Check if someone can legally work for you
Before someone from overseas can begin working for you, you must check that their visa gives them the right to work in New Zealand. Find out how.
How to check a worker's visa
You can check someone’s visa status by:
- using our online tool, VisaView, or
- doing a document check.
Note
For some visas, a migrant worker needs to be offered a job in New Zealand before they can apply for their visa.
Using VisaView
If you register as an employer to use VisaView, you can:
- verify that prospective and current employees hold a valid visa
- find out the conditions on their visa and the date it expires.
Enquiries are saved in your VisaView account. These records can be used as evidence of your compliance with the Immigration Act 2009.
To access VisaView, you need a
VisaView for employers
VisaView allows New Zealand employers to check the details of a worker's current visa.
VisaView also lets registered employers confirm New Zealand passport information provided by a New Zealand citizen candidate. To get this information, you need to complete a Disclosure Agreement and return it to the Department of Internal Affairs.
Doing a document check
If you do not want to use VisaView, a worker can show you one of the following documents as evidence of entitlement to work in New Zealand:
- a foreign passport with:
- a valid New Zealand work visa
- any valid New Zealand visa allowing work, or
- a New Zealand residence class visa
- an Australian passport
- a Refugee Travel Document with a valid New Zealand work visa, or
- a Refugee Travel Document with a valid New Zealand resident visa.
Most visa holders now have an eVisa rather than a label in their passport. If they do have a label, their visa conditions are noted on the label or sometimes in a letter from us. When you check their visa status, we suggest keeping a copy for your records.