Transferring migrant workers due to a business sale or restructure

You must meet the following requirements if you want to transfer migrant workers on an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) to another business entity. You may need to do this due to a business sale or restructure.

Employer accreditation

The business migrant workers on an AEWV are being transferred to must:

• be an accredited employer, or
• have applied for accreditation.

Migrant workers can apply for a Job Change if we have received an accreditation application from the business they are being transferred to.

If you apply for standard accreditation, migrants transferred to the new business will be counted against the quota of 5 migrant workers. If you plan to exceed this cap, you should apply for high-volume accreditation.

Job Check

Before hiring a migrant worker on an AEWV, employers normally must apply for a Job Check. A Job Check confirms there are no qualified New Zealanders available who can do a job. Employers may need to advertise the job or engage with Work and Income before they can apply for a Job Check.

If you are transferring migrant workers on an AEWV due to a business sale or restructure, you do not need to apply for a Job Check. Migrant workers will be able to apply for a Job Change without a Job Check if they are staying in the same job and location.

If you have migrant workers on an AEWV who will be moving into a new job or changing locations due to the sale or restructure, you must apply for a Job Check.

How to apply for a Job Check

Job Change

Migrant workers on an AEWV who are transferring to another business due to a business sale or restructure must apply for a Job Change.

When the migrant worker applies for a Job Change we will ask for:

• evidence of the business sale or restructure
• evidence that shows their employment will continue after the sale or restructure, and
• the original Job Check number used when they applied for their AEWV.

We will check to make sure that the job the migrant is working is the same as it was under the previous business.

The job must have the same:

• rate of pay or higher
• location, and
• job title.

Changing the conditions of a work visa or applying for a Job Change

Redundancy or end of employment

Workers who need to change their employer due to a redundancy, or any event which has led to their employment ending must apply for a standard Job Change.

Changing the conditions of a work visa or applying for a Job Change