The New Zealand Accredited Employer Work Visa now sits at the centre of the country’s migration system, linking skilled foreign workers directly to employers who have been vetted, checked and formally accredited by Immigration New Zealand.
Introduced in 2022 to replace a patchwork of older work-visa categories, the AEWV requires a genuine full-time job offer before a migrant can apply, closing gaps that previously let unverified employers exploit overseas workers.
Who Can Apply: Core Eligibility Rules
Applicants must hold a full-time job offer of at least 30 hours a week from an employer that Immigration New Zealand has accredited, alongside a completed and approved job check for that specific role.
Beyond the job offer, candidates need either two years of relevant work experience or a level-4-plus qualification, must prove English ability for lower-skilled roles, and must meet standard health and character checks.
- Full-time job offer, minimum 30 hours per week
- Two years’ relevant experience or an NZQCF level 4+ qualification
- English language proof required for skill level 3 to 5 roles
- Valid police certificates if total stay reaches 24 months
- Good health, including a chest X-ray for longer stays from high-TB countries
The Three-Step Employer Accreditation and Job Check Process
Immigration New Zealand runs the AEWV through three sequential stages employer accreditation, a job check confirming the specific role, and finally the migrant’s own visa application, each independently assessed and approved.
Employers choose standard accreditation for up to five migrants, high-volume accreditation for six or more, or a triangular category for businesses that place workers with other companies without a hiring cap.
- Step 1: Employer applies for accreditation (standard, high-volume or triangular)
- Step 2: Employer advertises the role and engages Work and Income for skill level 4–5 jobs
- Step 3: Employer applies for a job check, valid for six months
- Step 4: Migrant worker applies for the AEWV using a unique employer-issued link
Skill Levels, Visa Duration and the 2026 English Rule Change
ANZSCO and the newer National Occupation List grade every job from skill level 1 to 5. Level 1–3 roles can lead to a five-year visa; level 4–5 roles are generally capped at three years.
From 1 June 2026, Immigration New Zealand widened its English language requirement to cover skill level 3 occupations too, a change that now affects thousands of trades, technical and service-sector applicants.
| Skill Level (ANZSCO/NOL) | Maximum Continuous Stay | English Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Up to 5 years | Not required |
| 3 | Up to 5 years | Required from 1 June 2026 |
| 4–5 | Up to 3 years | Required |
Costs, Processing Times and Required Documents
The visa fee starts from NZD $1,540, and Immigration New Zealand reports that 80 percent of Accredited Employer Work Visa applications are processed within six weeks, though complex cases can take longer.
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Applicants must submit a signed job offer, an employment agreement, a job description, qualification evidence, and, where required, English test results, police certificates and a recent chest X-ray certificate for longer stays.
Job Offer Scams: A Warning for South Asian Applicants
Immigration New Zealand explicitly warns that job offer scams are common in India and South Asia, urging applicants to verify any offer independently before paying agents or submitting fraudulent supporting documents.
Any applicant found to have offered or promised money to an employer, or their agent, in exchange for a job offer faces automatic decline, regardless of how genuine the remaining paperwork appears.
- Never pay an employer or recruiter for a job offer or accreditation costs
- Verify the employer on Immigration New Zealand’s accredited employer list
- Report suspicious recruitment agents before handing over personal documents
- Cross-check every offer through the official Immigration Online portal
Compliance Crackdown: How Immigration New Zealand Polices Employers
As of 31 August 2026, Immigration New Zealand had approved more than 209,000 Accredited Employer Work Visa applications, with over 29,000 accredited employers and more than 94,000 visa holders currently in the country.
The agency aims to audit roughly 16 percent of accredited employers annually; by the same date it had logged 9,461 complaints, opened 107 active investigations, and revoked 1,641 employers’ accreditation outright.
From Work Visa to Residence: What Comes Next
Time spent on the AEWV can feed directly into New Zealand’s residence system, through the Skilled Migrant Category or, for Green List Tier 1 roles, the faster Straight to Residence Visa.
A new Short Term Graduate Work Visa, launching 16 November 2026, will also give qualifying international graduates up to six months of open work rights as a bridge toward an AEWV job offer.
Which Sectors Are Actively Hiring
Employer accreditation numbers point to sustained demand across healthcare, construction, engineering, hospitality, agriculture and information technology, sectors where genuine skill shortages remain despite New Zealand’s broader efforts to prioritise local workers first.
Seasonal AEWV categories, including the Global Workforce Seasonal Visa and Peak Seasonal Visa, add further routes for horticulture and primary-industry roles, each carrying its own advertising, duration and re-entry conditions.
Bringing Family to New Zealand on an AEWV
AEWV holders cannot include a partner or dependent children directly in their own application, but they may separately support a partner’s visitor or work visa and student or visitor visas for children.
Eligibility for family support depends heavily on the primary applicant’s income and job skill level, meaning lower-paid, lower-skill roles may not automatically qualify a partner or children for accompanying visas.
