A work visa allows you to work in New Zealand for a limited amount of time. You can apply for a work visa before travelling to New Zealand. A work visa granted offshore will allow you to travel to the New Zealand border. When you arrive, an immigration officer will check that you meet all the conditions of your visa to be granted entry permission to work in New Zealand. You can also apply for a work visa once you are already in New Zealand. Whether you apply onshore or offshore, your work visa may include travel conditions allowing a single entry (valid for one journey) or multiple entry (valid for more than one journey). A work visa may be endorsed in your passport or may be granted electronically, in which case you need to have and keep a printed copy.
Requirements for all visas based on employment
If you are applying for a work visa based on a job offer in New Zealand, you must provide details of your employment, including an offer of employment in writing. All offers of employment must be genuinely obtained from the employer (not something you paid your employer for or your employer asked you to pay).
All offers of employment must contain:
- The name, address, telephone and/or fax number of the employer, and
- The name and address of the person to whom the job is offered, and
- A full job description
The job description must include all of the following:
- Job title or designation
- Address of the place of employment if different from employer’s address
- Type of work, duties and responsibilities involved
- Details of pay and conditions of employment
- Any qualifications, experience or training required
- Confirmation of whether or not registration in New Zealand is required
- Duration of the job
- How long the offer of employment is open
This will contain all of the information about your employment described above.
You must also provide evidence that you are qualified by training or work experience to do the job you have been offered. This evidence can be provided in the form of copies of your qualifications and/or written confirmation of your work experience from previous employers.
If the job requires registration by law in New Zealand, you must also show evidence that you have met, or are able to meet registration requirements.