Fishing Crew Work Visa

Apply for this visa to work as crew on a fishing vessel in New Zealand waters. You must have a job offer and the skills and experience to do the role.

Length of stay
Up to

12 months

Cost
From
NZD $1355
Processing time
80% within
4 months
With this visa you can
  • Work in a fishing vessel in New Zealand waters.
  • Do only the work for the employer who offered it to you.
Things to note
  • If you do any work on land or for another employer, you’ll have to leave New Zealand and you won’t be able to return.
  • Learn more about your rights and your employer's obligations.
    Fishing crew rights and obligations
  • It’s a good idea to keep your seaman’s book up-to-date. A seaman’s book is a good way to show us you have the necessary experience to apply for a work visa.
  • You can't include a partner or dependent children in your visa application.

What you need to apply

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

View All Evidence

You must provide proof of your identity:

Acceptable 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.

Tips

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

Also provide a copy of your Identity card.

Also provide your:

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

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 338KB

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 240KB

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.

Acceptable standard of health criteria for visa approvals

Provide medical certificates if requested

Tips

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

  • you have spent 6 consecutive months in China since the last x-ray certificate was issued, and
  • you are now coming to NZ for more than 6 months.

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

Good character for temporary 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.

Providing 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.

Tips

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.

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 NZ

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

  • have a current Approval in Principle (AIP) from INZ 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 won’t normally grant a visa if your employer is included on the list of employers on stand-down maintained by the Labour Inspectorate.

Supplementary Form for Foreign Crew of a Fishing Vessel (INZ 1213) PDF 556KB

List of non-compliant employers

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$6.00 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 do if you have a disagreement with your employer
  • detail any deductions, eg for food, visa application fees and airfares
  • if it’s from a New Zealand employer, comply with New Zealand employment law
  • if it’s from a foreign employer, comply with the standard principles for Crew employment agreements.

Standard principles for crew employment agreements

Employment agreements

Tips

Your employer must provide you with a copy of your employment agreement in your own language too. 

Important Information for Foreign Crews Working in New Zealand Fisheries Waters (INZ 1214) PDF 349KB

Job offer scams are common in India and South Asia, ensure your job offer is genuine.

How to determine how realistic the job offer is

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

  • your seaman’s log
  • letters from previous employers.
Tips

Your employer can’t pay you less than they’d have to pay a New Zealander to do the work.

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

Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry (INZ1025) PDF 414KB

Process and costs

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.

Notes

We cannot display any process or costs information until you have provided your country details. Enter your country details in the panel above to view information relevant to your situation.

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How to submit

Payment methods and receiving centre details if applicable.

Notes

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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 a New Zealand traveller declaration (NZTD).

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

Arriving in New Zealand

Notes

You can be refused entry permission if:

  • you do not meet our character requirements
  • your circumstances have changed since you were issued 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

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.

Notes

If there are no multiple entry travel conditions and you leave New Zealand the visa will expire.

The travel conditions will be listed on the visa label or in a visa letter.

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.

Notes

You can’t work on land or for any other employer.

Study

You can study for up to 3 months.

Visa expiry

You must leave New Zealand before your visa expires.

Notes

Visa expiry dates are printed on a visa label or included in a visa letter.