AEWV Eligibility: Who Can Get an Accredited Employer Work Visa
The Accredited Employer Work Visa has six gates: a full-time job offer of at least 30 hours a week from an accredited employer, two years of relevant experience or an NZQCF Level 4 qualification, English where the job is skill level 3 to 5, good health, good character, and a role that is not on the excluded list. There is no age limit.
Quick Facts
| Job offer | Full-time, at least 30 hours a week, from an accredited employer, at the market rate |
| Skills | 2 years of relevant experience or a qualification at NZQCF Level 4 or higher |
| Field match | Same field or industry — except a bachelor's degree or higher, which may be in any field |
| English | Not required at skill levels 1 and 2. Required at skill levels 3, 4 and 5 |
| Health | Good health. Chest x-ray for applicants from high-TB-incidence countries staying more than 6 months |
| Character | Good character. Police certificate for stays of 24 months or longer |
| Age limit | None stated by INZ for this visa |
| Funds requirement | None published for this visa — the job offer is the support test |
| Cost | NZ$1,540 (NZ$480 fee + NZ$1,060 immigration levy) |
| Excluded work | Self-employment · crop work in horticulture or viticulture · foreign fishing crew |
Gate 1: A job offer from an accredited employer
Everything else follows from this. The offer must be:
- From an employer with current accreditation. Accreditation is a status INZ grants to the business, and it can lapse or be revoked. You can check it before you accept anything — see how to check if an employer is accredited.
- For a role covered by an approved Job Check. The Job Check approves the specific job, its pay, its hours and its location. It is valid for six months.
- Full-time — at least 30 guaranteed hours a week. "Up to 30 hours" is not 30 hours.
- Paid at the market rate, and never below the adult minimum wage of NZ$23.50 an hour.
- For the AEWV type the Job Check was approved for — the regular AEWV, the Peak Seasonal Visa or the Global Workforce Seasonal Visa. These are not interchangeable.
A written employment agreement is what evidences most of this. A letter of intent, an email offering "a position when you arrive", or a recruiter's assurance is not an employment agreement.
Jobs that cannot support this visa
Three categories of work are excluded outright, regardless of how good the offer is:
- Self-employed work. You cannot be your own employer on this visa, and you cannot run a business on it.
- Planting, maintaining, harvesting or packing crops in horticulture or viticulture. Those roles run through the seasonal visas instead — see seasonal work visas in New Zealand compared.
- Foreign crew of fishing vessels. A separate Fishing Crew Work Visa exists for that work.
Gate 2: The minimum skill requirement
You must show either:
- two years or more of relevant work experience, or
- a qualification at NZQCF Level 4 or higher.
The detail that decides most cases is the field match. Experience must be in the same field or industry as the job you are being hired for. Qualifications must also relate to the job — with one exception: a bachelor's degree or higher may be in any field.
The two years:
- need not be consecutive,
- need not be full-time,
- must total two years full-time equivalent, with evidence of the hours actually worked.
That last point is what turns a paperwork question into a real one. Part-time and casual histories have to be documented in hours, not in job titles.
Four exemptions remove this gate entirely. They apply where you hold occupational registration that itself required the experience or qualification; where the job pays at least NZ$67.12 an hour; where a previous application already evidenced a Level 4 qualification or two years in a similar job; or where the job sits under a sector agreement or wage exemption for roles paid under NZ$29.66 an hour.
Two years is itself a recent number — it was three years until the March 2025 package. Full detail: AEWV work experience and qualification requirements.
Gate 3: English, but only for some jobs
English evidence depends entirely on your job's skill level:
| Job skill level | English evidence |
|---|---|
| 1 and 2 | Not required |
| 3 | Required, from 1 June 2026 |
| 4 and 5 | Required |
The standard is IELTS 4.0 or an accepted equivalent, described by the Minister as basic, everyday English for common situations. It applies whether your occupation is classified under ANZSCO or the National Occupation List.
The 1 June 2026 extension to skill level 3 matters more than any other recent change to this visa, because around half of all AEWV applications are for skill level 3 roles, against 16% for skill levels 4 and 5 combined. A transitional exemption applies to existing holders whose visas expire on or before 1 December 2026 when they renew into a skill level 3 role. See English language requirements for work visas.
Because English, visa length and family support all key off skill level, working out your job's skill level is the single most useful thing to do early. See AEWV skill levels 1 to 5.
Gate 4: Health
Applicants must have an acceptable standard of health. Two things are published specifically for this visa:
- A chest x-ray is required for applicants from high-TB-incidence countries staying more than six months.
- INZ may decline where a medical assessor considers likely health service costs would exceed NZ$81,000, assessed over five years or over the predicted course of the condition. That threshold has been in place since 4 September 2022.
INZ does not publish a single table of "which test for which visa length" on its current health pages — it says what you need depends on the visa, the length of stay, your country and whether you have given a medical certificate before. Anything more specific than that should be confirmed against INZ directly. See the acceptable standard of health, explained and chest x-ray requirements.
