Reusing or resending a job token

Find out if you can support an employee to apply for their Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) balance, or resend an unused job token to another migrant.

How to apply for a Job Check

Reusing or resending a job token

Reusing a job token

You may want to reuse a job token if you have a migrant whose AEWV is ending and you want to continue to employ them in the same role.

Resending a job token

If the migrant you want to offer a job token to can no longer accept it, you may be able to resend the job token to another suitable migrant instead.

Reusing a job token to support a worker to apply for their AEWV balance

If you want to reuse a job token to support a worker to apply for their AEWV balance, you must continue to employ them in the same role, in the same location and for the same pay or more pay than their original AEWV.

There are also additional requirements depending on how long they can stay in New Zealand and when they applied for their AEWV.

How long a migrant can stay in New Zealand on an AEWV

To support your employee to apply for their AEWV balance, they must have time left on their maximum continuous stay. This is the total time someone can spend in New Zealand on 1 or more AEWVs before they must spend time outside New Zealand.

For example, if your employee has a 2-year AEWV and the total time they can spend in New Zealand is 3 years, their AEWV balance is 1 year. You can only support them to apply for their 1 year AEWV balance.

How long you can stay on an AEWV

Care workforce

If your employee works in a job in the care workforce sector and they get a pay rise, they may be able to re-use a job token to apply for their AEWV balance.

If they apply for their AEWV balance and re-use their job token, their AEWV balance will be based on their first AEWV application and employment conditions.

If they apply for their AEWV balance with a new job token, they may qualify for a longer AEWV balance based on their new pay rate.

Workers who applied for their first AEWV on or after 7 April 2024

You cannot support your employee to apply for their AEWV balance with a used job token if they applied for their first AEWV on or after 7 April 2024.

Workers who applied for their first AEWV between 21 June 2023 and 6 April 2024

You can support your employee to apply for their AEWV balance with a used job token if:

  • you are paying them at least the February 2023 median wage, or
  • you employ them as part of the care workforce or transport sector agreement.

Sector agreements and hiring migrants on an AEWV

Workers who applied for their first AEWV on or before 20 June 2023

You can support your employee to apply for their AEWV balance with a used job token if:

  • their visa is is based on a role assessed at ANZSCO level 1 to 3, and
  • their visa is based on a role paid at or above the median wage that was in place when their visa was granted, and they are still paid this wage or more.

Wage rate requirements for visas

ANZSCO level 4 and 5 roles

If your employee has an AEWV with a role assessed at ANZSCO level 4 or 5, you can only reuse a job token if their role is:

  • on the Green list
  • part of the care workforce or transport sector agreement, or
  • paid at least 1.5 times the median wage that was in place when their visa was granted, and they are still paid this wage or more. This will be NZD$44.49 if their AEWV was granted after 27 February 2023, or NZD$41.64 if their visa was granted before 27 February 2023.

Green list roles

Sector agreements and hiring migrants on an AEWV

Migrants must meet AEWV requirements

Your employee must also meet the criteria of the AEWV, including any criteria added on 7 April 2024 such as English language requirements and proof of qualifications and experience.

If your worker does not meet the visa requirements and their application is declined, they will not be able to get a refund of their visa application fee. Make sure that you and your worker understand the requirements before reusing a job token.

Accredited Employer Work Visa

How a worker can apply for their AEWV balance

If you can reuse a job token, you can send your employee a request to apply for a further AEWV to claim the remainder of their maximum continuous stay balance.

  1. Log in to Immigration Online:
    Immigration Online
  2. Go to 'Employ migrants'.
  3. Find the accreditation on the list of 'My granted accreditations'.
  4. Open the 'Options' menu for the accreditation and select 'View accreditation'.
  5. Find the employee on list of 'Migrant workers with visas'.
  6. Open the 'Options' menu for the employee and select 'Send request'.
  7. Complete and submit the form 'Send request to apply for a further AEWV'.

Job tokens may not display for some people who have been granted a Job Change or other specific situations.

Resending a job token to another migrant

You can only resend a job token to another migrant if:

  • the job token has not already been used for an approved AEWV application
  • the job token is not being used at the same time for another AEWV application, and
  • the Job Check is still current.

If a worker does not accept your request or does not meet requirements

You can resend a job token to another suitable applicant if the worker you invite:

  • does not accept the request, or
  • does not meet the visa requirements and their application is declined.

If we decline an AEWV application

If we have declined an AEWV application but the applicant is eligible to have their application reconsidered, you cannot resend the job token to another migrant until:

  • we have reconsidered the application and made a decision, or
  • you tell us you have withdrawn your offer of employment from the applicant.

If you withdraw an offer of employment

If you tell us you have withdrawn the employment offer from an AEWV applicant, and the AEWV application has not been already approved, you can resend the job token to another migrant.