Fishing Crew Work Visa — Support a candidate's visa application
You can support potential fishing crew members' visa applications if you want to recruit 6 or less to work on a single fishing vessel. You do not need to apply for an Approval in Principle to recruit fewer than 6 crew members.
What an employer needs to do
Genuine attempt to recruit
You must have tried to recruit New Zealanders for the positions.
Evidence you have attempted to recruit New Zealanders first may include proof you:
- advertised the work in a large newspaper or website
- asked a recruitment agency to help you find candidates
- asked Work and Income for help to find candidates.
Note
We will consult with the Ministry of Social Development when we assess the availability of New Zealanders to do the work.
Job offer
You must provide each crew member with an employment agreement in English and in their own language.
Your employment agreement must:
- provide minimum crew working conditions
- comply with New Zealand employment and immigration law.
Visa status
You must check the people you hire are allowed to work in New Zealand.
Before your employee starts working for you, you must check they are allowed to work in New Zealand.
Check if someone can legally work for you
Sponsorship
You must sponsor each crew member.
You must provide a completed ‘Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry’ and include:
- the details of each crew member you wish to sponsor, like their names, nationalities, dates of birth and passport details
- evidence you are an acceptable sponsor, like your Approval in Principle number and an explanation of the link between your activities and those that you are sponsoring the crew to come to New Zealand for.
Financial position
You must be in a sound financial position.
Evidence may include:
- a statement from a chartered accountant confirming the business is financially sound and able to meet all of its outstanding obligations
- sets of accounts certified by an accountant
- annual reports
- business plans
- company profile and registration details, including the names of directors and shareholders
- information about the business’ reputation and history.
Note
If available, you should provide business records covering at least 2 financial years.
Employer Supplementary Form
You must complete a 'Supplementary Form for Foreign Crew of a Fishing Vessel'.
For each person you hire you must complete a 'Supplementary Form for Foreign Crew of a Fishing Vessel'.
You will need to give your completed form to your candidate, who will need to include it with their work visa application together with their employment agreement.
Note
If you want to recruit 7 or more foreign fishing crew, you will need to apply for an Approval in Principle.
What happens next
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Step 1: Provide a job offer
To bring someone to New Zealand under this visa, you will first have to provide a job offer. Your candidate will need to provide this to support their visa application.
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Step 2: Candidate applies for a work visa
Your candidate will send their work visa application, with all of the required evidence, to us. Your candidate’s visa application will need to include an employment agreement detailing an offer of full-time work and a ‘Supplementary Form for Foreign Crew of a Fishing Vessel’ completed by you.
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 timeframes.
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Step 3: Wait for a decision
We make a decision about your candidate’s application as soon as we can. Find out how long these visas usually take to decide, in our Fees, decision times and where to apply tool.
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Step 4: Employee starts work
As soon as your candidate has been granted a visa, they can come to New Zealand and start working for you.
You can check they have a work visa by asking to see their visa label or letter, or using our online system.