Photo by Chris Sisarich
Immigration New Zealand has made important changes to the variation of conditions or rules of some work visas, including the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) and the Essential Skills Work Visa. These changes came into effect on 5 December 2022.
AEWV Job Changes
If you have an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), you can now apply for a Job Change to change your employer, job, location, or a combination of these.
Your employer must be accredited to hire migrants for the AEWV and have a valid job check for your new job.
Changing to a job paid below the median wage
If you want to change to a job paid below the median wage, that role must be exempt from paying the median wage.
Your current visa must also be valid for no longer than the maximum visa length allowed for roles paid below the median wage. So, you must apply for a new AEWV if your current visa is valid for longer than the time allowed.
Varying conditions of Essential Skills Work Visas
If you have an Essential Skills Work Visa, you can now apply to change your employer, job, location, or a combination of these. Previously, Essential Skills visa holders were only able to change occupation or location if their new job was on the Essential Skills in Demand List.
If you are changing your job or location, your employer must:
- have advertised the job and
- been unable to find suitable or available New Zealand workers.
During your application you will need to upload a letter from your employer. In the letter they must declare they could not find suitable or available New Zealanders for the job.
Your employer does not need to advertise your new job, and you do not need to upload a letter, if the role is:
- on the Essential Skills in Demand List and you meet the requirements of the list
- on the Green List and you meet the requirements of the list or
- paid at least twice the median wage.
If your new job has different skills and experience requirements to your old job, you will need to show that you are qualified for the job.
If you have any questions regarding this announcement or have any immigration enquiries, please contact Arno Nothnagel, our NZ Immigration Director, here.
