Recognised Seasonal Employer Limited Visa

On the Recognised Seasonal Employer Limited Visa you can come to New Zealand for a short time to work in our horticulture and viticulture industries. You must have a job offer from a Recognised Seasonal Employer before you apply.

  • Length of stay

    Normally a maximum of

    7 months in any 11-month period

  • Cost

    From

    NZD $325

  • Processing time

    80% within

    1 week

  • Age range

    18 or older

  • Visas available

    Each year

    20,750

To apply you must:

  • be from an eligible Pacific nation, unless otherwise agreed with Immigration New Zealand
  • have an offer of work from a Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE)
  • work only for the employers listed in your visa
  • have medical insurance while in New Zealand.

This visa lets you:

  • in most cases, stay in New Zealand for up to 7 months in any 11-month period
  • work for a Recognised Seasonal Employer in the horticulture and viticulture industries
  • earn money while learning horticulture and viticulture skills.
  • You cannot apply for any other kind of visa while you hold a Recognised Seasonal Employer Visa.
  • You cannot include your partner or dependent children in your visa application.
  • You must leave New Zealand before your visa expires — you cannot apply to stay longer.

How long you can stay

RSE visa holders from most countries are allowed to stay in New Zealand for a maximum time of 7 months in any 11-month period.

Your maximum stay varies depending on your date of arrival in New Zealand.

Citizens of Tuvalu and Kiribati who also live there can stay an extra 2 months.

In exceptional circumstances, and if you have not already stayed in New Zealand for the maximum time allowed, you may be able to apply for a further RSE Limited Visa to continue working for an RSE for the balance of the time you are allowed to stay.

If you want to apply for any other visa, you cannot apply until after you have left New Zealand.

If you are still in New Zealand after your visa expires, you risk being deported.

Who can apply

To apply for this visa you must:

  • be aged 18 or older
  • be a citizen of an unless agreed otherwise with Immigration New Zealand
  • have a job offer from a Recognised Seasonal Employer
  • have full medical insurance for your stay
  • be in good health
  • be of good character
  • have a genuine reason for coming to New Zealand.

Citizenship

Normally this visa is given only to people from eligible Pacific nations. These are:

  • the Federated States of Micronesia
  • Fiji
  • Kiribati
  • Nauru
  • Palau
  • Papua New Guinea
  • the Republic of Marshall Islands
  • Samoa
  • the Solomon Islands
  • Tonga
  • Tuvalu
  • Vanuatu.

In exceptional circumstances, employers can recruit workers from other nations, but they must get our agreement first.

Health

When you apply, you may need to include medical and chest X-ray certificates as proof of your good health. 

If you are from a country with a low incidence of tuberculosis (TB), such as Samoa, Tonga or Vanuatu, you will not normally need to provide a chest X-ray certificate if you are staying in New Zealand for 12 months or less.

If you are from a country that does not have a low incidence of TB, you must have a chest X-ray no matter how long you will stay in New Zealand.

Applicants from China, Hong Kong or Macao applying within China, Hong Kong or Macao

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

  • you have spent 6 months in a row in China since the last X-ray certificate was issued, and
  • you are now coming to New Zealand for more than 6 months.

Character

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

If you have a criminal conviction, or are a security risk to New Zealand, we might not give you a visa.

You must provide police certificates that are less than 6 months old when you apply, if:

  • you are aged 17 or older, and
  • your total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or longer — this includes time you spent in New Zealand in the past on other visas.

Police certificates must be from:

  • countries you are a citizen of, and
  • countries you have spent more than 5 years in since you turned 17.

You do not need to provide police certificates if you provided them with an earlier visa application and they were issued in the last 24 months.

If we ask for a new police certificate when processing your application, you will need to send us a new one.

Genuine intentions

When we decide if your intentions for coming to New Zealand are genuine, we will consider all the information that:

  • you provide to support your application
  • we have about your personal circumstances
  • you have previously provided to us.

Medical insurance

You must have acceptable medical insurance for the length of your stay in New Zealand, and be able to provide evidence of this.

Documents you can show us include:

  • a copy of your insurance certificate
  • an approval letter from your insurance company.

For your medical insurance to be acceptable, your medical insurance and the company providing it need to meet certain requirements. You can read about these in our ‘Guide to Working for a Recognised Seasonal Employer’.

Note

Some health care is funded by the New Zealand Government.

Who can get public health care 

Job offer

You must have an offer of work from a Recognised Seasonal Employer and include a copy of your signed employment agreement in your application.

If you will be working for more than one RSE, you must provide a copy of the employment agreement for each one.

You must be paid a minimum of 30 hours per week, averaged over four weeks. If an employer cannot provide the required 120 hours of work over the 4-week period, they will need to top up the worker’s pay to meet this amount.

If you have already worked 2 or more seasons in New Zealand, you must be paid at least the plus 10%. All other workers must be paid at least the New Zealand adult minimum wage.

Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) List

Note

Your agreement may include voluntary deductions, and training with an industry training organisation.

