South Island Contribution Resident Visa — Support a candidate's visa application
To recruit a candidate that has held a South Island Contribution Work Visa for at least 24 months you will need to provide a job offer to support their application. This visa is designed to offer candidates that continue to have ongoing employment in the South Island the opportunity to gain residence.
What an employer needs to do
Job offer
You will need to provide your candidate with an offer of ongoing, full-time work in the South Island.
You must provide a written offer of employment, or contract for services that:
- sets out the pay and conditions of employment
- sets out the length of time they will need to be in New Zealand to do the work
- is current at time they apply for a visa
- is for full-time work for at least 24 months
- pays no less than the market rate.
Employment agreements must also include:
- your name and contact details
- your candidate’s name and contact details
- the job title
- the address the work will be carried out
- the kind of work your candidate will be doing and their responsibilities at work
- details of any qualifications or work experience your candidate will need to do the work
- information about whether your candidate will need New Zealand registration to do the work
- how long the work will be for
- how long your candidate has to take up the job offer
- pay and work conditions that comply with New Zealand employment law.
What happens next
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Step 1: Provide a job offer
To hire someone currently on a South Island Contribution Work Visa, you will first have to provide them with a job offer. Your candidate will need to provide this to support their resident visa application.
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Step 2: Candidate applies for a resident visa
For your candidate to be able to obtain a resident visa, they need to have held a South Island Contribution Work Visa for at least 24 months and have an offer of full-time, ongoing employment in the South Island.
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Step 3: Wait for a decision
We make a decision about your candidate's application as soon as we can. You can view our historic visa timeframes below.
If your candidate is already in New Zealand, we may ask for more information about your recruitment process, the position or the sustainability of the position.
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Step 4: Employee starts work
When a residence visa is granted it enables the holder to work for any employer in any occupation for the duration of their visa.
You have to make sure the people who work for you have the right to work in New Zealand.
Check someone can legally work for you
Prepare for when your workers from overseas arrive
Get organised before your new employee arrives in New Zealand. Put together information to help them settle into your workplace and life in New Zealand.From the first contact with your new employee to the time they arrive in New Zealand, be positive but realistic. Do not promise anything that you or New Zealand cannot deliver. You will only set migrants up for disappointment if life in New Zealand is not what they expected.
You can help your new migrant workers to prepare for work and life in a new country through giving them the information they need.
Some information is best provided before they leave and some when they arrive.
Much of this preparation will only need to be done once. If you hire migrant workers in the future, you will be very well prepared.
Where to start
If you are unsure of what things to consider, our checklist will prompt you with ways you can help your migrant employee. It includes things to do before they arrive, upon their arrival and during their first days at work.
Prepare information for your new staff
It pays to prepare some tailored content for your new migrant staff. If you don’t already have it, you may want to create:
- an orientation programme to introduce your workplace
- a welcome kit with local information about the region, accommodation and transport information.
You could also prepare existing staff for your new migrant employee by announcing their upcoming arrival on your website or staff communication channels, for example, noticeboards.
Use our resources to help your new staff
Send your new staff links to our tools and online resources to help your them plan their move before they leave their home country.
NZ Ready planning tool
Moving to a new country can be a daunting task for your new employee. The best way to help your new employee with their move is to guide them to NZ Ready, Immigration New Zealand’s free online planning tool. This tool asks a series of questions that will help them to create a comprehensive personalised to do list to follow.
Get ready for New Zealand — NZ Ready
Cost of living calculator
What it costs to live in New Zealand may be quite different from a migrant's home country. This tool helps migrants to understand the cost of living in various parts of New Zealand.
Think beyond the workplace
Provide information about life in New Zealand during the recruitment process. Your new employee needs to know what to expect in relation to:
- basics of life in New Zealand such as housing and healthcare
- schooling and employment opportunities for their partner and children
- community support available.
A happy, settled family makes for a happy and productive employee who is more likely to remain loyal to you.