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Information about Employees of Relocating Business Resident Visa

You can apply for this visa if you’re a key employee of a business that’s relocating to New Zealand, and you’re not eligible to apply for any other kind of New Zealand resident visa. If we approve your application in principle, we’ll grant you a work visa to relocate the business. If you meet the conditions of your work visa, you may be able to live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely.

Overview

Overview

Length of stay

If you meet the visa conditions, indefinitely

With this visa you can

  • Work in the business you’re relocating with.
  • Bring your partner and dependent with you.
  • Live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely, after you meet the conditions of your visa.

Things to note

  • We may grant you a work visa to allow you to relocate the business, before we grant you a resident visa.
  • If you include a partner and dependent children in your application, we may grant them visitor or student visas while you relocate the business.
Criteria

Meeting the criteria

The criteria and evidence below will provide you with the information you need to meet the requirements.

Use the filters to display country specific tips, under evidence, to assist you with your application

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Identity

You must provide proof of your identity

EvidenceHide

Acceptable photos

Also provide a copy of your Identity card.

Passports must be valid for at least 3 months after you plan to leave New Zealand.

If your birth certificate isn’t available, we’ll accept your School Leaving Certificate or Class 10th or 12th Certificate.

If you’re unable to provide a copy of your birth certificate, we’ll accept your identity card as proof of your identity.

We don’t accept delays or expense as reasons for not providing a birth certificate.

Character

You must be of good character

EvidenceHide

If you are 17 or over, you must provide a police certificate from:

  • your country of citizenship
  • any other country where you have spent 12 months or more over the last 10 years, even if you did not spend that 12 months all in one visit.

Good character

How to get a police certificate

If you provide a police certificate that is not in English, you must provide an English translation.

This includes police certificates that record no convictions.

Fit and proper person

You must be a fit and proper person

EvidenceHide

You must confirm in the application form that you meet fit and proper person requirements.

To be a fit and proper person, all businesses you have influence over must have complied with all immigration, employment and taxation laws. You must also:

  • have never been investigated by the Serious Fraud Office or the New Zealand police for any offence resulting from business dealings
  • have no convictions for an offence involving dishonesty
  • have never been involved in business fraud or financial impropriety.

We’ll contact you if you need to provide further information.

Bring family

Your partner and dependent children must meet the requirements for this visa

EvidenceHide

You must provide evidence:

  • of your relationship with your partner and dependent children, like a marriage certificate and birth certificates
  • that your partner and dependent children meet the identity, character, health and English language requirements for this visa.

Partnership
Dependent children

The relocating business

You must provide a letter from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the business you’re relocating with

EvidenceHide

The CEO’s letter must include:

  • the name of the business
  • the business’ New Zealand location
  • the reason the business is relocating to New Zealand
  • confirmation that the business will comply with New Zealand employment and immigration laws
  • your current role in the business
  • your role in the business after its relocation
  • the reasons you’re integral to the business
  • the ways in which the relocation will benefit New Zealand.

We’ll consider the relocated benefits to New Zealand if the business is trading profitably (or has the potential to do so in the next 12 months) and contributing to our economic growth, for example:

  • introducing new technology, management or technical skills
  • enhancing existing technology, management or technical skills
  • introducing new products or services
  • enhancing existing products or services
  • creating new export markets
  • expanding existing export markets
  • creating at least 1 full-time job for a New Zealander.

You can only apply for an ‘Employee of a Relocating Business Resident Visa’ if you’re not eligible for any other resident visa.

Your role in the business

Your role must be integral to the business

EvidenceHide

You must provide evidence of your role in the relocating business. This can include original or certified copies of any of the following:

  • letters of appointment
  • certificates of service
  • pay slips
  • job descriptions
  • tax records
  • performance reviews
  • references from your employer.

Employer references should:

  • be on company letterhead
  • describe your role in the business
  • include the date you started working for them
  • include your employer’s contact number and address.

We may ask for extra information to confirm your role in the business.

Employment and immigration law

The business must comply with New Zealand employment and immigration law.

EvidenceHide

We may ask you to provide evidence that the business:

  • pays workers no less than the minimum wage or other contracted industry standard
  • meets holiday and other leave requirements
  • provides a safe workplace
  • only employs people who are allowed to work in New Zealand.

If the business is included on the list of non-compliant employers maintained by the Labour Inspectorate then we can’t approve your application.

