Specific Purpose Work Visa

Visa details

This visa allows you to come to New Zealand for a specific purpose or event. Migrants already in New Zealand who have a Recovery Visa can apply for this visa to stay for an additional 3 months.

Length of stay

See below

Cost
From
NZD $700
Processing time
90% within
27 weekdays
With this visa 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
  • You can't include your partner or dependent children in your visa application, but they can apply for other visas based on their relationship to you.
  • If you are applying for the Recovery Visa your partner can apply for a Partner of a Worker Visitor Visa and your children can apply for Student Visas if they are of school age.
Things to note
  • How long you can stay in New Zealand depends on how long you need to be here to complete your specific purpose or event.
    How long you can stay
  • If you are applying for the Recovery Visa you must include a completed Recovery Visa - Employer Supplementary Form (INZ 1377) with your application. Your employer must give you this. 
    Recovery Visa

  • Recovery Visa extension applicants must provide evidence their job relates to the extreme weather events from the beginning of the year.

  • 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.
    Entertainers Work Visa

  • If you’re a Tour Guide from China, you should apply for a China Special Work Visa instead.
    China Special Work Visa

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

Identity

You must provide proof of your identity

  • 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 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 have applied.

Providing your passport for online applications

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.

Tips

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 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

Also provide your:

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

Also provide a copy of your Identity card.

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.

Acceptable standard of health criteria for visa approvals

Please only provide medical certificates if requested

Tips

If you are applying for the Recovery Visa and you are asked to provide a chest x-ray Certificate, you do not need to do this. Instead you can upload an exemption letter confirming you are applying for a 3-month extension of your Recovery Visa and therefore do not need to provide a chest x-ray certificate.

Recovery Visa - chest x-ray certificate exemption letter PDF 304KB

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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, and
  • you provided in any previous applications.

Genuine intentions to visit, study or work in NZ

Specific purpose or event

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

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

Tips

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

Your evidence may include the following:

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

If you are applying for the Recovery Visa you must select 6 months or less as the length of stay in New Zealand.

Employer supplementary form

You may need to provide an Employer Supplementary Form

If you are applying for the Recovery Visa you must include a completed Recovery Visa - Employer Supplementary Form (INZ 1377) with your application. Your employer must give you this. If you are applying online you must upload this as the 'Evidence required for your Special Purpose or Event work visa'.

Recovery Visa - Employer Supplementary Form (INZ 1377) PDF 370KB

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 388KB

Tips

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

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

Tips

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

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.

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 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

We cannot display any receiving centre or payment method 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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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 paper arrival card or a digital traveller declaration. If you are completing a paper arrival card you will be given this on the way to New Zealand.

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 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 are 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

Before you travel to New Zealand

Travel

If you want to travel in and out of New Zealand, you must have valid multiple entry travel conditions to return to New Zealand.

Varying the conditions of a work visa

Notes

If applying from inside New Zealand, we will normally give multiple entry travel conditions when we grant a visa.

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.

Onward travel

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

Notes

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.

Notes

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