Working in New Zealand: the AEWV for South Africans

What the AEWV is for

For South African tradespeople and professionals, the Accredited Employer Work Visa is how a New Zealand employer hires you from abroad. Below: how the three checks fit together and the paperwork to get ready.

The AEWV is New Zealand's main temporary work visa for people from overseas. You can only apply once an accredited employer has offered you a job and sent you a link to its online application. The role must give you 30 hours or more a week and pay the market rate or better, on top of meeting any legal minimum such as New Zealand's minimum wage.

Off limits on this visa: self-employment, crewing on foreign fishing vessels, and planting, maintaining, harvesting or packing crops in horticulture or viticulture.

Employer, job, worker: the three checks

1. The employer check: Immigration New Zealand accredits the employer.
2. The job check: the employer applies for approval of your role, showing that the pay and conditions meet the rules and, where required, that New Zealanders got first shot at the job through advertising. An approved job check lasts 6 months.
3. The worker check: the employer sends you a unique link, the "job token", and you apply for the visa, proving you meet the skills, English, health and character requirements.

Where this comes from: INZ on accreditation and job checks.

Do you qualify? Skills, experience, qualifications

• An offer from an accredited employer whose job check has been approved.
• The skills bar: 2 years or more of relevant work experience, or a qualification at level 4 or above on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF). A bachelor's degree or higher counts whatever the field.
• Overseas qualifications below a bachelor's degree: these need an International Qualification Assessment (IQA) from NZQA.
• Who skips the skills bar: among others, Green List jobs, jobs that require registration, and jobs paying NZD 67.12 an hour or more (as of October 2026, official page).
• Trade registration: in New Zealand some trades, electrical and plumbing work being the obvious ones, cannot legally be done without occupational registration. If your job needs it, find out early what the registering body wants from a South African-trained worker.

Open roles right now: New Zealand vacancies with sponsorship.

English scores you need

Proof of English only applies to jobs at ANZSCO (or NOL) skill level 3, 4 or 5; jobs at skill level 1 or 2 need none. The lowest scores accepted (as of October 2026, official page) are:

Sit the test in person, and make sure your result is less than 2 years old when you apply.

Medicals, X-rays and SAPS clearance

• Chest X-ray: needed if you will stay longer than 6 months and you are a citizen of, or have recently spent time in, a country without a low incidence of tuberculosis. South Africa does not count as low-incidence, so most South African applicants should expect one. X-ray or medical results must be under 3 months old when INZ receives them.
• Police certificates: required if you are 17 or older and your total time in New Zealand will reach 24 months or more. You need one from each country of citizenship (for South Africans, the SAPS Police Clearance Certificate) and from any country where you have lived for more than 5 years since age 17, and each must be under 6 months old.

Where this comes from: the INZ Accredited Employer Work Visa page.

From job offer to visa decision, in order

1. Find a role with an accredited employer and put in your application.
2. Interview and offer. The employer decides to hire you.
3. Accreditation and job check. The employer must be accredited and must get a job check approved for your position.
4. The job token arrives: that is your link to apply.
5. Build your file: passport, proof of experience or qualifications, English result if needed, medical evidence and police certificates (your SAPS clearance included), with certified translations where required.
6. Apply online and pay the fee.
7. Get the decision, book the flight and start work.

Waiting times, fees and how long you can stay

• Processing: INZ decides 80% of applications within 5.5 weeks (as of October 2026, official page). Add time before that for the employer's accreditation and job check and for pulling your own documents together.
• Fee: NZD 1,540 and up (as of October 2026, official page). The exact amount depends on your country, and the official page works it out once you enter your details.
• How long you can stay: up to 5 years in total for most jobs, or 3 years for jobs at ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5, unless an exception applies, for example pay of NZD 52.50 an hour or more, or a Green List job (AEWV time limits). Once you reach the limit, you must spend 12 months outside New Zealand before another AEWV can be granted.
• While you hold it: you work for your employer in the approved job only, with no second job, and you can study for up to 3 months in any 12 months.
• Moving on: a new employer, job or location means a Job Change (with a new accredited employer and job check) or a variation of conditions. A Job Change adds no time to your visa (changing visa conditions).

Taking your family

Your partner and children cannot be added to your AEWV. They apply for their own visas, and your pay and role decide what they can get. The key thresholds (as of October 2026, official page):

• NZD 52.50 an hour or more: you can support a partner work visa and visas for your dependent children.
• NZD 28.00 an hour or more in a job at ANZSCO skill level 1 to 3: you can support a Partner of a Worker Work Visa.
• Under NZD 28.00 an hour: your partner can get a visitor visa only.
• Children: supporting a child visitor visa or a dependent child student visa takes earnings of NZD 58,240 a year or more (a couple who both hold an AEWV can add their incomes together).

The full rules carry more detail and exceptions, Green List roles among them, so read the official page with your own family in mind.

