What to consider when hiring people from overseas

Before you hire someone who lives overseas, you need to check there are no New Zealanders who can do the job. In most cases you need to show evidence you have first looked locally.

Check the visas you can hire people on

Visas come with different rules for how long an overseas person can work and who they can work for. If you are hiring someone from overseas, or an overseas person who is already in New Zealand, it is your responsibility to check if they can work for you on the visa they have.

You can check whether someone from overseas can legally work for you by using our online tool VisaView or doing a document check.

Check if someone can legally work for you 

Options for hiring people from overseas 

Hiring people from overseas who are already in New Zealand 

If you need accreditation or approval

You may need to be accredited or approved before you can hire people from overseas. Normally accreditation or approvals are for hiring workers in particular sectors and when you want to hire a number of workers, or you regularly hire workers from overseas.

Options for hiring people from overseas 

AEWV employer accreditation and job check process

Planning your hiring process

If you are new to hiring people from overseas, find information that will help you through the hiring process.

Getting ready to hire people from overseas

Some visas do not require you to be accredited or approved, but you must still support the overseas worker's visa application by providing an Employer Supplementary Form for some work visas, and ongoing support throughout the length of their employment.

To find out if you need to provide information for your prospective worker's visa application, enter the name of the visa they are applying for. 

Support a worker's visa application

Being a good employer

All workers in New Zealand — citizens and people from overseas — have the same rights.

Rules and laws when hiring people from overseas