Supplementary Seasonal Employment — Approval in Principle
You may wish to consider applying for a Supplementary Seasonal Employment (SSE) Approval in Principle, if you need to supplement your New Zealand workforce with overseas workers to manage seasonal labour demands. If we approve your application, you can employ the number of overseas workers detailed in your Approval in Principle. To be able to work for you, workers must already be in New Zealand and have an SSE Work Visa.
-
Overseas worker
can work for you for
up to 6 months
-
Cost
from
NZD $335
-
Processing times
80% within
3 months
With this Approval in Principle you can:
- recruit overseas workers who are already in New Zealand to plant, maintain, harvest, or pack crops in peak seasons when there is more demand for labour than there are New Zealanders to do the work
- employ overseas workers who are already in New Zealand and have a Supplementary Seasonal Employment (SSE) Visa
- hire the number of SSE workers we approved when you applied for your Approval in Principle — you will need to tell us about the number of available jobs when you apply.
Things to note:
- We will only approve your application if after checking with Work and Income, we can confirm there are not enough suitable New Zealanders available to do the work.
Overview
The process for becoming a Supplementary Seasonal Employer.
-
1
Step 1: Apply for an Approval in Principle
Horticulture and viticulture industry employers can apply for a Supplementary Seasonal Employer Approval in Principle, which if granted will allow them to employ overseas workers who are already in New Zealand to plant, maintain, harvest or packing crops.
-
2
Step 2: Maintain your Approval in Principle
To continue to be able to employ overseas workers, employers must continue to meet the requirements of their Supplementary Seasonal Employment Approval in Principle.
Apply for an SSE Approval in Principle
To be granted an Approval in Principle, you must show us you meet all of the following criteria.
Training and employing New Zealanders
You must be committed to training and employing New Zealanders.
You must provide documents that show that:
- you have made genuine attempts to recruit New Zealanders before looking offshore
- you have an established relationship with your Work and Income office
- you will make ongoing attempts to recruit New Zealanders while your Approval in Principle is in force.
Note
We will consult with the Ministry of Social Development when we assess the availability of New Zealanders to do the work.
Employment agreements
You must provide us with a sample employment agreement.
You must provide a sample of the employment agreement you will offer to overseas workers, which must:
- be for work planting, maintaining, harvesting or packing crops in the horticulture or viticulture industry
- be for no more than 6 months
- specify a 'per hour' rate and a piece rate, if that applies — each to be no less than the market rate for New Zealanders
- comply with all employment and immigration law.
Workplace practices
You must have good workplace practices.
When you complete your application, we may ask you:
- about the accommodation you will provide for your workers
- about your compliance with employment and immigration law
- for your authority to contact other New Zealand government agencies to assess if you meet this requirement.
Note
We may need to confirm information with other government agencies.
How to apply and costs
The information below will help you understand the process, timeframes and costs involved in applying for the Approval in Principle, so you can plan ahead and have the best chance of submitting a complete application.
-
1
Step 1: Apply for an Approval in Principle
To apply, you will need to complete a ‘Supplementary Seasonal Employment Approval in Principle Application’ and send it to us with your evidence and application fee.
You must be a New Zealand employer in New Zealand to apply.
-
2
Step 2: Wait for a decision
When we assess your application, we may consult with the Ministry of Social Development and other government agencies.
We may ask you for extra information if it is needed to make a decision about your application.
If we approve your application, your accreditation will be valid for a set period of time, which we explain to you in a letter or email.
-
3
Step 3: Hire workers who hold SSE work visas
Once we approve your application, you can go ahead and offer the jobs detailed in your Approval in Principle to overseas workers. You can recruit workers until your Approval in Principle expires, or you have hired the number of workers the Approval in Principle allows. You can only employ workers who are already in New Zealand and have a Supplementary Seasonal Employment (SSE) Work Visa. You can support your workers’ visa applications by providing them with a job offer.
How to submit
Where to send
Payment methods
By Post
Credit Card
You can pay with Visa or MasterCard. We take payment when we receive your application. You must have enough funds available on the day we receive your application or it may be returned to you.
Postal address
Immigration New Zealand
P O Box 50728
Porirua 5240
New Zealand
Courier address
Immigration New Zealand
P O Box 50728
Porirua 5240
New Zealand
Hours
Phone enquiries
Monday to Friday
08:00 to 22:00
Closed Saturday and Sunday
Telephone
0508 558 855 (NZ callers only)
Other notes
Applications made in New Zealand
For applications made in New Zealand, there is no courier fee to be paid for applications or documents to be returned.
Maintain your Approval in Principle
It is important that you continue to meet the requirements of your Approval in Principle. Find out what you need to do to maintain your approval.
Reapplying
Your previous request may still be valid and you may not need to reapply.
Contact us first if you have previously received Approval in Principle to recruit overseas workers.
Supplementing your workforce
You must be able to show your future plans for training and upskilling New Zealanders to do the work.
The purpose of getting Approval in Principle is to supplement your New Zealand workforce, not replace it.
Recruiting overseas workers can help you through the peak seasons, when there are not enough New Zealanders available to meet labour demands. You have to make genuine attempts to recruit New Zealanders before you offer a job to overseas workers in New Zealand. You will need to show us that you have continued to work with Work and Income to do this, before you apply for a new Approval in Principle.
Employment and immigration law
You will need to show us you continue to meet New Zealand employment and immigration law.
You must meet minimum rights and obligations under both employment and immigration law. As an employer of migrant workers, it is your responsibility to meet these requirements. Both the Labour Inspectorate and Immigration New Zealand take breaches of the law and migrant exploitation very seriously. We will investigate any breaches of the law.
To make sure you are complying, you must at least:
- know what your workers' minimum employment rights are
- check to see that any overseas workers you hire are allowed to work for you — you can do this by using our online system.
Employee rights and responsibilities — Employment New Zealand
How to reapply
Follow these steps to reapply.