Fishing Crew Work Visa

Check if you are eligible to apply for this visa and what supporting documents and information you need to provide.

Identity

You must provide proof of your identity:

• 2 acceptable photos of your head and shoulders
• your passport or

Visa and NZeTA photos

You may provide your original passport, or a certified copy when you submit your application. If you provide a certified copy we may request your original passport to complete your application.

Citizens of China applying from China

Also provide your:

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

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

Applicants from Hong Kong or Macao applying within Hong Kong or Macao

Also provide a copy of your identity card.

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

Health

You must be in good health.

We may ask you to have a chest X-ray, a medical examination or both as proof of your good health.

If you are staying less than:

• 6 months you do not normally need a chest X-ray. 
• 12 months you do not normally need a medical certificate. 

Who needs an X-ray or medical examination

When we process your application we let you know if we need you to have a chest X-ray or medical examination.

Why you may need to provide evidence you are in good health

Applicants from China, Hong Kong or Macao applying within China, Hong Kong or Macao

You must provide a chest X-ray completed in the last 3 months, even if you have provided one to us previously, if:

• you have spent 6 months in a row in China since the last X-ray certificate was issued, and
• you are now coming to New Zealand for more than 6 months.

Character

You must be of good character.

If you have a criminal conviction or are a security risk to New Zealand we may not be able to grant you a visa.

Character requirements for New Zealand visas

You must provide police certificates if your total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or longer across all visits. This includes any time you have spent in New Zealand in the past on other visas, even if you have been out of the country since then.

You also must provide police certificates if we ask for them.

Police certificates must be less than 6 months old when you submit your application. They must be from any country you are a citizen of, or have spent more than 5 years in since you turned 17.

If you are 16 years old or younger you do not need to provide police certificates.

Police certificates

How to get a police certificate

If you have already sent us police certificates with a previous visa application and they are less than 24 months old, you do not need to send them again.

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.

Providing English translations of supporting documents

Genuine intentions

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

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

• you provide to support your application
• we have about your personal circumstances
• you provided in any previous applications.

Genuine intentions to visit, study or work in New Zealand

Your employer

Your employer must be allowed to recruit foreign workers.

For your employer to be allowed to recruit foreign workers, they must either:

• have a current Approval in Principle (AIP) from Immigration New Zealand to recruit foreign workers
• be recruiting 6 or fewer crew members for work on a single vessel in a calendar year

You must provide information about your employer with your visa application. This can be either:

• an AIP letter from your employer
• a 'Supplementary Form for Foreign Crew of a Fishing Vessel' completed by your employer.

We will not normally grant a visa if your employer is included on the stand-down list of non-compliant employers maintained by Employment New Zealand.

Employers on stand-down — Employment New Zealand

New Zealand job offer

You must have an offer to work on a fishing vessel in New Zealand waters.

You must provide a written employment agreement in English, which must:

• agree to pay you at least the New Zealand minimum wage plus another NZD $5.00 an hour 
• agree to pay you for all the hours you work and not less than 42 hours a week on average over the time you spend working in New Zealand waters
• include information on what to you if you have a disagreement with your employer
• detail any deductions, for example, for food, visa application fees and airfares
• if it is from a New Zealand employer, comply with New Zealand employment law
• if it is from a foreign employer, comply with the standard principles for crew employment agreements.

Employment agreements — Employment New Zealand

Work experience

You must be qualified by training or experience to do the work you are offered.

You must have at least 12 months of work experience in a position that is similar that the one you have been offered. Evidence can include:

• your seaman's log
• letters from previous employers.

Sponsorship

Your employer must agree to cover the costs of your accommodation, living expenses, and return home.

Your New Zealand employer or their agent in New Zealand must complete a 'Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry'.

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

These are the conditions that you must meet once you have your visa. Your visa conditions are recorded in your eVisa.

Travel

Most visitors to New Zealand are granted multiple entry visas.

If you have a multiple entry visa, you can travel to and from New Zealand as many times as you like before your visa expires.

If you have a single entry visa, your visa will expire when you leave New Zealand.

Work

You can only work in New Zealand waters, on the New Zealand or foreign chartered fishing vessel, and for the employer listed in your visa.

Study

You can study for up to 3 months.

Visa expiry

You must leave New Zealand before your visa expires.