The AEWV Three-Step Process: Accreditation, Job Check, Visa
New Zealand's main work visa runs in three fixed steps, in order. The employer becomes accredited (NZ$775 standard), then passes a Job Check for the specific role (NZ$735), and only then can the migrant apply for the Accredited Employer Work Visa (from NZ$1,540). Steps one and two belong to the employer. Nothing the migrant does can start earlier.
Quick Facts
| Step 1 — Employer accreditation | NZ$775 standard · NZ$1,280 high volume · NZ$4,060 triangular employment. Paid by the employer |
| Step 2 — Job Check | NZ$735 per check. Paid by the employer |
| Step 3 — AEWV | From NZ$1,540 (NZ$480 fee + NZ$1,060 immigration levy). Paid by the migrant |
| Order | Strict. No Job Check without accreditation. No visa application without an approved Job Check |
| Processing (as published 20 August 2026) | Accreditation: 4 days average, 80% within 1.5 weeks · Job Check: 3 days average, 80% within 2 weeks · AEWV: 4 weeks average, 80% within 8 weeks |
| Job Check validity | 6 months, or until the employer's accreditation lapses — whichever comes first |
| Job offer floor | At least 30 guaranteed hours a week, paid the market rate |
| Leads to residence | Yes, depending on the occupation and pay |
Why the order matters more in New Zealand than almost anywhere else
Most countries let a worker apply and then check the employer. New Zealand does it the other way around. The employer is assessed first, the job is assessed second, and the person is assessed third and last.
That has one blunt consequence for migrants: an employer who is not accredited cannot hire you on an AEWV, no matter how good your qualifications are and no matter how much they want you. If someone offers you a New Zealand job and cannot tell you their accreditation status or their Job Check reference, the visa at the end of it does not yet exist.
It also explains a pattern that confuses people constantly. A migrant is told "your visa is being processed" weeks before any visa application has been filed, because what is actually being processed is the employer's Job Check. Those are different applications, with different fees, different processing queues and different outcomes.
If you are comparing systems, this is also the sharpest difference from Australia. New Zealand has no numbered visa classes and no employer-nomination-plus-worker-application hybrid — it has three separate approvals, each with its own decision. Our New Zealand vs Australia comparison sets the two side by side.
Step 1: The employer gets accredited
Who does this: the employer. Who pays: the employer.
Accreditation is a check on the business, not on any particular job or any particular worker. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) looks at whether the company is real, solvent, compliant with employment law, and willing to sign up to a set of ongoing promises about how it treats migrant staff.
There are three types, and the type is chosen by how many migrants the employer expects to hire:
| Type | Who it covers | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Up to 5 migrant workers | NZ$775 |
| High volume | 6 or more migrant workers | NZ$1,280 |
| Triangular employment | Placing workers with a controlling third party, no limit on numbers | NZ$4,060 |
Franchisee accreditation was a fourth type. It closed to new applications on 16 June 2024. Existing holders could run to expiry and then move to standard, high volume or triangular. There is no franchisee line in INZ's May 2026 fee schedule.
The business must meet one of four financial viability tests: no loss before depreciation and tax over the last two years; positive cash flow in each of the last six months; sufficient capital or external investment; or a credible two-year business plan. Four situations disqualify an employer outright — being on the employer stand-down list, being on the immigration stand-down list, being permanently banned from hiring migrants, or being bankrupt or under a No Asset Procedure.
A first accreditation lasts 12 months. On renewal it runs 24 months for standard and high volume, and 12 months for triangular employment.
Full detail: employer accreditation requirements and how to apply for employer accreditation.
Step 2: The employer passes a Job Check for that specific role
Who does this: the employer. Who pays: the employer.
Accreditation says the business can hire migrants. A Job Check says this particular job can be filled by one. It costs NZ$735, and it is where most of the compliance work sits.
INZ is checking three things:
- The job itself — the duties, the guaranteed hours (at least 30 a week), the location, and the employment agreement.
- The pay — that it is the market rate for the occupation, and at least the adult minimum wage.
- The labour market test — that New Zealanders were given a fair chance at the role first, unless an exemption applies.
For most roles the employer must advertise before applying. The minimum periods are 14 days for skill level 1, 2 or 3 roles (and for jobs on the National Occupation List usable for the AEWV), and 21 days for skill level 4 or 5 roles, plus good-faith engagement with Work and Income. The Job Check application must be lodged within 90 days of the advertisement closing.
Three exemptions remove advertising altogether: the job is on the Green List and meets Green List requirements; the job pays at least NZ$70.00 an hour; or the job is on the Global Workforce Seasonal Visa list and the hire is on that visa. Exemption from advertising does not exempt anyone from the Job Check itself, or from the fee.
An approved Job Check produces job tokens — one per approved position. One Job Check can cover several identical positions where the job, pay, location and minimum requirements are the same, so an employer hiring four identical roles does not pay four times.
Two deadlines matter to the migrant here. A Job Check is valid for 6 months, or until the employer's accreditation lapses, whichever comes first, and unused job tokens expire when accreditation expires. A slow-moving migrant application can outlive the approval it depends on.
Full detail: the Job Check explained and advertising a job before a Job Check.
Step 3: The migrant applies for the AEWV
Who does this: the migrant. Who pays: the migrant.
Only now does the worker have an application to make. The employer passes on the job token, and the migrant applies for the visa.
