How to apply for AEWV employer accreditation

Before you apply online for accreditation to hire workers on an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), gather information about your business and check that you can fulfil AEWV commitments.

NOTE

From 27 November 2023, we are introducing a maximum continuous stay and longer duration for the AEWV. Find out how this affects employers, and how you can support your workers.

Maximum continuous stay and longer duration for the AEWV

Apply online 

Our checklists for employers, including franchisees and employers using controlling third parties, can help you to prepare your application. 

Applying for accreditation: checklists for employers

If you have everything you need to apply, start your application.

Log in using RealMe®. After you log in, you go to the Immigration Online dashboard where you can start your application.

RealMe login button

How much accreditation costs

You pay a different fee depending on the type of accreditation you decide to apply for.

Paying for AEWV employer accreditation and job checks

Check if you can apply

To apply, your business needs to be a viable and genuine business, and able to meet at least 1 of these financial requirements.

Your business has not made a loss over the last 2 years.

Your business has had a positive cash flow each month for the last 6 months.

Your business has enough capital or external investment to remain viable.

Your business has a credible 2-year plan to ensure it remains viable – for example, a revenue forecast or cash flow projection.

Your business must also comply with New Zealand immigration law, employment and business standards.

You and any key people in your organisation cannot be on the Labour Inspectorate’s stand-down list or permanently banned from hiring migrants. We check if you are.

Legal compliance for AEWV employer accreditation

There are extra requirements if your business is a franchise, placing workers with a controlling third party, or a trust, partnership or sole trader.

If your business is a franchise

If you are placing migrant workers with a controlling third party

If you are a trust, partnership or sole trader

Information you need to gather before you apply

 You need to have:

a business IRD number

a New Zealand Business Number (NZBN) that matches the details in the Companies Register — unless you are a foreign diplomatic mission

your Business Industry Classification (BIC) Code

the full name, passport number and date of birth of key people in your organisation — you also need their consent to provide this information.

NZ business or organisation IRD number application | Inland Revenue

Applying for an NZBN | New Zealand Business Number

Companies Register | New Zealand Companies Office

Find your BIC | Business Industry Classification Code

Uploading documents

Most employers will not need to upload any documents during the application.

We will ask for evidence that your business is financially viable if it:

has been trading for less than 12 months, or

does not have a plan to ensure it stays viable.

Use our employer accreditation checklist to find out what evidence to provide.

Applying for accreditation: checklists for employers

Commitments you make when you apply

During the application you must declare the company, the employer and those running the company are all compliant with New Zealand employment laws and standards, and with the Immigration Act 2009.

Complying with immigration and employment law

Training for recruiters

You must commit to ensuring everyone making recruitment decisions about hiring AEWV holders will complete Employment New Zealand's online employer modules. This could include hiring managers, human resource managers, sole traders and partners.

Employment learning modules | Employment New Zealand

You must complete these modules once per accreditation period. If your accreditation period is extended, this does not count as a new accreditation period. You do not need to complete the modules again until your next accreditation period.

Recruitment and employment costs

You must commit to paying all recruitment costs in and outside New Zealand, and not pass costs on to your AEWV employees.

This includes:

advertising costs

recruitment agency fees

employer accreditation fees and job check application fees

trade testing

tools you own, and

training and induction.

You must not charge fees outside New Zealand which would be illegal if charged in New Zealand, including:

payment to secure a job

bonding agreements illegally binding workers to a business

deductions that are unreasonable or not agreed in writing.

NOTE

You do not need to pay the employee's airfares.

Training for AEWV holders

You must commit to giving AEWV workers time during paid work hours to complete all of Employment New Zealand's online employee modules. They must have this time within 1 month of them starting work for you.

Employment learning modules | Employment New Zealand

You must keep records of the modules being completed — we may ask to see them.

Supporting workers to settle

You must commit to giving your migrant workers specific information about working and living in New Zealand including the community services in their local area.

You need to complete these settlement activities within a month from the day the AEWV employee starts their employment contract.

Employer requirements to help settle AEWV employees in New Zealand

We check that you have met your commitments when you renew your accreditation. We may also carry out checks during your accreditation.

Commitments for controlling third party accreditation

If you are placing migrants with a controlling third party there are extra requirements you must meet.

Extra requirements for controlling third party accreditation

How we assess your application

We assess most applications based on your declarations and automated checks against publicly available information, or information held by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

We will contact you if we are not satisfied you meet the requirements or if we want more information to help us assess your application.

After your accreditation is approved

The next step to employing workers on an AEWV is to advertise your roles and apply for a job check.

How to apply for a job check

Changing your accreditation type

With standard accreditation you have a quota of up to 5 jobs you can offer at any one time to people from overseas or in New Zealand. Other types of accreditation have no quota limit.

If you reach your quota limit and need to hire more migrant workers you can upgrade to high-volume accreditation.

If you want to change or downgrade your accreditation type — for example from standard or high-volume accreditation to controlling third party accreditation — you must re-apply and pay the full accreditation fee.

Getting help to apply

Our employer line is open between 08:00 and 18:00, Monday to Friday.

Freephone from NZ landlines: 0508 967 569