AEWV Work Experience and Qualification Requirements
The Accredited Employer Work Visa has one minimum skill test: two years of relevant work experience, or a qualification at NZQCF Level 4 or higher. Experience must be in the same field as the job. A bachelor's degree or higher may be in any field. Four exemptions remove the test entirely.
Quick Facts
| The test | 2 years of relevant experience or a qualification at NZQCF Level 4 or higher |
| Field match — experience | Must be in the same field or industry as the job offered |
| Field match — qualifications | Must relate to the job, except a bachelor's degree or higher, which may be in any field |
| Counting the 2 years | Need not be consecutive · need not be full-time · must total 2 years full-time equivalent |
| Evidence | Documentation of the hours worked, not just job titles or dates |
| Previous requirement | 3 years, until the March 2025 package cut it to 2 |
| Exemption — registration | Occupational registration that itself required the experience or qualification |
| Exemption — high pay | Paid at least NZ$67.12 an hour (twice the 2024 median wage) |
| Exemption — prior application | A previous application already evidenced a Level 4 qualification or 2 years in a similar job |
| Exemption — sector agreement | Job under a sector agreement or wage exemption paying under NZ$29.66 an hour |
The test, in one line
You must show INZ either two years or more of relevant work experience or a qualification at NZQCF Level 4 or higher. It is an "or", not an "and". A tradesperson with a decade on the tools and no certificate satisfies it. So does a recent graduate with the right qualification and no experience at all.
INZ calls this the minimum skill requirement, and it applies on top of the job offer, not instead of it.
What "relevant" means
This is where most applications actually turn.
For experience: it must be in the same field or industry as the job you are being hired to do. Two years driving trucks does not evidence a role as a chef. Two years as a diesel mechanic evidences a role as a diesel mechanic, and probably a related heavy-vehicle role, but not one in a different trade.
For qualifications: the qualification must relate to the job — with one exception. A bachelor's degree or higher may be in any field. That exception is worth knowing because it is generous and widely missed. A degree in history can satisfy the minimum skill requirement for a job that has nothing to do with history. A Level 4 certificate cannot do the same; it must relate to the work.
| What you hold | Must it match the job? |
|---|---|
| 2 years of work experience | Yes — same field or industry |
| NZQCF Level 4 to Level 6 qualification | Yes — must relate to the job |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | No — may be in any field |
How the two years is counted
Three rules, and the third is the one that creates work:
- It need not be consecutive. Gaps are fine. A year in 2019 and a year in 2023 can add up.
- It need not be full-time. Part-time work counts.
- It must total two years full-time equivalent, evidenced in hours.
That third rule converts a question about your CV into a question about your records. A part-time history has to be added up in hours and documented, which usually means payslips, employment agreements, tax records or letters from employers that state hours rather than just dates.
Time spent working in New Zealand on an interim visa counts. Since the March 2025 changes, interim visa time counts towards both continuous stay and work experience — see interim visas, explained.
What NZQCF Level 4 means
The New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework runs from Level 1 to Level 10. Level 4 sits at the certificate level — roughly a trade certificate or an advanced vocational certificate. Levels 7 and above are degree level.
An overseas qualification is assessed against that framework. Where the level of a foreign qualification is not obvious, INZ may require an assessment from NZQA. That process takes time and is best started early rather than in parallel with an application. See the NZQA international qualification assessment.
The four exemptions
Any one of these removes the minimum skill requirement entirely:
1. Occupational registration
If you hold New Zealand occupational registration and that registration itself required the experience or qualification, the skill test is already satisfied. This covers a large slice of the regulated workforce — health practitioners, electricians, plumbers, gasfitters, teachers, engineers in registered classes. See occupational registration in New Zealand.
Registration is checked on the public register maintained by the responsible authority, and INZ will look for it directly.
