Specific Purpose Work Visa

Visa details

This visa allows you to come to New Zealand for a specific purpose or event. This includes migrants travelling to New Zealand to work in the recovery from extreme weather events in January and February 2023.

Length of stay

See below

Cost
From
NZD $700
Processing time
Recovery Visa
within one week
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. Explore family visa options
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
  • 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
Open

The Recovery Visa (a Specific Purpose Work Visa) is for migrant workers who are assisting with the recovery from extreme weather events in January and February 2023.

Who can apply

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

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 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

Tips

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

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. Also provide your:

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

  5. Also provide a copy of your Identity card.

Health

You must be in good health

You may need to have a chest x-ray, a medical examination or both as proof of your good health.

Who needs an x-ray or medical examination

Update on medical certificate requests on Immigration Online

Character

You must be of good character

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

If you are 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 do not 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 get a police certificate

Tips

  1. 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

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

  1. 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.

  2. 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 394KB

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

  1. 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

  1. 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.

  2. 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

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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 an arrival card, which you are given on the way to New Zealand.

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