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Visa factsheet Specific Purpose Work Visa

This visa is for people who need to come to New Zealand for a specific purpose or event. To apply you’ll need to have skills related to your specific purpose or event and be able to define the time you’ll need to complete your specific purpose or event. Examples of people who may be able to apply include business people on secondments, sports players, professional coaches, specialist installers or services, and Philippines nurses seeking occupational registration.

Overview

Overview

Length of stay

How long you can stay

You can

  • Come to New Zealand for a specific purpose or event.
  • Work for a specific employer for the time allowed to complete your specific purpose or event.

Specific purpose or event

Things to note

  • If you have a current visitor visa, which you were granted as a guardian accompanying a student to New Zealand, you won’t be eligible for this visa.
  • If you’re an Entertainment industry worker in New Zealand for a specific purpose or event, you should apply for an ‘Entertainers Work Visa’ instead.
  • If you’re a Tour Guide from China, you should apply for a China Special Work Visa instead
  • You can't include your partner or dependent children in your visa application, but they can apply for visas based on their relationship to you.

Entertainers Work Visa
Explore family visa options

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

Show all evidence Hide all evidence

Identity

You must provide proof of your identity

EvidenceHide
  • 1 acceptable photo if you apply online, or 2 photos if you use a paper application form.
  • your passport or certificate of identity.

Acceptable photos

If you submit a paper application, provide your original passport or a certified copy.  We can usually process your application faster if you provide your original passport.

If you apply online, you must upload a copy of your passport when you apply. We will let you know if you need to send your passport after you've applied.

Sending your passport for online applications

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

If you are a citizen of China and you submit a paper application form in China, you must also complete a supplementary form.

Supplementary form for Chinese citizens (INZ 1027) PDF 306KB

If you are submitting a paper application form, you must provide a supplementary form for Hong Kong and Macao visitors, workers and students.

Supplementary form for Hong Kong and Macao visitors, workers and students (INZ 1220) PDF 322KB

Also provide your:

  • Hukou (household registration book)
  • Chinese identity card.

Also provide a copy of your Identity card.

Character

You must be of good character

EvidenceHide

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

If you're aged 17 or older and plan to stay in New Zealand for more than 24 months (including any time you have already spent in New Zealand), you must provide police certificates from:

  • any country you are a citizen of
  • any country you have spent more than 5 years in since you turned 17.

You don't need to provide police certificates if:

  • you have provided them to us with an earlier visa application, and
  • they were issued in the previous 24 months.

Good character

How to obtain 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.

Specific purpose or event

You must need to come to New Zealand for a specific purpose or event

EvidenceHide

There are a number of specific purposes or events that are acceptable. The evidence you will need to provide depends on the specific purpose or event you will be undertaking in New Zealand.

Specific purpose or event

If you’re coming to New Zealand to investigate investment opportunities, or you want to continue to operate your business while you await the outcome of your Entrepreneur residence application, we’ll use our records to check whether or not you’ve applied for residence under one of our Investment or Entrepreneur categories.

We won’t normally grant a visa if you have an offer of employment from an employer who is included on the list of non-compliant employers maintained by the Labour Inspectorate.

List of non-compliant employers

Time in New Zealand

You must specify the amount of time you need to complete your specific purpose or event

EvidenceHide

Your evidence may include the following:

  • a job offer
  • a letter of invitation
  • a schedule of events.

Employer supplementary form

You may need to provide an Employer Supplementary Form

EvidenceHide

If your specific purpose or event requires that you have a job offer, you must also provide an ‘Employer Supplementary Form’ completed by your employer.

This will apply if you’re:

  • a senior or specialist business person with a job offer in a substantial New Zealand company or a New Zealand subsidiary of an overseas company
  • a dance or music examiner with a job offer
  • a sports player or professional coach with an offer of paid employment from a New Zealand sports club
  • a Philippines nurse with a job offer from a District Health Board.

Specific purpose or event
Employer Supplementary Form INZ 1113 PDF 259KB

Dance or music examiners who have a written invitation don’t have to provide an ‘Employer Supplementary Form’.

Qualifications and/or work experience

You may need qualifications and experience

EvidenceHide

You must provide evidence you have relevant qualifications or experience, if they’re necessary to carry out your specific purpose or event.

Examples of evidence include:

  • employment records or references
  • recognised international dance or music teaching qualifications
  • Philippines nurse qualifications
  • documents that show you have international merit or distinction
  • any other relevant qualifications.

Specific purpose or event

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

If you need to provide evidence of work experience in a European country but are not a citizen of a Schengen member state, 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.

Onward travel

You must have made arrangements to leave New Zealand

EvidenceHide

Evidence can include:

  • a travel ticket out of New Zealand, or proof you have enough money to buy one
  • a letter from your New Zealand employer guaranteeing they’ll cover the cost of your return home if you’re unable to.

Funds

You must demonstrate that you have sufficient funds for your maintenance and accommodation while you are in New Zealand.

EvidenceHide

You can demonstrate you have sufficient funds by providing:

  • Bank statements
  • Evidence of wages, salary or other payment that will be sufficient to support you while you are in New Zealand
  • A guarantee of maintenance and accommodation by your employer
  • Sponsorship by a relative or friend in New Zealand.
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.

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.

Travelling to and 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 take your photo or to provide us with your fingerprints or an iris scan, if asked for them
  • you’re unable to provide evidence of any onward travel or funds required by the conditions of your visa.

If you are refused entry to New Zealand

Onward travel

You must have a ticket to leave New Zealand or enough money to buy one.

Unless your visa label or letter states “Return/onward travel not required” you must have a ticket to leave New Zealand whenever you travel here.

Work

You may work only in the specific occupation, for the employer and in the location specified on your visa.

Visa expiry

You must leave New Zealand before your visa expires.

If you need more time to complete your specific purpose or event, you may be able to apply for another Specific Purpose or Event Work Visa.

Senior business people on short-term secondments can apply to stay another 12 months.

Business people, who are being transferred from one part of a multinational company to another in New Zealand, can apply to stay another 3 years.

Specific purpose or event

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

Show all evidence Hide all evidence

Job offer

You must provide a job offer, letter of invitation or schedule of events

EvidenceHide

Your offer, letter or schedule must:

  • set out the length of time your candidate will need to be in New Zealand for the specific purpose or event
  • describe the specific purpose or event your candidate will need to be in New Zealand for

include your guarantee that you’ll cover the cost of your candidate’s return home, if they’re unable to.

What a specific purpose or event is

Employer supplementary form

You may need to provide an ‘Employer Supplementary Form’

EvidenceHide

If you’ll be providing paid employment, you must complete an ‘Employer Supplementary Form’.

This will apply if you’re offering:

  • a job in a substantial New Zealand company or a New Zealand subsidiary of an overseas company to a senior or specialist business person
  • a job to a dance or music examiner
  • paid employment in a New Zealand sports club to a sports player or professional coach
  • a job offer with a District Health Board to a Philippines nurse.

You’ll need to give your completed form to your candidate, who will need to include it with their work visa application.

Employer Supplementary Form (INZ 1113) PDF 259KB

You don’t have to provide an Employer Supplementary Form for dance or music examiners who you’ve provided a written invitation to.

Information updated on 2019/06/11 15:23:2.128476 GMT+12