Foreign Crew on Fishing Vessels - Approval in Principle

You must complete a ‘Request for Approval in Principle to Recruit Foreign Crew on Fishing Vessel’ form and send it to us with your application fee and supporting documents.

We process your application as soon as we can.

Once we approve your application, you can recruit foreign crew to work on your fishing vessel.

Before they can start working for you, each crew member must apply for a work visa. You can support their applications by providing them with:

• an employment agreement in English and their own language
• a copy of your approval in principle letter
• a ‘Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry’ completed by you.

Employment agreements must include minimum working conditions.

Crew working conditions

When you have an approval in principle, there are certain responsibilities and obligations you must meet, including:

• following standard recruitment practices
• sponsoring crew
• having a plan for managing desertion risks
• having processes for managing crew complaints
• keeping employment records
• providing crew with working and living conditions that meet certain standards

If you don’t comply, we won’t grant any more work visas to your crew or approve any future requests for new Approvals in Principle.

Employer responsibilities and obligations

To bring someone to New Zealand under this visa, you will first have to provide a job offer. You can support their applications by providing them with:

• an employment agreement in English and their own language
• a copy of your approval in principle letter
• a ‘Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry’ completed by you.

Employment agreements must include minimum working conditions.

Crew working conditions

Your candidate will send their work visa application, with all of the required evidence, to us.

Preparing an application varies in complexity. The applicant may need to gather many documents to support their application, which can take quite a while, so it is important to be aware of the potential time frames.

We make a decision about your candidate’s application as soon as we can. You can view our historic visa timeframes below.

If your candidate is already in New Zealand, we may ask for more information about your recruitment process, the position or the sustainability of the position.

Fees & decision times

Before your crew can start working for you, you must check they have the right visa and can legally work for you.

Check someone can legally work for you

You must complete a ‘Request for Approval in Principle to Recruit Foreign Crew on Fishing Vessel’ form to reapply and send it to us with your application fee and supporting documents.

We process your application as soon as we can.

Once we approve your application, you can recruit foreign crew to work on your fishing vessel.

Before they can start working for you, each crew member must apply for a work visa. You can support their applications by providing them with:

• an employment agreement in English and their own language
• a copy of your approval in principle letter
• a ‘Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry’ completed by you.

Employment agreements must include minimum working conditions.

Crew working conditions

When you have been reapproved for an approval in principle, there are certain responsibilities and obligations you must continue to meet, including:

• following standard recruitment practices
• sponsoring crew
• having a plan for managing desertion risks
• having processes for managing crew complaints
• keeping employment records
• providing crew with working and living conditions that meet certain standards

If you don’t comply, we won’t grant any more work visas to your crew or approve any future requests for new Approvals in Principle.

Employer responsibilities and obligations