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Pathway

New Zealand Accredited Employer Work Visa

New Zealand Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

The Accredited Employer Work Visa lets you take a specific New Zealand job with an approved employer. You need an eligible offer for at least 30 hours a week, the required skills, and approval before doing the work.

Job offer required?
Yes, for at least 30 hours a week with an INZ-approved employer
Job approval
The employer needs an approved job check for the position
Skills
Normally two years of relevant experience or an accepted qualification

Summary

New Zealand’s Accredited Employer Work Visa is the main temporary work route for a job supported by an accredited employer. It requires a job of at least 30 hours a week from an accredited employer, an approved job check, compliant employment terms, and the skills or experience required for the role. Most jobs can support a total stay of up to 5 years, while many ANZSCO skill-level 4 or 5 jobs have a 3-year maximum and a later stand-down.

Could this pathway work for you?

Eligibility

The applicant must have a current offer for at least 30 hours a week from an accredited employer, meaning one approved by Immigration New Zealand (INZ). The employment agreement, job description, occupation, pay, employer, and location must match the approved job check, INZ’s assessment of the position the employer wants to fill. Pay must meet the New Zealand minimum wage and the market rate; since March 2025 there is no single median-wage floor for every AEWV job.

The worker must normally show either:

A bachelor's degree or higher can satisfy the qualification requirement even if it is in another field, but the worker must still meet the job's occupation requirements, the employer's genuine skill requirements, and any mandatory New Zealand registration. A CV alone is not enough proof of experience; INZ expects independent records such as payslips, tax records, employment certificates, and supported references.

English evidence is required for jobs at skill levels 3 to 5, subject to the exemptions on the current visa page. Applicants must also meet health, character, and requirements to show genuine plans for the stay, plus any required period outside New Zealand after reaching the maximum stay.

Applying for an Accredited Employer Work Visa
  1. Check the employer and approved job Confirm hours, duties, pay, location, and the employer’s job-check approval.
  2. Prepare your skills and personal evidence Check qualifications or experience, English, registration, health, and character.
  3. Apply through the employer’s unique link Follow the job and location stated on the approved visa.

This is a temporary visa for a specific job; residence and family visas have separate requirements.

What This Route Allows

The visa permits work only in the employer, job, and location stated on the eVisa. It also permits study for up to 3 months in any 12-month period, or employment-required study in the circumstances INZ allows.

Most jobs at levels 1 to 3 on the relevant occupation list can support a maximum continuous stay of up to 5 years; many level 4 or 5 jobs have a 3-year maximum. The individual visa may be shorter. A further AEWV can cover the balance of the maximum stay, but after reaching that maximum a worker normally must spend 12 continuous months outside New Zealand before another AEWV.

A partner or child is not included in the AEWV itself. Depending on the worker's pay and job level, the worker may support a separate partner work or visitor visa and child visitor or student visas.

What This Route Is Not

It is not an open work visa, permission to take a second job, or automatic residence. A change of employer, role, or location normally requires a Job Change application, approval to change the visa conditions, or a new visa before the change begins.

The employer cannot charge the worker for the job or pass recruitment costs to the worker. A job offer that exists only on paper, an unaccredited employer, or an offer without an approved job check cannot support the visa.

Next Steps

  1. Check the employer in INZ's accredited-employer list and ask for the approved job-check details.
  2. Compare the proposed agreement with the job check: occupation, duties, location, hours, pay, and duration.
  3. Map the job to the current ANZSCO or National Occupation List level and check English, registration, visa-length, and rules on required time outside New Zealand.
  4. Assemble qualification and independent work-history evidence, plus passport, health, and character documents.
  5. Apply only through the unique link supplied by the employer.
  6. If residence is the goal, separately test the current Green List, Skilled Migrant Category, care, or transport residence rules; an AEWV by itself does not promise a later resident visa.

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Sources