New Zealand Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV): 2026 Guide

Reader, before you start: this guide is for people who have, or are chasing, a full-time job offer from a New Zealand employer. If you just want to fund a year of travel with casual local work, the New Zealand Working Holiday Visa is the simpler route. If you want to keep an overseas employer and work remotely, this is the wrong visa — look at a remote-work option like the Portugal D8 instead.

What this guide covers

The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) is New Zealand’s main work visa. It ties you to one approved employer for one role, and since 2022 it has run on a three-step model that puts most of the early work on the employer, not you. The rules changed twice in the last 18 months — the wage floor and the experience bar both moved — so a lot of older advice is now wrong.

• The three steps, and which ones are the employer’s job
• What you need: the job offer, wage, skills, experience, and English
• What it costs, who pays which fee, and current processing times
• The 2025 and 2026 rule changes, and how the AEWV can lead to residence

Last verified: June 10, 2026. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) updates fees, wage figures, and the occupation lists regularly. Confirm anything money- or eligibility-related on the official pages linked throughout before you act.

How the AEWV works: three steps

The visa is a chain. Each link has to be in place before the next.

1. Employer accreditation — Your employer must be accredited by INZ before they can hire any migrant on an AEWV (INZ — Accredited Employer Work Visa). This is about the company, not you.
2. Job check — The employer runs a check on the specific role: that it’s genuine, pays the market rate, and (for some roles) has been advertised locally first.
3. Migrant visa application — Only now do you apply, using a job token the employer’s approved job check generates.

You control step three. Steps one and two belong to the employer, and a slow or disorganized employer is the most common reason an AEWV stalls.

Who can get one

To qualify for the visa itself, you need all of the following.

A job offer from an accredited employer

It must be full-time — at least 30 hours a week — and for a role the employer has cleared through a job check. The offer is for one employer and one role. You can’t use an AEWV to job-hunt freely once you arrive.

The right pay

This is where old guides mislead. New Zealand removed the standalone median-wage threshold for the AEWV on 10 March 2025 (INZ — changes to the AEWV and median wage). You no longer have to be paid a set “median wage” figure to qualify. Instead:

• You must be paid the market rate for the role — what a New Zealander doing the same job would earn.
• You must be paid at least the adult minimum wage — NZD $23.50 an hour as of April 2025.

The immigration median wage still exists (it rose to NZD $35.00 an hour on 9 March 2026 (INZ — median wage increase and the National Occupation List)). It no longer sets the AEWV pay floor, but it still matters for related things like supporting a partner or children and counting toward residence — covered below.

Skills and experience

You need at least two years of relevant work experience, or a recognized qualification at NZQCF Level 4 or above. The experience bar was cut from three years to two on 10 March 2025 — another reason to ignore pre-2025 guides.

English and character

For lower-skilled roles, you must show you can speak and understand English. From December 2025, you must upload a complete, valid police certificate with your application — receipts that say one is “on the way” are no longer accepted, with narrow exceptions for a few countries.

What the employer has to do (and pay)

The accreditation and job check are the employer’s responsibility, and the employer pays for them. It helps to understand the cost, because some employers try to pass it to you — which INZ does not allow for accreditation and job-check fees.

• Accreditation costs NZD $775 for a standard employer hiring up to five migrant workers, NZD $1,280 for high-volume (six or more), and NZD $4,060 for a triangular employer (labour-hire placing staff with controlling third parties) (INZ — paying for accreditation and job checks).
• The job check costs NZD $735.

If an employer asks you to repay their accreditation or job-check fee, that’s a red flag and a breach of the rules. Your fee is the migrant application only.

How long it lasts

• Most roles: up to 5 years.
• Lower-skilled roles (the former skill levels 4 and 5): up to 3 years. On 10 March 2025 this cap was lifted from a shorter limit to match the maximum continuous stay.

After your maximum continuous stay, lower-skilled visa holders generally have to leave and spend time outside New Zealand before returning on another lower-skilled AEWV. Higher-skilled roles don’t hit that wall in the same way, and they’re the ones with realistic residence pathways.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

If you read anything older than this, check it against these:

• 10 March 2025 — Median-wage requirement removed (market rate applies instead); work experience cut from 3 years to 2; sector wage exemptions removed; the lower-skilled visa duration extended to 3 years; seven occupations (including cook, nanny, fitness instructor, and scaffolder) reclassified to a higher skill band.
• December 2025 — A complete police certificate must be uploaded with the application.
• 9 March 2026 — The immigration median wage rose to NZD $35.00 an hour, and the National Occupation List (NOL) began replacing the older ANZSCO occupation system. The NOL is phasing in gradually through 2026, so the occupation that classifies your role — and its requirements — may shift. Check your specific occupation at application time.

