Employees of Relocating Business Resident Visa — Support a candidate's visa application
If you are relocating your business to New Zealand, you may be able to bring your key employees with you. For your employees to apply for this visa, they must not be eligible for any other kind of New Zealand resident visa.
Business up and running
We will ask any relocating employees for evidence that your business is up and running.
Evidence can 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 up and running. For example, employment agreements, bank statements, power bills for the business, sales agreements, contracts to provide products or services.
Note
We can grant temporary work visas to key employees to get the business up and running and resident visas once the business is operating.
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Support
Your business relocation must have the support of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.
Contact NZTE before your employees make a visa application.
We will contact NZTE to check your relocating business has their support.
Letter from the CEO
Your business' CEO must provide relocating employees with a letter
The CEO's letter must include:
- the name of the business
- the business' intended 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
- the relocating employees' current roles in the business
- the relocating employees' roles in the business after its relocation
- the reasons the relocating employees are integral to the business
- the ways in which the business relocation will benefit New Zealand.
We will consider the relocation benefits 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 by, 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
Employees can only apply for a 'Employees of Relocating Business Resident visa' if they are not eligible for any other resident visa.
What happens next
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Step 1: Employees apply for a resident visa
Employees can only apply for this visa, if they are not eligible to apply for any other visa.
When they complete their 'Residence Application' they will need to provide a letter from the CEO of your business, explaining why their employment is integral to the success of the business, and how the business will benefit New Zealand.
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Step 2: Wait for a decision
If we approve your employees' applications, we may grant them work visas to allow them to relocate with the business. The work visas are valid for 24 months.
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Step 3: Employee starts work
Your employees will have 12 months to come to New Zealand.
Once in New Zealand, they can start work. It will be a condition of their visas that they can work only for your business for a period of 24 months.
Check if someone can legally work for you
Prepare for when your workers from overseas arrive
Get organised before your new employee arrives in New Zealand. Put together information to help them settle into your workplace and life in New Zealand.From the first contact with your new employee to the time they arrive in New Zealand, be positive but realistic. Do not promise anything that you or New Zealand cannot deliver. You will only set migrants up for disappointment if life in New Zealand is not what they expected.
You can help your new migrant workers to prepare for work and life in a new country through giving them the information they need.
Some information is best provided before they leave and some when they arrive.
Much of this preparation will only need to be done once. If you hire migrant workers in the future, you will be very well prepared.
Where to start
If you are unsure of what things to consider, our checklist will prompt you with ways you can help your migrant employee. It includes things to do before they arrive, upon their arrival and during their first days at work.
Prepare information for your new staff
It pays to prepare some tailored content for your new migrant staff. If you don’t already have it, you may want to create:
- an orientation programme to introduce your workplace
- a welcome kit with local information about the region, accommodation and transport information.
You could also prepare existing staff for your new migrant employee by announcing their upcoming arrival on your website or staff communication channels, for example, noticeboards.
Use our resources to help your new staff
Send your new staff links to our tools and online resources to help your them plan their move before they leave their home country.
NZ Ready planning tool
Moving to a new country can be a daunting task for your new employee. The best way to help your new employee with their move is to guide them to NZ Ready, Immigration New Zealand’s free online planning tool. This tool asks a series of questions that will help them to create a comprehensive personalised to do list to follow.
Get ready for New Zealand — NZ Ready
Cost of living calculator
What it costs to live in New Zealand may be quite different from a migrant's home country. This tool helps migrants to understand the cost of living in various parts of New Zealand.
Think beyond the workplace
Provide information about life in New Zealand during the recruitment process. Your new employee needs to know what to expect in relation to:
- basics of life in New Zealand such as housing and healthcare
- schooling and employment opportunities for their partner and children
- community support available.
A happy, settled family makes for a happy and productive employee who is more likely to remain loyal to you.
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Step 4: We may grant your employees residence
Once the business is established, we may grant your employees conditional resident visas.