Student and Trainee Work Visa — Support a candidate's visa application

If you are an employer or education provider that offers practical work experience to overseas students or trainees as part of their study or training, you will need to support their Student and Trainee Work Visa application. This includes religious training organisations offering places to religious trainees, New Zealand trainers offering jockey apprenticeships, and hospitals offering practical training work to dental or medical trainees.

  • Visa length

    Varies

    depending on the training

To support your candidate's visa application, you must:

  • offer practical work experience that is relevant to the student's study or training
  • provide a written employment agreement or letter of offer
  • meet any other requirements that relate to specific organisations or types of training.

This option helps you:

  • attract students and trainee workers from overseas, including those in specialist fields identified in the Student and Trainee Work Visa.

You do not need to check if there are any New Zealanders who can do the work, before making a job offer.

What an employer needs to do

Employers and education providers

You must offer relevant practical work experience.

You must provide a written employment agreement or letter of offer. Your offer must be for work that is relevant to the student’s study or training.

Religious training organisations

You must offer a formal place on a religious training programme and your sponsorship.

You must provide:

  • written confirmation of a place on a formal religious training programme in New Zealand
  • a completed 'Sponsorship Form for Religious Workers' agreeing to provide sponsorship.

To be eligible to sponsor religious trainees, your organisation must:

  • be registered as a charity with Charities Services
  • show us that its main purpose is to advance religion
  • have been providing religious training for 5 years or more
  • be able to meet the requirements for acceptable sponsors, including having the ability to provide accommodation, financial support and help for your trainees to return home, if they need it.

Charities Services website

Note

You cannot sponsor someone who is an 'officer' or a 'nominated person' of your religious organisation.

Hospitals

You must provide practical training work.

You must provide a written offer of practical dental or medical training work at a New Zealand hospital that your medical or dental trainee is qualified to do.

Note

Dental and medical trainees who already have a student or visitor visa are not eligible for a Student and Trainee Work Visa.

New Zealand trainers

You must provide a job offer and a guarantee.

You must provide your apprentice with:

  • a written job offer
  • a written guarantee you will cover the cost of their return home, if they do not complete the apprenticeship and they are unable to meet the cost themselves.

Note

To be granted a visa, your apprentice will also need a written guarantee from New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Incorporated that they will cover your apprentice's accommodation and living costs while in New Zealand.

What happens next

  1. 1

    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.

  2. 2

    Step 2: Candidate applies for a work visa

  3. 3

    Step 3: Wait for a decision

    We make a decision about your candidate's application as soon as we can. You can view our historic visa timeframes below.

    Fees, decision times and where to apply

  4. 4

    Step 4: Candidate starts work experience or training

    Your student, trainee or apprentice must be granted a visa before they can start their work experience or training.

    They will only be able to work or train with you, doing the work or training that was the basis of their visa application.

    Apprentice jockeys may be able to change trainers, if they apply for a variation of conditions.