Citizeo
Pathway

New Zealand Accredited Employer Work Visa

New Zealand Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

New Zealand's Accredited Employer Work Visa is for people with a job offer from an accredited New Zealand employer. It generally requires the employer, job, pay, and applicant credentials to meet Immigration New Zealand's work-visa rules.

Type
Skilled-worker residence
Job or skills fit
A job offer from an accredited New Zealand employer with an approved job check
Core requirements
Employer accreditation, job-check approval, required experience or qualifications, pay, health, and character
What to know
Credentials, skills, or job details drive eligibility
Salary requirement
Market rate; legal minimum
Job offer required?
Yes (accredited)

Summary

The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) is New Zealand's main temporary visa for a person offered a specific job by an employer accredited to hire migrant workers. The employer must hold the right accreditation and an approved job check, then send the worker a unique link to apply.

An AEWV can be an entry point to New Zealand work, but it is not residence. Its length and family options depend on the job's occupation or skill level, pay, and the rules in force when the visa is decided.

Pathway fit check

Eligibility

The applicant must have a current offer for at least 30 hours a week from an accredited employer. The employment agreement, job description, occupation, pay, employer, and location must match the approved job check. 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 limb 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 genuine-intention requirements and any required stand-down after reaching their maximum continuous stay.

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 level 1 to 3 or recognized National Occupation List jobs 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, variation of conditions, or 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 stand-down rules.
  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.
Compare your options

Similar skilled worker pathways in other destinations.

Sources