The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV): working in New Zealand from the UK

What the AEWV is

For most people hired from overseas, New Zealand has one main work visa: the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV). It is temporary, and you can only apply once a job is lined up.

The sequence is fixed. An accredited employer makes you an offer and sends you a link to the online application; until that happens there is nothing to apply for. The job itself must offer at least 30 hours a week and pay the market rate for the work, never less than a legal minimum such as the New Zealand minimum wage.

Some work is not covered by the AEWV: self-employment, crewing a foreign fishing vessel, and crop work in horticulture or viticulture (planting, maintaining, harvesting or packing).

Employer, job, you: the three checks

The AEWV runs as three checks, always in this order.

1. The employer check. The business holds accreditation from Immigration New Zealand.
2. The job check. The employer shows INZ that the pay and conditions meet the rules and, where required, that the job was advertised to New Zealanders first. An approved job check is valid for 6 months.
3. The worker check. That is you. The employer sends a personal link, known as the "job token", and you apply through it with evidence of your skills, English, health and character.

Who qualifies: skills and experience

As well as the job offer (from an accredited employer with an approved job check), you need to show your skills in one of three ways:

• at least 2 years of relevant work experience;
• a qualification at level 4 or higher on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF); or
• a bachelor's degree or higher, in any subject.

An overseas qualification below bachelor's level, such as an NVQ, SVQ or City & Guilds certificate, only counts after an NZQA International Qualification Assessment (IQA). Some workers are exempt from the skills requirement altogether, including people in Green List roles, in jobs that need occupational registration (electrical or plumbing work, for example) and in jobs paying NZD 67.12 an hour or more (as of October 2026, official page).

Ready to look? Browse the sponsored jobs in New Zealand.

English: does your job need evidence?

The job's skill level settles this, not your background. Roles at skill level 1 or 2 (on ANZSCO or the NOL) need no English evidence. Roles at skill level 3, 4 or 5 do, with these minimums (as of October 2026, official page):

The test has to be sat in person, and the result must be under 2 years old on the day your application goes in.

Medical checks and police certificates

Medical checks. You need a chest X-ray for tuberculosis (TB) if you will stay longer than 6 months and you are a citizen of, or have recently spent time in, a country without a low TB rate. Any medical or X-ray result must be under 3 months old when INZ receives it.

Police certificates. Required for anyone 17 or over who will spend 24 months or more in New Zealand in total: one from each country of citizenship, and one from any country where you have lived for more than 5 years since turning 17. None can be more than 6 months old. For UK citizens, that means a police certificate from ACRO Criminal Records Office.

Applying for the AEWV, step by step

1. Find a role with an accredited employer and apply for it.
2. Interview, usually by video from the UK, and accept the offer if it suits you.
3. Let the employer get its approvals: accreditation, then a job check for your role.
4. Receive your job token, the link that opens your application.
5. Upload your evidence: passport, qualifications or work history, English results if the job needs them, police certificates, medicals and any certified translations.
6. Submit and pay the application fee online.
7. Get the decision. Once the visa is granted, hand in your notice, book the flight and start the job.

Processing, fees, time limits and changing jobs

• Processing. 80% of AEWV applications are decided within 5.5 weeks (as of October 2026, official page). That counts from the day you apply, so allow for the employer's accreditation and job check, and the time you need to gather your documents.
• Fee. From NZD 1,540 (as of October 2026, official page). The amount depends on your country, and the official page works out yours.
• Time limit. Most roles: 5 years in total. Roles at ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5: usually 3 years, unless, for example, the role is on the Green List or pays NZD 52.50 an hour or more (AEWV time limits). At the limit, you must spend 12 months outside New Zealand before another AEWV can be granted.
• Conditions. One approved employer and one approved job, with no second job on the side. You may study for up to 3 months in any 12 months.
• Changing jobs. A new employer, role or location needs a variation of conditions or a Job Change, which in turn needs an accredited employer and a new job check. A Job Change leaves the visa's end date where it was (changing visa conditions).

Partners and children

Your family are not included in your AEWV. Each person applies for their own visa, and which one they can get depends on your hourly pay and your job (as of October 2026, official page):

• Paid NZD 52.50 an hour or more: your partner can apply for a work visa that you support, and your dependent children for visas of their own.
• Paid NZD 28.00 an hour or more, in a role at ANZSCO skill level 1 to 3: your partner can apply for a Partner of a Worker Work Visa.
• Paid under NZD 28.00 an hour: your partner can only get a visitor visa.
• Children's visas (a child visitor visa or a dependent child student visa): you need a yearly income of at least NZD 58,240. A couple who both hold an AEWV can combine their incomes.

