New Zealand Accredited Employer Work Visa: requirements and process

The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) is New Zealand’s main employer-sponsored work visa. You can apply for it if you have a job offer from an employer that Immigration New Zealand has accredited, and the employer must send you a link to the online application form. The visa lets you stay in New Zealand from 7 months to 5 years, depending on your job, skill level, how much you are paid and when you applied. Your visa conditions will specify who you can work for, the occupation you can work in, the location of your job, how much you must be paid, how many hours you must work each week, and the employment arrangement.

What the AEWV is

The AEWV is one of several visas that let you work in New Zealand. It is a temporary visa, and it requires a job offer from an accredited employer at the application stage. Unlike some other work visas, it does not allow you to do almost any work in any job anywhere in New Zealand — what you can do is set out in your visa conditions.

The AEWV is the visa most people mean when they talk about employer-sponsored work in New Zealand. Other visas that require you to work for an accredited employer include the Care Workforce Work to Residence Visa, the Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa, the Straight to Residence Visa, and the Transport Work to Residence Visa. Those are separate applications with separate requirements.

Who can apply

You can apply for an AEWV if you have a job offer from an accredited employer. The employer must send you a link to the online application form — you cannot simply apply on your own initiative without that link. The employer must also hold accreditation with Immigration New Zealand at the time of your application.

There is no age limit stated in the official guidance for the AEWV, and no points test. The requirements that matter are the job offer, the employer’s accreditation, and the specific conditions attached to your visa.

How long the visa lasts

The AEWV lets you stay in New Zealand from 7 months to 5 years. The official guidance states that the length depends on your job, your skill level, how much you are paid, and when you applied for your visa. It does not give a formula for working out which length you will get, so you will need to check the specific AEWV pages for the current rules.

There is also a limit on the total time you can stay in New Zealand on an AEWV before you must spend time outside the country. The official guidance refers to this as your maximum continuous stay, and says you should check your visa length and the total time you can stay for your current job and new job before you decide whether to change jobs. It does not state the exact maximum figure, so you must verify it on the official AEWV page.

What your visa conditions will say

Every work visa comes with conditions. You can find your conditions in your online visa record, on the visa label in your passport if you have one, in the letter Immigration New Zealand sent you when the visa was granted, or online using the Visa Verification Service.

Common conditions on work visas include:

Condition	What it means
Visa expiry date	The last day you can stay in New Zealand on your visa
Return/onward travel not required	Unless stated, you must have a ticket out of New Zealand, enough money to buy one, or an acceptable sponsor who can pay
First entry before	You must arrive in New Zealand before this date or the visa is no longer valid
Number of entries	Whether you can leave and re-enter New Zealand, and how many times
Expiry date travel	The last day you can enter New Zealand using this visa
Work conditions	Who you can work for, the occupation, location, pay, hours and employment arrangement
Study conditions	Whether you can study, and for how long

Changing the conditions of your visa will not change its expiry date. If you cannot change your visa conditions, you will need to apply for a new visa.

Changing employer, job or location

If your work visa lets you work in any job, for any employer and in any location, you do not need to apply for a variation of conditions or a Job Change. Otherwise, you will need to apply to change those conditions.

For an AEWV, the route to changing employer, job or location is a Job Change. A Job Change is only available for the AEWV, the Global Workforce Seasonal Visa (GWSV) and the Peak Seasonal Visa (PSV). To apply for a Job Change:

• Your new employer must be an AEWV accredited employer and have a valid job check for the new job.
• You will need the job check number for your application.
• Your job token must be for the same type of visa you currently hold. If you hold an AEWV and your job token is for a PSV or GWSV, you cannot apply for a Job Change.
• The time left on your visa does not change if you get a Job Change.
• You must meet any qualification or work experience requirements your new employer listed in the job advertisement.

If your employer sells the business or has a restructure, and you are transferred to another business as a result, you will need to apply for a Job Change. A business sale or restructure happens when the legal owner of the business changes. If the reporting line changes but the organisation and main duties of the job stay the same, you do not need to apply for a Job Change.

If your employer loses accreditation, you can continue working for them until your visa expires. If you choose to find a job with a new employer, you can apply for a Job Change.

What to do next

Before you apply, confirm three things on the official Immigration New Zealand pages. First, that your employer is on the accredited employer list and holds current accreditation. Second, that the job offer and the job check are valid for the AEWV. Third, the current maximum continuous stay rules for the AEWV, because the official guidance does not state the exact figure and it affects how long you can remain in New Zealand on this visa.

When you are ready to apply, you will need the link your employer sends you to the online application form. You cannot apply without it. Check your visa conditions carefully when they are granted, and if you need to change employer, job or location, use the Job Change process rather than applying for a new visa from scratch.