What Happens When Your Employer Loses Accreditation
When an employer's accreditation ends, its Job Checks end with it and unused job tokens expire. A migrant who has not yet applied loses the basis of the application. A migrant already holding an Accredited Employer Work Visa keeps a visa tied to a job, an employer and a location — and moving to a new employer requires a variation of conditions, a job change application, or a new visa.
Quick Facts
| Job Check validity | 6 months, or until accreditation lapses — whichever is first |
| Unused job tokens | Expire when accreditation expires |
| Who cannot hold accreditation | Employers on the employer or immigration stand-down list; those permanently banned from hiring migrants; the bankrupt or those under a No Asset Procedure |
| Your visa conditions | You may work only in the job, for the employer, at the location on your visa |
| Moving employer | Variation of conditions, a job change application, or a new visa |
| Variation of conditions fee | NZ$325 on a temporary entry class visa |
| Processing (as published 20 August 2026) | Variation of Conditions – Work: 1.5 weeks average, 80% within 2 weeks |
| If you are being exploited | A Migrant Exploitation Protection Work Visa exists — its applicants are exempt from the immigration levy |
| Get advice | This is a situation where a licensed immigration adviser or NZ lawyer is warranted |
The three ways accreditation ends
They have different causes and, for you, similar consequences.
| How it ends | What happened |
|---|---|
| Expiry | The accreditation simply ran out and was not renewed. The most common cause, and often just administrative drift |
| Revocation or suspension | INZ acted during the term because obligations were breached |
| Disqualification | The employer went onto the employer stand-down list or the immigration stand-down list, was permanently banned from hiring migrants, or became bankrupt or subject to a No Asset Procedure |
An employer on either stand-down list cannot hold accreditation. Nor can one permanently banned from hiring migrants, and nor can one that is bankrupt or under a No Asset Procedure.
The distinction matters for how likely recovery is. An expired accreditation can be renewed. A stand-down list entry runs for a period. A permanent ban does not end.
What ends immediately
Job Checks are valid for 6 months, or until accreditation lapses, whichever comes first. And unused job tokens expire when accreditation expires.
So the moment accreditation ends:
- The employer cannot lodge new Job Checks
- Existing Job Checks end, even with time left on their own six-month window
- Unused job tokens expire — including one that was being held for you
A worked example. Your employer is accredited to March. In November their Job Check for your role is approved, which would normally run to May. In March the accreditation expires. Your job token dies in March, not May. If you were still assembling documents, there is nothing left to apply with.
If you have not yet applied for your visa
The hard answer: you have no application to make.
The visa application depends on a job token from an approved Job Check, and both are gone. Nothing about your own qualifications, savings or intentions changes that.
What is actually available:
- The employer regains accreditation and starts again. Accreditation (NZ$775 standard), then a fresh Job Check (NZ$735) — with new advertising for 14 or 21 days unless an exemption applies, and lodgement within 90 days of the ad closing. That is weeks of work, and it is entirely the employer's to do.
- You look for a different accredited employer. A different employer means a different Job Check and a different job token.
- A different visa category, if one fits your circumstances.
We cannot tell you which of those to pursue — that would be tailored immigration advice, which under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 only a licensed adviser or a New Zealand lawyer may give. What we can tell you is that these are the options that exist.
If you paid anyone for the job offer, that is a separate and more serious problem. See how to check if an employer is accredited.
If you already hold an AEWV
Your visa was granted. It does not evaporate because the employer's accreditation ended. But the conditions on it become the whole story.
You may work only in the job, for the employer, and at the location stated on your visa. That is the constraint. If the employer keeps trading and keeps employing you in the same role at the same site, the immediate position may be unchanged — but the employer cannot recruit further migrants, cannot renew Job Checks, and cannot support a further application from you.
Three practical consequences:
- A renewal or extension will be a problem. Any further AEWV application needs an accredited employer and an approved Job Check behind it. See AEWV renewal and extension.
- Your family's visas may be affected. Partner and dependent-child visas are supported by your employment and by income thresholds tied to it. See bringing family on a work visa.
- If the employer folds, you are in a different situation again — see losing your job on a work visa.
Because the answer here depends on your specific visa conditions, dates and circumstances, this is a point at which general information runs out. A licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer can look at your actual visa.