Costs and timelines at a glance

Step	Cost (NZD)	Who pays	Processing time
Employer accreditation	$775 (standard)	Employer	Avg 3 days; 80% within 2 weeks
Job check	$735	Employer	Avg 3 days; 80% within 2 weeks
AEWV (your application)	from $1,540	You	Avg 4 weeks; 80% within 7 weeks

Processing figures are INZ’s published averages as of the week of 2 March 2026 (INZ — accreditation, job check and AEWV wait times). They move week to week, so treat them as a planning guide, not a promise — and check the live page before you count on a date. The catch with the AEWV figure: it doesn’t include the accreditation and job-check waits that come first, so the real end-to-end timeline is longer. See how to read New Zealand’s visa processing times for what the numbers actually mean. Green List roles are prioritized and tend to move faster.

Can the AEWV lead to residence?

Yes — the AEWV is a work visa, not a residence visa, but it’s the usual on-ramp to staying permanently. Two main routes:

• Green List — Work to Residence. If your role is on the Green List’s Tier 2 (work-to-residence) list — many trades, plus some health and technical roles — you can apply for residence after working 24 months in that role at the required pay.
• Skilled Migrant Category (SMC). The points-based residence route. You need to reach 6 points from your occupational registration, qualifications, or income, plus credit for skilled New Zealand work experience. Time on an AEWV in a skilled role builds toward this.

Both are residence visas with their own criteria and fees — see New Zealand residence pathways for the full breakdown. The practical point: a higher-skilled AEWV role keeps the residence door open; a lower-skilled one usually doesn’t.

What they don’t tell you

• Your timeline is your employer’s timeline. You can’t even start your application until the employer is accredited and the job check is approved. Pick an employer who has already done this, or expect weeks of waiting before the clock on your own visa even starts.
• “Median wage” headlines are stale. The AEWV no longer has a median-wage pay floor — it’s market rate plus at least minimum wage. Pages that still quote a fixed median-wage requirement to qualify are out of date.
• Lower-skilled roles have a ceiling. A 3-year cap and a required stand-down before returning means lower-skilled AEWV work rarely becomes permanent residence on its own. If staying is the goal, the skill level of the role matters more than the salary.
• You can’t easily switch jobs. The visa is tied to one employer and role. Changing employers usually means a new job check and a variation or new application — not a simple transfer.
• The occupation list is mid-change. The shift from ANZSCO to the National Occupation List through 2026 can move your role’s classification and its rules. Re-check your occupation when you apply, not just when you research.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a job offer before applying for an AEWV?

Yes. The AEWV is employer-led. You need a full-time job offer (at least 30 hours a week) from an INZ-accredited employer, and that employer must pass a job check for the role before you can apply. There is no version of this visa you can get to look for work after arriving.

Is there still a median wage requirement for the AEWV?

No. New Zealand removed the standalone median-wage threshold on 10 March 2025. You must be paid the market rate for the role and at least the adult minimum wage (NZD $23.50/hour as of April 2025). The median wage still exists for other purposes, like supporting dependents and the residence pathway.

How much does the AEWV cost?

Your migrant application starts at NZD $1,540. Separately, your employer pays for accreditation (from NZD $775) and the job check (NZD $735). Employers are not allowed to make you repay those two fees.

How long does it take?

As of early March 2026, INZ processes AEWV applications in about 4 weeks on average, with 80% done within 7 weeks. Accreditation and job checks each average about 3 days. These figures change weekly — check INZ’s live wait-times page.

How long can I stay on an AEWV?

Up to 5 years for most roles, and up to 3 years for lower-skilled roles. Lower-skilled visa holders usually have to spend time outside New Zealand before returning on another lower-skilled AEWV.

Can an AEWV turn into permanent residence?

It can. Through the Green List work-to-residence pathway you may apply for residence after 24 months in an eligible role, or you can pursue the points-based Skilled Migrant Category. Both favor higher-skilled roles; lower-skilled AEWV work rarely leads to residence by itself.

Can I bring my partner and children?

Often yes, but it depends on your role’s skill level and pay. Higher-skilled, higher-paid roles let you support a partner’s work visa and children’s student visas more easily; lower-skilled roles face income thresholds. Check your specific situation with INZ.

Next steps

Before anything else, confirm your prospective employer is INZ-accredited and willing to run a job check — that, not your own paperwork, is where most AEWV plans live or die. Then line up proof of your two years of experience or a Level 4+ qualification, and a complete police certificate. If employer sponsorship turns out to be out of reach for now and you’re under the age limit, the New Zealand Working Holiday Visa is a lower-barrier way to get into the country and the local job market first. For the wider relocation picture — cost of living, the IRD-and-bank sequence, housing — see moving to New Zealand in 2026.

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Sources

• Immigration New Zealand — Accredited Employer Work Visa — accessed 2026-06-10
• Immigration New Zealand — Changes to the AEWV and median wage (10 March 2025) — accessed 2026-06-10
• Immigration New Zealand — New occupations under the National Occupation List and median wage increase (9 March 2026) — accessed 2026-06-10
• Immigration New Zealand — Paying for AEWV employer accreditation and job checks — accessed 2026-06-10
• Immigration New Zealand — Accreditation, job check and AEWV wait times — accessed 2026-06-10