Routes to residence

The AEWV is temporary, but it does not have to be the end of the story: some holders later qualify for residence (as of October 2026, official page).

• Green List: Tier 1 roles lead to the Straight to Residence Visa; Tier 2 roles lead to the Work to Residence Visa once you have done 24 months of full-time work in the role in New Zealand (Green List pathway).
• Skilled Migrant Category (SMC): a resident visa with three pathways (points-based, skilled work experience, and trades and technicians) for applicants aged 55 or under (SMC Resident Visa).

Residence policy changes from time to time. Check the official pages before you plan your future around it.

Applying from South Africa

A general summary of what Immigration New Zealand asks for, meant for planning. It does not assess your personal situation.

• Passport. Make sure it stays valid for 3 months or longer beyond the day you expect to leave New Zealand.
• SAPS clearance and other police certificates. Needed once you are 17 or older and your time in New Zealand will add up to 24 months or more. You need one from each country of citizenship (for South African citizens, a Police Clearance Certificate from the South African Police Service (SAPS)) and from any country where you have lived for more than 5 years since you turned 17. Each must be under 6 months old on the day you apply, and a receipt or proof of application will not do: INZ wants the actual certificate. The INZ police certificate tool explains the process country by country.
• Proof of experience. It has to come from someone other than you: service certificates, payslips, tax certificates or reference letters that state your job, how long you held it and how to contact the employer. A CV by itself proves nothing to INZ.
• Qualifications below degree level. If your claim rests on an overseas qualification below a bachelor's degree (a trade or college certificate, for instance), NZQA must first do an International Qualification Assessment (IQA).
• Medicals and X-rays. Where one is needed, it must be under 3 months old when INZ receives it.
• Certified translations. Required for every medical and police certificate not in English, even a clean one with no convictions. INZ refuses translations done by you, a relative or your immigration adviser (INZ translation rules).

Getting your file ready in South Africa: request your SAPS clearance with the timing in mind, so it is still fresh when you apply; ask each past employer for a service letter; keep payslips and tax certificates together; and if anyone asks for certified copies, have them done by a commissioner of oaths. Full requirements are on the official AEWV page. Then settle tax, banking and notice periods at home using official South African sources.

Fake recruiters and costly mistakes

• No charge for a job. New Zealand employers and agents are barred from charging you for a job or making you cover any of their recruitment costs, whether directly or through someone else.
• Buy an offer, lose the visa. If INZ believes that you, or an agent acting for you, offered or promised the employer money for the job offer, it will decline your AEWV.
• INZ charges the application fee and nothing else, and it never tells you to pay visa fees into a bank account.
• Advice from licensed people only. Immigration advice has to come from an adviser licensed by the Immigration Advisers Authority, or from someone exempt from licensing (INZ on getting advice). Using an adviser is optional.
• Own goals to avoid: sending a CV where independent proof of experience is needed; a SAPS clearance or other police certificate more than 6 months old; leaving certificates untranslated; and taking a job from an employer without accreditation or an approved job check.

Read the official warnings: INZ on staying safe from immigration scams.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get an AEWV without a job offer?

No. You first need an offer from an accredited employer whose job check is approved. The employer then sends you the job token, the link you apply through.

How much experience does the AEWV ask for?

Usually 2 years or more of relevant experience, or an NZQCF qualification at level 4 or above. Some jobs are exempt, Green List roles and very well-paid roles among them.

Do I need IELTS or PTE for the AEWV?

Only if your job sits at ANZSCO skill level 3, 4 or 5. The minimum is IELTS 4.0 overall or PTE Academic 29, or an equivalent score on another accepted test (as of October 2026), and the result must be less than 2 years old.

I am an electrician or plumber. Do I need registration?

Very likely. In New Zealand some trades, electrical and plumbing work among them, cannot legally be done without occupational registration. Check what your job needs and start that process early.

Which police certificate do I need from South Africa?

A Police Clearance Certificate from the South African Police Service (SAPS). INZ asks for one if you are 17 or older and your total time in New Zealand will reach 24 months or more, and it must be under 6 months old when you apply. The INZ police certificate tool shows how to get it.

How long does the AEWV take?

As of October 2026, INZ decides 80% of applications within 5.5 weeks. The AEWV page has the current figure.

How long can I stay on an AEWV?

Up to 5 years for most jobs, or 3 years for most jobs at ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5. After hitting the limit, you must spend 12 months outside New Zealand before you can get another AEWV.

Will my partner be able to work?

That depends on your job and pay. For instance, earning NZD 52.50 an hour or more, or NZD 28.00 an hour or more in a job at ANZSCO skill level 1 to 3, may let your partner get a Partner of a Worker Work Visa.

Can an employer or agent charge me for the job?

No. New Zealand employers and agents may not charge you job fees or pass their recruitment costs on to you, and INZ declines the visa if a job offer was bought.