Employment Visa Escalation process

We usually process visa applications by the date we receive them, from the oldest first.

How long it takes to process a visa application

You can request for a ‘priority allocation’ through the Employment Visa Escalation (EVE). If we approve your request, we will allocate your application urgently.

Urgent processing criteria

To request urgent visa processing you must be:

• the main person applying for the visa or your legal representative or licensed immigration adviser
• applying for an eligible employment visa
• applying 5 or more days after sending in your visa application
• clear about why we need to process your visa application urgently.

Visas eligible for urgent processing

You can only request urgent processing for 4 types of employer-specific work and residence visas:

• Temporary visas to work for a specified employer and role.
• Residence under the Skilled Migrant or Residence from Work categories.
• 2021 Resident Visa at the ‘under assessment’ stage.
• Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) at the ‘under assessment’ stage.

We can only action 2021 Resident Visa and AEWV requests for urgent allocation when the application reaches the ‘under assessment’ stage. That is because key checks including an identity check, character check and possible health check must be done before we can action any requests for urgent allocation.

The EVE process cannot be used for other visas, such as partnership-based visas, working holiday, visitor, student, and post-study visas.

2021 Resident Visa requests with family members overseas

If your 2021 Resident Visa application includes family members who are overseas and is at the ‘under assessment’ stage, you can email us to request that your application is prioritised:
EmploymentVisaEscalations@mbie.govt.nz

If you are eligible for priority processing but your application has not yet reached the ‘under assessment’ stage, you can still email us. Your application will be allocated for assessment once it reaches the ‘under assessment’ stage.

2021 Resident Visa requests for Green List medical professionals

If you are a medical professional working in a role on the Green List and you did not list your occupation in your application, you can email us to request your application be prioritised:
EmploymentVisaEscalations@mbie.govt.nz

Your application will be priority allocated once it reaches the ‘under assessment' stage.

If you listed your occupation in your application, you do not need to do anything. Once it reaches the ‘under assessment’ stage, it will be prioritised.

How to submit a request

Draft an email to us and include:

• your full name and date of birth
• the details of anyone included in your application, like a partner or dependent child
• your passport number
• your application number
• your INZ client number, if you know it
• an explanation of why you need your application escalated.

Email your request to:
EmploymentVisaEscalations@mbie.govt.nz

Once you have sent us an email you will receive an automated response which is updated regularly to advise you of the timeframe for a response.

What happens after sending your urgent processing request

We assess your request and email you within 5 working days to let you know the outcome.

We decide on each request by assessing:

• your personal circumstances
• humanitarian factors
• any matters of national interest.

If we approve your request, we will start processing you application as soon as we can.

Check the status of your visa application

You can check your visa status on your Immigration Online dashboard.