WI12 China Special Work Instructions

1. These instructions allow limited numbers of citizens of the People's Republic of China who are qualified in certain occupations, and who hold a full-time New Zealand job offer in that occupation, to be granted a work visa and entry permission.
2. To be considered under these instructions the applicant must be one of the following:
   1. a Chinese chef who has a Chinese Occupational Skills Testing Authority Certificate Level 3 in traditional cuisine or a Chinese Certificate of Occupational Skill Level 3 in traditional cuisine; or
   2. a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner (including a TCM nurse) who has a higher education degree requiring at least three years' successful study in TCM from an institution recognised by the Chinese government; or
   3. a Mandarin teachers' aide who has a higher education degree requiring at least three years' successful study; or
   4. a Wushu Martial Arts coach with Wushu Grade 3-5 Certificate and a post-compulsory education qualification in either physical education or teaching requiring at least two years' successful study from an institution recognised by the Chinese government; or
   5. a Wushu Martial Arts coach with Wushu Grade 6-9 Certificate and five years' teaching experience; or
   6. a Chinese Tourism Specialist who meets criteria set out at WI12.15.
3. At any one time, the number of Chinese nationals holding a visa granted for any occupation under these instructions must not exceed the following:
   1. 200 Chinese chefs;
   2. 75 TCM practitioners (including TCM nurses);
   3. 300 Mandarin teachers' aides;
   4. 25 Chinese Wushu Martial Arts coaches; and
   5. 200 Chinese Tourism Specialists.
4. To be granted a work visa under these instructions, applicants must:
   1. provide a completed work visa application form, fee and immigration levy; and
   2. have a full-time New Zealand job offer in one of the occupations listed above, which meets the requirements set out in W2.10; and
   3. meet the specific qualifications and/or experience requirement for their occupation, as detailed in WI12(b) above; and
   4. meet health and character requirements set out in A4 and A5; and
   5. meet the requirements for bona fide applicants set out in E5.

      Note: For the purpose of these instructions the job offer for a Mandarin teacher’s aide may meet the requirements at W2.10.5 and W2.10.10 if the applicant presents a letter showing they have been nominated by the Ministries of Education in New Zealand and China.

5. A labour market test is not required.
6. An application for an initial work visa under these instructions may be lodged by a person who is:
   1. outside New Zealand; or
   2. lawfully in New Zealand on a work or student visa at the time of application, and who is a:
      • TCM practitioner;
      • Mandarin teachers’ aide;
      • Wushu Martial Arts coach; or
      • Tourism specialist.
7. Successful applicants who apply offshore will be granted a work visa and entry permission with the following conditions:
   1. first entry to New Zealand must be made within six months; and
   2. the work visa will be valid for multiple entries to New Zealand for a maximum of three years, depending on the length of their job offer.
8. Successful applicants who apply in New Zealand will be granted a work visa with multiple-entry travel conditions for a maximum of three years, depending on the length of their job offer.
9. If the initial visa is valid for less than three years, a further visa may be granted for the balance of the three-year period, as long as the applicant still meets all the requirements of these instructions.
10. Work visas granted under these instructions must be endorsed with conditions that allow work only for a specified employer in a specified occupation.
11. On completion of the three-year period, applicants must remain outside New Zealand for three years before applying for a further visa under these instructions.

Note: These instructions reflect New Zealand's international trade commitments (see E9).

WI12.1 Acceptable English language test results

The following English language test results are acceptable:

WI12.15 Requirements for Chinese Tourism Specialists

1. To be granted a visa to work as a Chinese Tourism Specialist under these instructions an applicant must hold a New Zealand full-time job offer that meets the requirements at WI12.15(b) and provide sufficient evidence to satisfy an immigration officer that at the time of their application, they:
   1. meet the knowledge requirements at WI12.15(c); and
   2. have acceptable English language test results, as set out at WI12.1, which are no more than two years old at the time the application is lodged, obtained by sitting the test in person at a test centre (tests taken remotely outside of a test centre, including ‘at home’ tests, are not acceptable).
2. An immigration officer must be satisfied that the employment offered:
   1. requires use of Chinese language skills; and
   2. has a clearly described customer engagement focus, in which interacting with customers is a primary function; and
   3. does not predominantly involve general hospitality, cleaning, maintenance or general administration or management.
3. An immigration officer must be satisfied that the applicant:
   1. holds a valid Tour Guide Licence in China, and can demonstrate knowledge of New Zealand; or
   2. holds a New Zealand qualification at Level 5 or above on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework:
      • in Tourism that required a minimum of two years study; or
      • in a field related to Tourism that required a minimum of two years study and the applicant is able to demonstrate a clear link between the qualification and the role offered; or
   3. holds a Chinese qualification at Bachelor’s degree level or higher:
      • in Tourism that required a minimum of two years study; or
      • in a field related to Tourism that required a minimum of two years study and the applicant is able to demonstrate a clear link between the qualification and the role offered; or
   4. has completed one year of work or more in New Zealand as a tourism specialist as defined in (b) above with an endorsed tourism business, where "an endorsed tourism business" is a New Zealand business that holds, or held at the time of the employment agreement was entered into, an Approved Destination Status (ADS) endorsed by Tourism New Zealand.

Note: A valid Tour Guide Licence in China must be consistent with any relevant current or future arrangements between China and New Zealand, including any agreed in the context of ADS requirements.

Effective 14/10/2024