Medical waivers exist for some categories. Whether one is available in a given case is exactly the kind of question that needs a licensed adviser rather than a website — see medical waivers for NZ visa applications.
Gate 5: Character
All applicants must meet good character requirements.
- Police certificates are required for stays of 24 months or longer. They must be less than six months old when the application is submitted.
- Repeat applicants may not need to supply them again if they were provided with a previous application.
- Since 2026, applications that should carry a police certificate and do not may be declined without further contact. Citizens of Fiji, Hong Kong and Israel are exempted from the upfront requirement.
That "declined without further contact" rule is a change in behaviour, not just paperwork: it removes the assumption that INZ will write and ask. See the upfront police certificate rule and police certificates for NZ visa applications.
A criminal record does not automatically end an application, but it changes what has to be disclosed and assessed. See moving to New Zealand with a criminal record.
Gate 6: A genuine offer, genuinely obtained
INZ will decline the application if you, or anyone acting for you, offered or promised money to the employer in exchange for the job offer. This is stated as an outcome, not a risk.
It is worth taking literally. Payment for a job offer — sometimes presented as a "sponsorship fee", "visa processing contribution" or "training bond" — is the mechanism behind most migrant exploitation cases in New Zealand, and the November 2025 amendment legislation created a new offence for seeking or receiving premiums for employment. Accredited employers are separately prohibited from passing recruitment costs to workers.
If someone has asked you for money in exchange for a New Zealand job offer, that is a matter for INZ and for a licensed adviser. See how to spot a fake New Zealand job offer and immigration scams to avoid.
What is not required
Worth stating plainly, because these are common assumptions:
- No age limit. INZ states none for this visa. Several residence categories cap at 55, which is a different question at a different stage.
- No degree requirement. A Level 4 qualification is the alternative to experience, not a floor. Many trades qualifications sit at or above Level 4.
- No published funds requirement. Unlike visitor and student visas, the AEWV does not publish a maintenance figure — the guaranteed job offer performs that role.
- No English requirement at skill levels 1 and 2.
- No requirement to be offshore. The visa can be applied for from inside or outside New Zealand, though your current visa conditions matter if you are already here. See offshore vs onshore applications.
The employer's side, and why it affects you
Two of the three AEWV stages belong to the employer, and a failure at either stage stops your application regardless of your own circumstances:
- The employer must hold current accreditation — standard, high-volume or triangular. The franchisee category closed on 16 June 2024.
- The employer must hold an approved Job Check for the role, applied for within 90 days of the advertisement closing and used within its six-month validity.
If an employer loses accreditation while you hold a visa, there are defined consequences. See what happens if your employer loses accreditation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the requirements for a New Zealand work visa?
For the AEWV: a full-time job offer of at least 30 hours a week from an accredited employer for a role covered by an approved Job Check; two years of relevant experience or an NZQCF Level 4 qualification; English if the job is skill level 3 to 5; good health; and good character.
Am I eligible to work in New Zealand?
Work rights come from a visa, and each visa has published criteria. This page sets out what the AEWV requires. We cannot assess anyone's individual circumstances — that is regulated immigration advice in New Zealand. Compare the routes in work visa options in New Zealand.
Do I need a degree for an AEWV?
No. The skill requirement is two years of relevant experience or a qualification at NZQCF Level 4 or higher. A bachelor's degree is useful because it is the one qualification that may be in any field, but it is not required.
Is there an age limit for the AEWV?
INZ publishes none for this visa. Age limits of 55 apply to several residence categories, including Straight to Residence, Work to Residence and the Talent visas, so age can matter later even though it does not matter here.
Do I need IELTS for an AEWV?
Only for skill level 3, 4 and 5 jobs. The standard is IELTS 4.0 or an accepted equivalent. Skill level 1 and 2 jobs require no English evidence at all.
Do I need a police certificate for an AEWV?
If your intended stay is 24 months or longer, yes, and it must be less than six months old when you submit. Since 2026, an application that should include one and does not can be declined without INZ contacting you first.
Can I get an AEWV if I want to be self-employed?
No. Self-employed work is expressly excluded, as is running your own business on this visa. Business and investment routes are covered in investor visa options compared.
Can my employer charge me for the visa or the recruitment?
Accredited employers must not pass recruitment costs to workers, and INZ will decline an application where money was offered or promised to the employer for the job offer. The visa fee itself is yours to pay; the accreditation and Job Check fees are the employer's.
What are the chances of an AEWV being rejected?
We do not predict outcomes, and nobody legitimately can. What we can say is what INZ declines on: incomplete evidence, missing police certificates, experience that cannot be evidenced in hours, pay that does not match the advertisement, and payments made for a job offer. See AEWV declined: common reasons.
This page is general information, not immigration advice. New Zealand regulates immigration advice under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007, and we do not assess anyone's individual circumstances. For advice about your own case, use a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer, and check the licence on the Immigration Advisers Authority register.
