tuberculosis (TB), or
• have spent more than 3 months in the last 5 years in a country that does not have a low incidence of TB.

You must provide a new chest X-ray certificate, even if you have provided one to us previously, if you:

• have spent 6 months in a row in a country that does not have a low incidence of TB since the date of your last X-ray certificate, and
• are now coming to New Zealand for more than 6 months — if you are in New Zealand this includes any time you have already spent here.

Countries with a low incidence of tuberculosis

Character

You may need to provide police certificates as proof of your good character.

If you have a criminal conviction, or are a security risk to New Zealand, we might not give you a visa.

Character requirements for New Zealand visas 

You must provide police certificates that are less than 6 months old when you apply, if:

• you are aged 17 or older, and
• your total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or longer — this includes time you spent in New Zealand in the past on other visas.

Police certificates must be from:

• countries you are a citizen of, and
• countries you have spent more than 5 years in since you turned 17.

You do not need to provide police certificates if you provided them with an earlier visa application and they were issued in the last 24 months.

If we ask for a new police certificate when processing your application, you will need to send us a new one.

Police certificates

Applicants from the Philippines

The acceptable character certificate for the Philippines is the NBI clearance.

Genuine intentions

You must genuinely intend to meet the conditions of your visa.

When we decide if your intentions are genuine, we will consider all the information that:

• you provide to support your application
• we have about your personal circumstances
• you have previously given to us.

Genuine intentions to visit, study or work in New Zealand

When you apply

When you apply, you will need to provide:

• a signed copy of a New Zealand job offer
• copy of the employment agreement and job description
• a scan of your passport or
• 1 acceptable photo
• evidence of job experience, skills and qualifications
• evidence of occupational registration, if applicable
• evidence you can speak and understand English, if applicable
• police certificates, if required
• a chest X-ray certificate, if required
• a medical certificate, if required
• translated versions of all your documents if they are not in English.

Visa and NZeTA photos

Providing your passport for an online application

Your passport or certificate of identity must be valid for at least 3 months after the date you plan to leave New Zealand.

After you apply

After you apply, we may contact you and ask for:

• your original passport or certificate of identity
• evidence of a medical examination or chest X-ray
• police certificates as proof of your good character
• more evidence of your ability to speak and understand English — you may have to sit a test and send us the results.

When you arrive

When you arrive, you may need to show evidence of a job offer.

Your visa is valid from:

• the date you enter New Zealand, if you are outside New Zealand, or
• the date you get your visa, if you are already in New Zealand.

You must leave New Zealand before your visa expires.

Entry permission

You must apply for permission to enter New Zealand. You do this by completing a New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD) form.

You can start your digital declaration any time, but the earliest you can submit it is 24 hours before starting your travel to New Zealand.

A paper declaration form is available for travellers who cannot complete it online.

New Zealand Traveller Declaration

New Zealand Customs and Biosecurity also check that you meet their entry requirements.

Arriving in New Zealand

If the length of your visa is less than the total amount of time you can stay in New Zealand (your maximum continuous stay), you can apply for further Accredited Employer Work Visas (AEWVs) to be able to stay for that maximum time. 

Applying for another AEWV

You may be able to apply for a resident visa and live in New Zealand as a resident depending on the skill level of your job.

Find out if you are eligible to apply for residency.

Getting New Zealand residence based on your skills