Moving to a new employer
Changing employer, job or location on an AEWV requires one of three things:
| Route | What it is | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Variation of conditions | Changes the conditions on the visa you already hold | NZ$325 on a temporary entry class visa |
| Job change application | INZ's process for moving to a new job with an accredited employer | See INZ for the current fee |
| A new visa | A fresh AEWV application | From NZ$1,540 |
In every case the new employer must be accredited and must hold an approved Job Check for the role. The three-step model applies again from the top: their accreditation, their Job Check, then your application.
As published on 20 August 2026, a Variation of Conditions – Work took 1.5 weeks on average, with 80% decided within 2 weeks. See variation of conditions explained and changing employers on an AEWV.
You cannot simply start work for a new employer and sort the paperwork out afterwards. Working outside your visa conditions is a breach with its own consequences.
If the accreditation loss involved exploitation
Accreditation is sometimes lost because the employer was mistreating people. If that describes your situation, the routes are separate from the visa question and you can use them independently.
- Employment New Zealand — the authority on minimum employment standards: unpaid or underpaid wages, unlawful deductions, no written employment agreement, missing wage and time records, denied breaks or leave. These rights apply to you regardless of visa status.
- The Labour Inspectorate, part of Employment New Zealand, investigates and enforces those standards.
- Immigration New Zealand — for immigration-side breaches, including an employer demanding payment for a job offer or using your visa status as leverage.
- MBIE's migrant exploitation reporting service — current contact details are published on the Employment New Zealand and MBIE websites.
- The Migrant Exploitation Protection Work Visa exists precisely so that leaving an exploitative employer does not mean losing your immigration status. Its applicants are exempt from the immigration levy. See migrant exploitation and the protection work visa.
Reporting is a significant decision with real consequences, and this page cannot make it for you. What it can tell you is that the routes are free, that they do not require your employer's cooperation, and that your employment rights do not depend on your visa.
How to see this coming
Accreditation expiry is a date, and dates can be asked about.
- Ask for the accreditation expiry date at the offer stage, and again if the process drags. It is a factual question with a one-line answer.
- Ask when the Job Check was approved. Six months from then, or the accreditation expiry, whichever is earlier, is your real deadline.
- Move promptly once a job token exists. The most avoidable version of this problem is a token that expired while documents were being gathered.
- Watch for signs the employer is struggling. Late wages, hours cut below the guaranteed 30 a week, or pay that no longer matches what was advertised are employment problems in their own right — and they are also the conditions in which accreditation is not renewed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if my employer is no longer accredited?
Their Job Checks end and unused job tokens expire, so a migrant who has not yet applied has no application to make. A migrant already holding an AEWV keeps a visa tied to that job, employer and location, but the employer can no longer support new or renewed applications.
Does my visa get cancelled if my employer loses accreditation?
A granted visa is not automatically cancelled by the employer's accreditation ending. What changes is what can happen next — renewals, family support and job changes all require an accredited employer with an approved Job Check. Your own position depends on your visa conditions, so take advice from a licensed adviser or a New Zealand lawyer.
What is the employer stand-down list in New Zealand?
A list of employers barred from supporting migrant visa applications for a period following non-compliance. There is a separate immigration stand-down list, and being on either one disqualifies a business from holding accreditation.
Can I change to a new employer if mine loses accreditation?
Moving requires a variation of conditions, a job change application, or a new visa — and the new employer must be accredited with an approved Job Check for the role. A variation of conditions on a temporary entry class visa costs NZ$325.
What happens to a Job Check if accreditation expires?
It ends. Job Checks are valid for six months or until accreditation lapses, whichever comes first, and unused job tokens expire with the accreditation regardless of how much of the six months remains.
My employer says they are renewing — should I wait?
That is a decision about your own circumstances, which this page cannot make for you. The factual position is that until accreditation is granted again and a new Job Check is approved, there is no job token and no application to file. A licensed immigration adviser can advise on your situation.
Who do I contact if my employer has exploited me?
Employment New Zealand and its Labour Inspectorate for employment standards breaches such as unpaid wages; Immigration New Zealand for immigration breaches; MBIE's migrant exploitation reporting service. The Migrant Exploitation Protection Work Visa exists for migrants leaving exploitative employment.
General information only. This page explains published rules and the options that exist. It does not assess anyone's circumstances and does not advise which option to take — under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, only a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer with a current practising certificate may do that. Fees and processing times as published 20 August 2026.
