WG5.10 Ministers of religion, missionaries, and members of religious orders (02/04/2007)

1. Work visas may be issued for both short-term and long-term engagements to Ministers of religion, missionaries and members of religious orders who belong to religious denominations or groups specifically recognised under immigration policy.
2. Recognised religions and denominations are:

   Adidam	Latter-day Saints - Mormon
   Ananda Marga	Lutheran
   Anglican	Maitreya Buddhist
   Apostolic	Methodist
   Asian Outreach	MMM International (NZ)
   Assemblies of God	Muslim
   Associated Churches of Christ	Napier Church of Christ
   Auckland Christian Mandarin Church	Navigators
   Bahai	New Covenant Ministries International (NZ)
   BAPS (NZ) Inc. (Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha)	New Life Churches of NZ
   Baptist	New Testament Church Inc.
   Buddhist	North Shore Church of Christ
   Calvary Chapel New Zealand	Open Brethren
   Campus Crusade for Christ	Orthodox (Greek & Rumanian)
   Chengzhen Temple	Presbyterian
   Children's Bible Ministries	Quaker Religious Society of Friends
   Christian Community	Reformed Churches of New Zealand Community
   Christian Covenant Church	Roman Catholic
   Christian Fellowships	Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia
   Christian Missionary Alliance	Salvation Army
   Christian Outreach Centre	Samoan Seventh Day Adventist Church
   Church of the Nazarene	Samoan Worship Centre Christian Ministries
   Church of the One Nation International	Scripture Union New Zealand
   Church of Tonga	Seventh Day Adventist
   Congregational	Sikh
   Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa	The Spirit of Jesus Christ Church
   Ekalesia Niuean Church	Sufi Lodge Aotearoa
   Elim	Syrian Orthodox Church
   Family Federation for World Peace and Unification NZ	Tian Yue Temple Charitable Trust
   Free Church of Tonga	Tokaikolo Christian Church
   Gelugpa Buddhist Centre (NZ)	Traditional Roman Catholic Board (Society of St. Pius Xth)
   Grace Presbyterian Church of New Zealand	True Jesus Church
   Hebrew Congregation - Jewish	Unitarian
   Hindu	United Church of God
   Hosanna Christ Gospel Church	United Missionary Fellowship Trust
   IN Network	United Pentecostal Church International (New Zealand)
   Institute of Basic Life Principles Church Inc	Voice of Christ Full Gospel
   International Buddhist Meditation Temple	WEC International (World-wide Evangelisation for Christ)
   International Harvesters Ministries of New Zealand	Wesleyan Methodist Church of New Zealand
   International Society for Krishna Consciousness	Word of Life Church
   International Student Ministries	World Outreach International
   Jehovah's Witnesses	Yogi Divine Society (NZ) Inc.
   Jesus is Lord Church	Youth for Christ NZ
   Korean Evangelical Church of NZ	YWAM

3. New Zealand branches should assess proposals to include religions and denominations not included in the above list. When a proposal is determined as likely to be approved branches should forward their determination to Operational Support, Service Delivery Group, National Office of the Department of Labour. Operational Support will then make an assessment of the determination and provide a recommendation to the Minister of Immigration on whether the religious group or denomination should be included in this list.

WG5.10.1 Short-term engagements

1. Work visas authorising a permit for the length of the appointment, up to a maximum of 12 months, may be issued to Ministers of religion, missionaries or members of religious orders coming to New Zealand on a short-term appointment or exchange:
   1. to give instruction in religious studies, or
   2. to conduct lectures or seminars, or
   3. to carry out speaking engagements.
2. Visa and immigration officers must sight evidence that applicants have either:
   1. a salary or official income from the overseas religious organisation to cover their accommodation and expenses; or
   2. accommodation and maintenance from the host organisation in New Zealand.

WG5.10.5 Long-term engagements

1. Ministers of religion, missionaries and members of religious orders coming to New Zealand to undertake religious work or training within a New Zealand religious community, may be issued with work visas authorising a permit for the length of their appointment or assignment, up to a maximum of 3 years.
2. Visa and immigration officers must sight evidence that the sponsoring body guarantees accommodation, maintenance and repatriation.
3. If the assignment or appointment is extended, further permits allowing a maximum stay of 4 years from the date of arrival may be granted, provided that:
   1. the sponsoring body supports a further stay, and
   2. the sponsorship arrangements are renewed, and
   3. the applicant continues to meet the standard requirements for a work permit.

Effective 02/04/2007