Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV)

What the AEWV is

INZ says applicants need an offer of full-time work from an accredited employer, who sends them a link to the online application. Depending on the job, applicants must meet work experience or qualification requirements, and show they can speak and understand English if the job is skill level 3 to 5.

The visa is tied to the employer who offered the job. INZ says that to change employer, job or location you must apply to vary your visa conditions, apply for a Job Change, or apply for a new visa. INZ also says New Zealand employers and agents cannot charge you fees for a job or make you pay their recruitment costs.

How long you can stay on an AEWV

INZ calls the total time on one or more AEWVs your maximum continuous stay. It depends on when you applied for your first AEWV, the skill level of the job and the pay, and INZ says it can be 5 years for most jobs, or 3 years for jobs at ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5. After reaching it, you must spend time outside New Zealand before another AEWV.

Family on an AEWV

INZ says AEWV holders may be able to support a visitor or work visa for their partner, and a visitor or student visa for their dependent children, subject to the requirements for those visas.

AEWV to resident visa

The AEWV does not give residence itself, but it is a work visa INZ lists as able to lead to one. The Skilled Migrant Category requires a job or job offer with an accredited employer, and on the Green List, Tier 2 jobs need 24 months of relevant work in New Zealand, on a visa that can include the AEWV, before a Work to Residence Visa.

Is the AEWV an open work visa?

No. The AEWV is linked to the accredited employer who offered you the job. INZ uses the term open work conditions for some other visas, for example some Post-Study Work Visas, and its new Short-Term Graduate Work Visa gives 6 months of open work rights.

Documents typically involved

INZ tells each applicant exactly what it needs. These are the kinds of documents usually involved:

• The job offer and the link sent by the accredited employer
• Evidence of the qualifications or work experience the job requires
• Occupational registration, if the job requires it
• Evidence of English, if the job is skill level 3 to 5
• Identity, health and character documents

The process, step by step

1. Accredited employer. The employer holds AEWV accreditation and a job check for the role.
2. Job offer. You receive the offer and the employer's link to apply.
3. Documents. Qualifications, experience, registration and English evidence as the job requires.
4. Application. Your AEWV application is lodged online.
5. INZ assesses it. INZ may ask for more information before it decides.

Fees and processing times change, so we do not quote them. Check the current figures on INZ's fee finder and processing times.

How we help

Our Licensed Immigration Adviser can talk through your situation, explain the requirements that apply, help you gather and organise the evidence, and review the application for consistency before it is lodged. Every decision is Immigration New Zealand's to make, and we never promise an outcome.

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Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV): questions