Making a job offer

You can make a job offer to someone who does not have a work visa but the offer should be conditional on the applicant getting the appropriate work or residence class visa. This is similar to making the offer conditional on reference checks or medical tests. They must not start working for you until they have a work or residence class visa.

If you find a candidate who requires a visa to be able to start working for you, they will need a little more time for the visa to be arranged and may need some assistance from you. To support a migrant’s immigration application you might need to provide a signed job offer and employment agreement, supporting documentation and an Employer Supplementary Form (INZ 1113).

Job offer documentation should include:

• the employer’s name, address and contact details
• the prospective employee’s name and address
• an employment agreement including a job description and person specification, detailing:
  
  • the job title or designation
  • the address of the place of employment
  • the type of work, duties and responsibilities of the job
  • the pay and employment conditions, such as holidays and sick leave
  • confirmation the job offer is for full-time employment (at least 30 hours a week)
  • qualifications and experience required and confirmation of whether or not registration in New Zealand is required
  • the duration of the job
  • how long the job offer is open for.

The offer must meet the requirements of New Zealand employment laws and pay an appropriate market rate.

The job offer must be current when we assess the migrant’s application.

Employment agreement builder

It is important to manage your migrant employee’s expectations, including how long the visa process will take. Some factors, like how long a Police Check takes, are outside of your, their or Immigration New Zealand’s control.

Make sure your migrant employee’s expectations about the job and what life in New Zealand will be like are as close as possible to reality. Remember, applicants from overseas are not just starting a new job but a new life in a new country. If they have a partner or children, this also adds complexity. If they get here and things are not as they expected they may not stay.

Talk to your candidates about what they need to take care of before they can leave their current home country – a common understanding at this stage will reduce stress all round and show you are a considerate employer. It’s also helpful to have a plan for settling your migrant staff when they get here.