List of non-compliant employers

Business set up

The business must be operating in New Zealand

EvidenceHide

To be granted residence, the relocated business must be operating in New Zealand.  Evidence may include:

  • a certificate of incorporation
  • audited accounts
  • GST records
  • other tax records
  • documents showing a business site has been purchased or leased
  • invoices for business equipment and supplies
  • any other documents that show the business is operating, eg employment agreements, bank statements, power bills, sales agreements, contracts to provide products or services.
Process

Process

The information below will help you understand the process so you can plan ahead and have the best chance of submitting a complete application.

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Fees & receiving centre

Fees & receiving centre

The information below will help you understand the process, timeframes and costs involved in applying for this visa, so you can plan ahead and have the best chance of submitting a complete application.

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Conditions

Conditions

These are the conditions that you must meet once you have your visa.

Entry permission

You must apply for entry permission when you arrive in New Zealand. You can do this by completing an arrival card, which you are given on the way to New Zealand.

Arriving in New Zealand

You can be refused entry permission if:

  • you don’t meet our character requirements
  • your circumstances have changed since you were granted a visa
  • you refuse to let us to take your photo, or provide us with your fingerprints or an iris scan, if we ask you for them.

Travel

You must come to New Zealand within 12 months of the date your visa is granted.

After you arrive in New Zealand, you can come and go from New Zealand as many times as you like before your visa expires.

To travel after the 24-month period, you’ll need to apply for a variation of conditions or a permanent resident visa.

Work

You must work only for the business that you are relocating with for the 24 months following the relocation of the business.

Three months before the expiry of the 24-month employment period, we’ll ask you for evidence you have met this condition.

If we’re unable to confirm that you’ve met the conditions, you and your family may not be able to stay in New Zealand.

New Zealand law

If it’s your role to do so, you must make sure the relocated business complies with New Zealand immigration and employment law.

Three months before the expiry of the 24-month employment period, we’ll ask you for evidence you have met this condition.

If we’re unable to confirm that you’ve met the conditions, you and your family may not be able to stay in New Zealand.

Contact details

You must let us know if your address or other contact details change in the 24 months you’ll be working for the business you’re relocating with.

Keep your visa in a valid passport

If you want to travel, your visa must be in a valid passport.

If your passport expires, you must apply to transfer your visa to a new passport before you can travel.

Transferring my visa to a new passport

To transfer your visa, you must:

  • send us your old and new passports
  • complete an ‘Application for Transfer or Confirmation of a Visa’
  • pay a transfer fee.

 

Application for Transfer or Confirmation of a Visa (INZ 1023)

Fees, decision times and where to apply

Employers

Employer obligations

New Zealand employers have certain obligations they must meet when employing a non New Zealand resident.

What an employer needs to do

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Business up and running

We’ll ask any relocating employees for evidence that your business is up and running

EvidenceHide

Evidence can include:

  • a certificate of incorporation
  • audited accounts
  • GST records
  • other tax records
  • documents showing a business site has been purchased or leased
  • invoices for business equipment and supplies
  • any other documents that show the business is up and running, eg employment agreements, bank statements, power bills for the business, sales agreements, contracts to provide products or services.

We can grant temporary work visas to key employees to get the business up and running and resident visas once the business is operating.

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Support

Your business relocation must have the support of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise

EvidenceHide

Contact NZTE before your employees make a visa application.

Email: exporthelp@nzte.govt.nz

We will contact NZTE to check your relocating business has their support.

Letter from the CEO

Your business’ CEO must provide relocating employees with a letter

EvidenceHide

The CEO’s letter must include:

  • the name of the business
  • the business’ intended New Zealand location
  • the reason the business is relocating to New Zealand
  • confirmation that the business will comply with New Zealand employment and immigration laws
  • the relocating employees’ current roles in the business
  • the relocating employees’ roles in the business after its relocation
  • the reasons the relocating employees are integral to the business
  • the ways in which the business relocation will benefit New Zealand.

 

We’ll consider the relocation benefits New Zealand if the business is trading profitably (or has the potential to do so in the next 12 months) and contributing to our economic growth by, for example:

  • introducing new technology, management or technical skills
  • enhancing existing technology, management or technical skills
  • introducing new products or services
  • enhancing existing products or services
  • creating new export markets
  • expanding existing export markets
  • creating at least 1 full-time job for a New Zealander.

Employees can only apply for a ‘Employees of Relocating Business Resident visa’ if they’re not eligible for any other resident visa.

Information updated on 2020/12/21 15:31:40.040046 GMT+13