WA1 Objective and Overview of Accredited Employer instructions

WA1.1 Objective

The Accredited Employer instructions contribute to the overall work instructions objective (W1) by:

1. incentivising employers to employ more New Zealanders to respond to skill and labour shortages over time; and
2. ensuring that employers only recruit non-New Zealand citizen or residents for genuine shortages, while not displacing New Zealanders from employment opportunities or hindering improvements to wages or working conditions; and
3. reducing risks around business models and practices that might enable migrant exploitation; and
4. ensuring that employers are compliant with specific employment, immigration and business standards (WA2.10.10).

WA1.5 Overview of Accredited Employer instructions

1. There are three steps in the Accredited Employer work visa instructions. These are:
   1. employer accreditation - the employer must be granted employer accreditation (WA2); then
   2. Job Check - the accredited employer must have a Job Check approved by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) for any vacancy the employer needs to fill with a non-New Zealand citizen or resident worker (WA3); then
   3. work visa - a non-New Zealand citizen or resident worker must be granted an Accredited Employer work visa (WA4).
2. Despite (a)(ii) above, an application from an Accredited Employer work visa (AEWV) holder for a further AEWV does not require the employer to have had a further Job Check approved, provided the applicant submitted the application for their current AEWV on or before 9 March 2025, they are applying for a visa to continue working in the same role with the same employer for whom they hold their current AEWV, and the application meets the requirements set out at WA4.10.20.

Effective 10/03/2025