2. Pay of at least NZ$67.12 an hour
Being paid at or above NZ$67.12 an hour exempts you. The figure is twice the 2024 median wage, frozen at that value inside this rule. It is not indexed to the current median wage, which is why it looks like an odd number.
3. A previous application that already evidenced it
If an earlier application already evidenced a Level 4 or higher qualification, or two years in a similar job, you do not have to build the same case twice. This matters on renewals and job changes.
4. A sector agreement or wage exemption
Where the job sits under a sector agreement or a wage exemption permitting pay under NZ$29.66 an hour — the February 2023 median wage, also frozen in place — the skill test does not apply. The tourism and hospitality wage exemption is the best-known example, and INZ's own guidance carries the heading "If your job is paid less than $29.66 an hour". See sector agreements in New Zealand.
What changed in March 2025
The requirement was three years until the March 2025 package. It became two years on 10 March 2025, alongside the removal of the median wage as a pay threshold, the extension of skill level 4–5 visa duration from two years to three, and the move to a declaration-based labour market test.
If you are reading guidance that specifies three years, it predates that change. See the median wage change and what replaced it.
Where applications come unstuck
The pattern in declined applications is rarely "not enough experience". It is more often experience that cannot be evidenced in the form INZ requires:
- Reference letters that state dates but not hours. For part-time or casual histories, hours are the unit of measurement.
- Self-employment or family business history with no payroll, contracts or tax records behind it.
- Experience in an adjacent but different field, where the connection is obvious to you and not to an assessor.
- A qualification whose New Zealand framework level was assumed rather than assessed.
- Documents not translated. Non-English documents need a translation and the original. See document translation requirements.
Building this evidence is document work, and it is best done before submission rather than in response to a request for further information. See what a decision-ready application means and documents you need for a NZ visa application.
How this sits with the other requirements
The skill test is one of six gates. It runs alongside the job offer, English where the job is skill level 3 to 5, health and character. Meeting the skill test does not shorten or replace any of them. See AEWV eligibility requirements.
It is also independent of skill level. A skill level 4 job still requires two years of relevant experience or a Level 4 qualification. Skill level controls duration, English and family thresholds — not the skill test itself. See AEWV skill levels 1 to 5.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many years of experience do I need for an AEWV in NZ?
Two years of relevant work experience, or a qualification at NZQCF Level 4 or higher instead. The requirement was reduced from three years to two on 10 March 2025.
Does my work experience have to be in the same field?
Yes, for experience. It must be in the same field or industry as the job you are being hired for. Qualifications must also relate to the job — except a bachelor's degree or higher, which may be in any field.
Does part-time work count towards the two years?
Yes. The two years do not have to be consecutive or full-time, but they must total two years full-time equivalent, and you must be able to evidence the hours worked rather than only the dates employed.
What evidence of work experience does INZ want?
Documentation that establishes the hours worked — employment agreements, payslips, tax records, and employer letters that state hours as well as dates and duties. Non-English documents need translations alongside the originals.
Can a degree in an unrelated subject satisfy the requirement?
A bachelor's degree or higher may be in any field. Qualifications below bachelor's level, including a Level 4 certificate, must relate to the job being offered.
Who is exempt from the AEWV work experience requirement?
Four groups: people whose occupational registration itself required the experience or qualification; people paid at least NZ$67.12 an hour; people whose previous application already evidenced a Level 4 qualification or two years in a similar job; and people in jobs under a sector agreement or wage exemption paying under NZ$29.66 an hour.
Is NZQCF Level 4 the same as a diploma?
Not exactly. Level 4 is the certificate level on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework — broadly a trade or advanced vocational certificate. Diplomas usually sit at Levels 5 to 6, and degrees at Level 7 and above. All of those are "Level 4 or higher" and satisfy the requirement.
Does experience gained in New Zealand count?
Yes, and time worked here on an interim visa has counted towards work experience since the March 2025 changes. The same field-match rule applies regardless of where the experience was gained.
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.