The fee is from NZ$1,540, which INZ publishes as a single "from" figure. The components are:
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Application fee | NZ$480 |
| Immigration levy | NZ$1,060 |
| Total | NZ$1,540 |
There is no International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy on a work visa. There has been no general INZ fee or levy increase in 2025 or 2026 — the fee schedule still reads as at 1 October 2024.
What the migrant must show:
- A full-time job offer from the accredited employer, at least 30 hours a week, at the required pay rate
- Two years or more of relevant work experience, or a qualification at NZQCF Level 4 or higher
- English where the job is ANZSCO or National Occupation List skill level 3, 4 or 5 — the standard is IELTS 4.0 or equivalent. English was extended to skill level 3 roles on 1 June 2026, with a transitional carve-out for AEWV holders whose visas expire on or before 1 December 2026
- Good health and good character
One rule catches people out: the migrant may only apply for the visa type the Job Check was approved for. A Job Check approved for a Peak Seasonal Visa does not support a regular AEWV application, and vice versa.
More: AEWV eligibility requirements and how to apply for an AEWV.
Who pays what — the question migrants get wrong most often
| Cost | Who pays | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Employer accreditation | Employer | NZ$775 / NZ$1,280 / NZ$4,060 |
| Job Check | Employer | NZ$735 |
| AEWV application | Migrant | From NZ$1,540 |
| Recruitment costs | Employer — never the worker | — |
Accredited employers must not pass recruitment costs on to workers. That is a condition of accreditation, not a courtesy. If a New Zealand employer or an agent asks you to reimburse them for the NZ$775 accreditation fee or the NZ$735 Job Check fee, or asks for a payment to secure the job offer, that is a serious warning sign.
It is also a legal one. INZ declines an AEWV where the applicant or their agent offered or promised money to the employer in exchange for the job offer. And the Immigration (Fiscal Sustainability and System Integrity) Amendment Bill, which passed its third reading on 21 November 2025, creates an offence of knowingly seeking or receiving a premium for employment, with penalties of up to seven years' imprisonment or a NZ$100,000 fine. Royal Assent and commencement dates for that legislation were not published at the time of writing — confirm the current position on legislation.govt.nz before relying on it.
If you are being asked for money, read how to check if an employer is accredited and immigration scams to avoid.
How long the whole thing takes
INZ publishes wait times for each step separately. As published on 20 August 2026:
| Application | Average (50%) | Most completed within (80%) |
|---|---|---|
| Employer accreditation | 4 days | 1.5 weeks |
| Job Check (all roles) | 3 days | 2 weeks |
| Job Check (Green List roles) | 2 days | 4 days |
| AEWV (all roles) | 4 weeks | 8 weeks |
| AEWV (Green List roles) | 2 weeks | 6 weeks |
| AEWV (health sector roles) | 2 weeks | 4 weeks |
These are the three steps stacked end to end, and they are sequential, not parallel. INZ updates this page weekly and does not date it, so treat any figure you read anywhere — including here — as a snapshot and check the current one before you plan around it.
There is no way to buy a faster decision. INZ publishes no expedited or premium service and charges no fee for one. Anyone selling you queue-jumping is selling you nothing: see paid priority visa processing.
Where each step can fail
Step 1 fails when the business cannot meet any of the four financial viability tests, or when a disqualifier applies. Reconsideration of a declined accreditation costs NZ$250.
Step 2 fails most often on advertising: the wrong platform, too short a period, an advertisement missing the pay range or the guaranteed hours, or an application lodged more than 90 days after the ad closed. Miscoding is the other common cause — applying at skill level 1–3 for a job INZ assesses as level 4–5 can lead to decline and a fresh application. Reconsideration of a Job Check also costs NZ$250.
Step 3 fails on the migrant's own evidence: work experience that cannot be documented, English where it is now required, health, or character. See common reasons an AEWV is declined.
If any step is declined, the fees and levies already paid are not refunded.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the AEWV process work?
In three steps, always in this order: the employer is accredited by INZ, the employer passes a Job Check for the specific role, and then the migrant applies for the visa using a job token from that approved Job Check. Steps one and two are employer applications with employer fees.
Who pays for employer accreditation — the employer or the worker?
The employer. Accreditation (NZ$775 standard) and the Job Check (NZ$735) are employer applications and employer costs, and accredited employers are prohibited from passing recruitment costs on to workers. The migrant pays only their own visa, from NZ$1,540.
Can I apply for an AEWV before my employer has a Job Check?
No. The AEWV application depends on a job token from an approved Job Check, and a Job Check cannot be lodged before accreditation is granted. There is no way to run the steps in parallel or out of order.
How long is a Job Check valid for?
Six months, or until the employer's accreditation lapses, whichever comes first. Unused job tokens expire when the accreditation expires, so a long delay between approval and the visa application can leave the job token dead.
Can one Job Check cover more than one worker?
Yes. A single Job Check can cover multiple positions where the job, the pay, the location and the minimum requirements are the same. Each approved position produces its own job token.
What happens if my employer's accreditation expires while I am waiting?
The Job Check and any unused job tokens fall away with it. What that means for a visa already granted is a separate question — see what happens when an employer loses accreditation.
Does the AEWV lead to residence?
It can, depending on the occupation and the pay rate. The AEWV itself is a temporary visa; residence runs through separate categories such as the Green List and the Skilled Migrant Category. See AEWV to residence pathways.
General information only. This page explains published Immigration New Zealand rules. It is not immigration advice and is not tailored to anyone's circumstances. Under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, only a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer holding a current practising certificate may give New Zealand immigration advice. Fees and processing times are as published on 20 August 2026 — confirm current figures with INZ before you pay.
