Accredited Employer Work Visa

Businesses Needing Migrant Employees 2022 – The Accredited Employer Work Visa

The new Accredited Employer Work Visa (“AEWV”) has replaced 6 work visas with a streamlined single visa process. Since 4 July 2022, employers need to be accredited and have completed a job check before they are able to hire workers from overseas.

The AEWV will replace the following temporary visa categories:

Essential Skills Work Visa
Essential Skills Work Visa – Approval in Principle
Talent (Accredited Employer) Work Visa
Long Term Skill Shortage List Work Visa
Silver Fern Job Search Visa
Silver Fern Practical Experience Visa

This new visa was designed to make it easier for employers to fill skill shortages with overseas workers. However, there are a number of steps an employer must complete before they are able to bring over migrant workers on an AEWV:

Step 1 – Employer Accreditation
Step 2 – Job Check
Step 3 – Migrant Check

Accreditation:

Employers must first become accredited to hire a worker from overseas.
Employers must show Immigration New Zealand that they meet various criteria, including compliance with immigration and employment laws, financial stability, and being a genuine operating business. This will often require various documentation.
Franchisees and third-party employers (including labour hire companies) wanting to bring migrants over will need to meet additional criteria.

Job check:

The job must be first listed to New Zealanders – there are specific requirements for this.
The job must meet criteria relating to pay (depending on the job), minimum hours, and acceptable employment terms.
A Labour Market Test is required apart from in certain circumstances.

Migrant Check:

Once you have become accredited and had the job check approved, you can invite the migrant to apply for their visa.
The migrant must have a copy of the employment agreement and signed employment offer.
The migrant must be able to demonstrate that they have the required experience and/or qualifications for the job you have offered them.
They must also meet various health and character requirements.
This takes around 20 working days to process, provided there are no issues with the application.

To have the above steps approved by Immigration New Zealand, there is strict criteria to follow. It is important to get it right the first time to avoid delays or your application being declined.

How We Can Help

Bringing migrants over on an AEWV can be complex, and any errors or missing information can lead to the AEWV steps being delayed or declined.

Contact Pawson Law for help. We take the accreditation and job check process out of your hands so you can be sure that Immigration New Zealand gets the information they need (and fast).

If required, we also deal with AEWV applications for the overseas workers themselves and get applications fast-tracked where possible so you are able to fill job shortages as soon as possible.

If you are an employer who currently has migrants employed and are wanting to know if/when they will need to apply for an AEWV, we can advise you on this too.