There are exceptions, Green List roles among them. Check the official page against your own circumstances.

Routes to residence

The AEWV is not a residence visa, but it can lead to one (as of October 2026, official page).

• Green List. Tier 1 roles qualify for the Straight to Residence Visa. Tier 2 roles lead to the Work to Residence Visa after 24 months of full-time work in the role in New Zealand (Green List pathway).
• Skilled Migrant Category (SMC). A resident visa for people aged 55 or under, with three pathways: points, skilled work experience, or trades and technicians (SMC Resident Visa).

Residence settings are reviewed from time to time, so check the current rules before you build plans on them.

Your UK checklist

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) uses the same rules for every applicant. Here is how they work out for someone applying from the UK.

• Passport validity. It needs at least 3 months left on it after the date you plan to leave New Zealand.
• Police certificates. These apply if you are 17 or older and will spend 24 months or more in New Zealand altogether. British citizens provide a police certificate from ACRO Criminal Records Office; add one for any other citizenship you hold, and one for any country where you lived for more than 5 years after turning 17. Each must be under 6 months old when you apply, and INZ wants the certificate itself, not a receipt. The INZ police certificate tool explains the UK process.
• Evidence of experience. INZ does not accept a CV as proof on its own. Send documents such as reference letters, payslips or tax records that show what you did, when, and who can confirm it.
• Qualifications. A qualification gained outside New Zealand below bachelor's level, an NVQ, SVQ or City & Guilds award for example, needs an NZQA International Qualification Assessment (IQA) before it counts.
• Medicals. If INZ asks for a medical or chest X-ray, it must be under 3 months old when INZ receives it.
• Translations. Seldom needed for UK papers. Anything not in English, police and medical certificates included, needs a certified translation, and INZ will not take one done by you, a family member or your immigration adviser (INZ translation rules).

Watch the dates. Police certificates and medicals expire, so request them when your employer is about to send the job token rather than months in advance. The full list sits on the AEWV page.

Scams and slip-ups to steer clear of

New Zealand has the same problem and the same answer: if anyone wants money upfront to "secure" you a job or a visa, stop right there.

• A job cannot be bought. Employers and agents in New Zealand are not allowed to charge you for a job or make you pay their recruitment costs, whether directly or through a third party.
• A paid-for offer gets the visa declined. If INZ believes you or your agent offered or promised the employer money for the job offer, the AEWV is declined.
• INZ takes the application fee and nothing more. It does not ask for visa fees by bank transfer.
• Advice comes with rules. Only an adviser licensed by the Immigration Advisers Authority, or an exempt person, may give immigration advice (INZ on immigration advice). You can also apply on your own.
• Why applications get refused: a CV instead of real evidence of work; police certificates more than 6 months old; documents left untranslated; and taking a job where the employer is not accredited or the job check was never approved.

INZ goes into more detail here: how to spot immigration scams.

Frequently asked questions

Can I apply for an AEWV without a job?

No. You need an offer from an accredited employer with an approved job check. The employer then sends your job token, the link that starts the application.

How much experience do I need?

Usually at least 2 years of relevant work, or a qualification at NZQCF level 4 or above. Some roles need neither, such as Green List roles and very well-paid jobs.

Will I have to sit IELTS or PTE?

Only if the job is at ANZSCO skill level 3, 4 or 5. You then need IELTS 4.0 overall, PTE Academic 29 or an equivalent score on another accepted test (as of October 2026), from a test taken less than 2 years before you apply.

Which police certificate does New Zealand want from the UK?

A police certificate from ACRO Criminal Records Office, if you are 17 or older and will spend 24 months or more in New Zealand in total. It must be under 6 months old when you apply. The INZ police certificate tool covers other countries as well.

How fast is an AEWV decision?

As of October 2026, INZ decides 80% of applications within 5.5 weeks. The latest figure is on the AEWV page.

How long can I stay?

Most roles: up to 5 years in total. Most roles at ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5: 3 years. After reaching the limit you need 12 months outside New Zealand before another AEWV.

Can my partner work too?

That depends on your job and pay. A Partner of a Worker Work Visa may be open to them if you earn NZD 52.50 an hour or more, or NZD 28.00 an hour or more in a role at ANZSCO skill level 1 to 3.

Does my UK nursing or trade registration carry over?

Not automatically. Nurses register with the nursing regulator in New Zealand, and some trades, such as electrical and plumbing work, need occupational registration there. The job ad says what the employer needs.

Can an employer charge me for the job?

No. Job fees, and passing recruitment costs on to workers, are banned in New Zealand, and a paid-for offer means the visa is declined.