Documents you need

When you apply

When you apply, you will need to provide:

  • a copy of your passport or certificate of identity
  • 2 acceptable photos
  • a chest X-ray certificate, if needed
  • a signed employment agreement from the Recognised Seasonal Employer you will be working for
  • evidence of medical insurance.

After you apply

After you apply, we may contact you and ask for:

  • police certificates as proof of your good character.

How to apply

Follow these steps to complete your application and avoid delays.

Note

An application containing all the documents we need will be processed faster.

  1. 1

    Step 1: Get a job offer

    Before you get a job, local authorities may screen you to make sure you will be a good worker.

    After that, you may be recruited for a job:

    • directly by an RSE
    • by your government through a work-ready pool, or
    • by a licensed Pacific agent.

    If you are offered a job, you will get an employment agreement to sign. You need to provide this with your visa application.

  2. 2

    Step 2: Gather your documents

    The section 'Who can apply' explains the requirements for this visa and what you will need as proof.

    Get documents translated

    You must provide us with certified English translations of all medical and police certificates. This includes police certificates that record no convictions.

    Note

    If your other evidence is not in English, you should provide a translated copy, as this will help us to process your application faster.

    Organise proof of identity, citizenship and age

    If you need a new passport, allow yourself enough time to get it.

    When you apply, make sure you enter your identity details exactly as they appear on your passport or certificate of identity.

    Alert

    If there are any mistakes in your identity details, your application will be delayed. We may also decline your application or refuse you entry to New Zealand.

    Make sure your photos are acceptable for a New Zealand visa.

    Organise proof of medical insurance

    Documents you can show us include:

    • a copy of your insurance certificate
    • an approval letter from your insurance company.

    Book medical appointments, if required

    Evidence of a chest X-ray or medical examination must be less than 3 months old when we receive them. Allow yourself enough time to get these.

    Apply for police certificates, if required

    Check what you need to include for this visa. 

    Note

    Your police certificates must be less than 6 months old when you submit your application. Allow yourself enough time to get these certificates.

  3. 3

    Step 3: Complete your application and pay the fee

    You must apply from outside New Zealand for an RSE Limited Visa.

    Once you have a signed employment agreement with an RSE, you can apply for a limited visa to work for them. 

    When you have filled in your form, your Pacific agent will send it to us, along with the supporting documents, application fee and immigration levy.

    Check the 'How to pay and submit' section for fees.

  4. 4

    Step 4: Wait for our decision

    We will let you or your Pacific agent know if we need more information.

    Check the 'How to pay and submit' section for timeframes.

    Waiting for a visa

    How long it takes to process an application

  5. 5

    Step 5: Check your application status

    We email you to let you know when we have made a decision. If we approve your application, we give you an eVisa and email you a copy.

    Check the 'While you are in New Zealand' section to find out what you can and cannot do when you come to New Zealand.

How to pay and submit

When you get your visa

Prepare to come to New Zealand

Before you leave your home country, you will be invited to a presentation where you will receive information about what to expect when living and working in New Zealand.

At the presentation you can get answers to your questions about working and living in New Zealand.

You can come to New Zealand up to 14 days before you are due to start work.

You cannot come to New Zealand more than 14 days after you are due to start work.

When you arrive

When you arrive

You must apply for permission to enter New Zealand before you arrive. You do this by completing a New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD) form.

You can start your digital declaration any time, but the earliest you can submit it is 24 hours before starting your travel to New Zealand.

A paper declaration form is available for travellers who cannot complete it online.

New Zealand Traveller Declaration

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

Arriving in New Zealand

Alert

You can be refused entry permission if you:

  • are not a genuine visitor
  • do not meet our character requirements
  • have had a change in circumstances since we issued your visa
  • refuse to let us take your photo, fingerprints or an iris scan
  • cannot provide evidence of any onward travel or the money required to leave New Zealand.

While you are in New Zealand

Your visa conditions are recorded in your eVisa.

Travel

This is a multiple-entry visa, which means you can travel in and out of New Zealand during a season, if you need to. You must not exceed the maximum stay allowed by your visa, and you will need to apply for entry permission each time you travel out of New Zealand.

Work

You can only work for the Recognised Seasonal Employer listed in your RSE Limited visa.

Your work will be limited to our fruit and vegetable or wine industries, doing jobs like:

  • planting
  • maintaining crops
  • harvesting
  • packing.

Paying tax

Everyone who has a job in New Zealand pays tax on what they earn. An IRD number can be applied for online through Inland Revenue.

Apply online for an IRD number — Inland Revenue

Study and training

You can study, train and develop skills on this visa, if authorised by your employer. The study or training does not need to be directly related to your role, or take place through industry training organisations.

RSE workers must continue to meet the requirements of their employment agreement while taking part in any study or training.

Staying longer

In exceptional circumstances, and if you have not already stayed in New Zealand for the maximum time allowed, you may be able to apply for a further

RSE Limited Visa to continue working for a Recognised Seasonal Employer for the balance of the time you are allowed to stay.

If you want to apply for any other visa, you cannot do so until after you have left New Zealand.