Employees of Relocating Business Resident Visa

Apply for this visa if you are a key employee of a business relocating to New Zealand and you are not eligible for any other resident visa.

  • Length of stay

    Live, work and study

    indefinitely

  • Cost

    From

    NZD $5510

To apply you must:

  • have a job that is integral to the business that is relocating
  • work only for the business for the 24 months following its relocation
  • provide a letter from the Chief Executive Officer of the business
  • speak and understand English
  • meet the other requirements of this visa.

This visa lets you:

  • work in the business you are relocating with
  • bring your partner and dependent children with you
  • travel in and out of New Zealand
  • live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely, once you meet the conditions of the visa.

We may give you a work visa to allow you to relocate the business before we give you a resident visa.

The relocating business must comply with New Zealand employment and immigration law, and have the support of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.

If you include a partner and dependent children in your application, we may give them visitor or student visas while you relocate the business.

How long you can stay

An Employees of Relocating Business Resident Visa lets you stay in New Zealand indefinitely.

Who can apply

Check if you are eligible to apply for this visa and what supporting documents and information you need to provide.

Identity

As proof or your identity, you must provide:

  • 2 acceptable photos of your head and shoulders
  • your original or a of your passport or
  • your original or a certified copy of your .

Note

If you provide a certified copy, we may request your original passport to complete your application.

Passports must be valid for at least 3 months after you plan to leave New Zealand.

Applicants from Hong Kong or Macao applying within Hong Kong or Macao

You must also provide a copy of your identity card.

Citizens of Thailand

If you are a citizen of Thailand and unable to provide a copy of your birth certificate, we will accept your identity card as proof of your identity.

We do not accept delays or expense as reasons for not providing a birth certificate.

Citizens of India

If your birth certificate is not available, we will accept your School Leaving Certificate or Class 10th or 12th Certificate.

Health

You must be in good health.

You must have a chest X-ray and a medical examination as proof of your good health.

Character

You must be of good character.

If you, or anyone else included in your application, are aged 17 or older you must provide a police certificate from:

  • all the countries you are a citizen of, and
  • any other country you have stayed in for 12 months or more over the last 10 years, even if it was not all in the same stay.

How to get a police certificate

If you provide a police certificate that is not in English, you must also provide an  . This includes police certificates that record no convictions.

Fit and proper person

You must be a fit and proper person.

You must confirm in the application form that you meet fit and proper person requirements.

To be a fit and proper person, all businesses you  must have complied with all immigration, employment and taxation laws. You must also:

  • have never been investigated by the Serious Fraud Office or the New Zealand police for any offence resulting from business dealings
  • have no convictions for an offence involving dishonesty
  • have never been involved in business fraud or financial impropriety.

Note

We will contact you if you need to provide further information.

Relationship with family

If you include your partner and children in your application, you must have a genuine relationship with them.

You must provide evidence:

  • of your relationship with your partner and dependent children, such as a marriage certificate and birth certificates
  • that your partner and dependent children meet the identity, character, health and English language requirements for this visa.

English language

You must speak and understand English.

You can show us that you speak English by either providing:

  • an acceptable English language test result
  • evidence you have an English-speaking background
  • evidence you are a competent user of English for other reasons.

Note

English language test results must be no more than 2 years old.

The relocating business

You must provide a letter from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the business you are relocating with.

The CEO’s letter must include:

  • the name of the business
  • the business’ New Zealand location
  • the reason the business is relocating to New Zealand
  • confirmation that the business will comply with New Zealand employment and immigration laws
  • your current role in the business
  • your role in the business after its relocation
  • the reasons you are integral to the business
  • the ways in which the relocation will benefit New Zealand.

We will consider the relocated benefits to New Zealand if the business is trading profitably (or has the potential to do so in the next 12 months) and contributing to our economic growth, for example:

  • introducing new technology, management or technical skills
  • enhancing existing technology, management or technical skills
  • introducing new products or services
  • enhancing existing products or services
  • creating new export markets
  • expanding existing export markets
  • creating at least 1 full-time job for a New Zealander.

Note

You can only apply for an ‘Employee of a Relocating Business Resident Visa’ if you are not eligible for any other resident visa.

Your role in the business

Your role must be integral to the business.

You must provide evidence of your role in the relocating business. This can include original or certified copies of any of the following:

  • letters of appointment
  • certificates of service
  • pay slips
  • job descriptions
  • tax records
  • performance reviews
  • references from your employer.

Employer references should:

  • be on company letterhead
  • describe your role in the business
  • include the date you started working for them
  • include your employer’s contact number and address.

Note

We may ask for extra information to confirm your role in the business.

Employment and immigration law

The business must comply with New Zealand employment and immigration law.

We may ask you to provide evidence that the business:

  • pays workers no less than the minimum wage or other contracted industry standard
  • meets holiday and other leave requirements
  • provides a safe workplace
  • only employs people who are allowed to work in New Zealand.

If the business is included on the list of non-compliant employers maintained by the Labour Inspectorate, we cannot approve your application.

Employers on stand-down 

Business set up

To be granted residence, the relocated business must be operating in New Zealand.  Evidence may include:

  • a certificate of incorporation
  • audited accounts
  • GST records
  • other tax records
  • documents showing a business site has been purchased or leased
  • invoices for business equipment and supplies
  • any other documents that show the business is operating, for example, employment agreements, bank statements, power bills, sales agreements, contracts to provide products or services.

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise support

The relocating business must have the support of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE).

We will contact NZTE to check the relocating business has their support.

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE)

How to pay and submit

When you arrive

Entry permission

You must apply for permission to enter New Zealand. You do this by completing a New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD) form.

You can start your digital declaration any time, but the earliest you can submit it is 24 hours before starting your travel to New Zealand.

A paper declaration form is available for travellers who cannot complete it online.

New Zealand Traveller Declaration

New Zealand Customs and Biosecurity also check that you meet their entry requirements.

Arriving in New Zealand

Alert

You can be refused entry permission if you:

  • do not meet our character requirements
  • have had a change in circumstances since we issued your visa
  • refuse to let us take your photo, fingerprints or an iris scan.

While you are in New Zealand

These are the conditions that you must meet once you have your visa. Your visa conditions are recorded in your eVisa.

Travel

You must come to New Zealand within 12 months of the date your visa is granted.

After you arrive in New Zealand, you can come and go from New Zealand as many times as you like before your visa expires.

Note

To travel after the 24-month period, you will need to apply for a variation of conditions or a permanent resident visa.

Work

You must work only for the business that you are relocating with for the 24 months following the relocation of the business.

Note

Three months before the expiry of the 24-month employment period, we will ask you for evidence you have met this condition.

If we are unable to confirm that you’ve met the conditions, you and your family may not be able to stay in New Zealand.

New Zealand law

If it is your role to do so, you must make sure the relocated business complies with New Zealand immigration and employment law.

Note

Three months before the expiry of the 24-month employment period, we will ask you for evidence you have met this condition.

If we are unable to confirm that you’ve met the conditions, you and your family may not be able to stay in New Zealand.

Contact details

You must let us know if your address or other contact details change in the 24 months you will be working for the business you are relocating with.

Keep your visa in a valid passport

If you want to travel, your visa must be in a valid passport.

If your passport expires, you must apply to transfer your visa to a new passport before you can travel.

Transferring a visa to a new passport

Note

To transfer your visa, you must:

    • send us your old and new passports
    • complete an ‘Application for Transfer or Confirmation of a Visa’
    • pay a transfer fee.

Application for transfer or confirmation of a visa

Fees, decision times and where to apply