New Zealand’s AEWV work visa: a simple guide

What is the AEWV?

New Zealand employers who hire workers from overseas usually do it with one visa. Below, we explain how its three checks fit together and what you should prepare.

In short. AEWV stands for Accredited Employer Work Visa. It is New Zealand's main temporary work visa for people from other countries. You can apply after an accredited employer (one approved by the government) offers you a job and sends you a link to the online form. The job must give you at least 30 hours of work each week. The pay must be at the market rate for the job, and never under a legal minimum such as the New Zealand minimum wage.

Jobs you cannot do on an AEWV: self-employment, crew work on a foreign fishing vessel, and planting, looking after, harvesting or packing crops in horticulture or viticulture (fruit, vegetables and grapes).

The three checks

Think of three doors. Each one must open before you reach the next.

1. Check one: the employer. The business needs accreditation from Immigration New Zealand.
2. Check two: the job. The business asks INZ for a "job check" on your role. It shows the pay and conditions follow the rules and, where needed, that the job was advertised to New Zealanders first. An approved job check is valid for 6 months.
3. Check three: you. The employer sends you a personal link called a "job token". You use it to apply, and you show that you meet the skills, English, health and character rules.

Who can apply?

• A job offer from an accredited employer with an approved job check.
• Skills: at least 2 years of relevant experience, or a qualification at level 4 or higher on the NZQCF (the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework). With a bachelor's degree or higher, any subject is accepted.
• Overseas qualifications: if yours is below bachelor's level and you rely on it, NZQA must assess it first with an International Qualification Assessment (IQA).
• Exemptions from the skills rule: for example Green List jobs, jobs that need registration, and jobs that pay NZD 67.12 or more per hour (as of October 2026, official page).

Does this sound like you? Look at jobs with sponsorship in New Zealand.

How good must your English be?

It depends on the skill level of your job. ANZSCO is the list New Zealand uses to group jobs by skill level. Jobs at ANZSCO (or NOL) skill level 1 or 2 need no English evidence. Jobs at skill level 3, 4 or 5 need English evidence, with these minimum scores (as of October 2026, official page):

Take the test in person. Your result must be less than 2 years old.

Health and character

• Chest X-ray for tuberculosis (TB): needed if you will stay more than 6 months and you are from, or recently spent time in, a country without a low rate of TB. Vietnam is not a low-rate country, so Vietnamese citizens who stay that long should expect an X-ray. INZ must receive the X-ray or medical results within 3 months of the exam.
• Police certificates: needed if you are 17 or older and you will spend 24 months or more in New Zealand in total. You need one from each country where you are a citizen, and from each country where you lived for more than 5 years after age 17. Each must be less than 6 months old. For Vietnam, this is the Judicial Record Certificate No. 2 (Phiếu lý lịch tư pháp số 2).

The steps, in order

1. Find a job with an accredited employer and apply.
2. Have your interview and get a job offer.
3. The employer gets its approvals: accreditation and an approved job check for your role.
4. You receive the job token, your personal link to apply.
5. You gather your documents: passport, police certificates, medical results, proof of your skills or experience, and English results and certified translations if needed.
6. You apply online and pay the fee.
7. You get the decision, travel to New Zealand and start your job.

Waiting time, cost and length of stay

• Waiting time: INZ decides 80% of applications within 5.5 weeks (as of October 2026, official page). Before that, allow time for the employer's accreditation and job check, and for your own documents.
• Fee: from NZD 1,540 (as of October 2026, official page). The fee depends on your country. Enter your details on the official page to see your fee.
• How long you can stay: up to 5 years in total for most jobs. For most jobs at ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5 the limit is 3 years. There are exceptions, for example pay of NZD 52.50 or more per hour, or a Green List job (INZ on AEWV time limits). When you reach the limit, you must spend 12 months outside New Zealand before you can get another AEWV.
• Rules while you are there: you work only in the approved job, only for your employer, and you cannot take a second job. You may study for up to 3 months in any 12 months.
• Changing jobs: a new employer, job or location needs a variation or a Job Change. That means a new accredited employer and a new job check. A Job Change does not give you more time on the visa (INZ on changing your visa conditions).

Your partner and children

The AEWV is for you only. Your partner and children must apply for their own visas. Which visas they can get depends on your job and pay. The main pay levels (as of October 2026, official page):

• NZD 52.50 or more per hour: you can support a work visa for your partner and visas for your dependent children.
• NZD 28.00 or more per hour in a job at ANZSCO skill level 1 to 3: you can support a Partner of a Worker Work Visa.
• Less than NZD 28.00 per hour: your partner can only get a visitor visa.
• Children: to support a child visitor visa or a dependent child student visa, you need to earn at least NZD 58,240 a year. If you and your partner both hold an AEWV, you can add your incomes together.

There are more details and some exceptions, for example for Green List jobs. Read the official page and compare it with your own situation.

Staying longer: residence

The AEWV is a temporary visa. But for some people it is a first step, and later they can apply for residence (as of October 2026, official page).

• Green List: jobs on Tier 1 can lead to the Straight to Residence Visa. Jobs on Tier 2 can lead to the Work to Residence Visa after 24 months of full-time work in that job in New Zealand (the Green List pathway).
• Skilled Migrant Category (SMC): a resident visa for people aged up to 55, with three pathways: points, skilled work experience, and trades and technicians (the SMC Resident Visa).

Residence rules can change. Check the official pages before you plan.

Getting ready in Vietnam or in another country

This checklist is based on the general rules of Immigration New Zealand (INZ), the government agency for visas. Plan with it, then confirm your own case on the official pages.

1. Passport. Look at the expiry date. Your passport must stay valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave New Zealand.
2. Police certificates. You need them if you are 17 or older and your total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or more. Get one from each country where you are a citizen. For Vietnamese citizens, that is the Judicial Record Certificate No. 2. Also get one from any country where you lived for more than 5 years after you turned 17. On the day you apply, each certificate must be less than 6 months old. Send the real certificate; a receipt is not accepted. The INZ police certificate tool tells you what to ask for in each country.
3. Proof of your work. This must come from other people, not from you. Good examples are employment certificates, payslips, tax records and reference letters. Each one should show your job title, your start and end dates and how to contact the employer. A CV on its own is not enough.
4. Qualifications from overseas. Is your qualification below a bachelor's degree, and do you need it for the visa? Then NZQA (the New Zealand Qualifications Authority) must check it first, with an International Qualification Assessment (IQA).
5. Medical results. If you need a medical exam or a chest X-ray, INZ must receive the results within 3 months of the exam.
6. Certified translations. Every police and medical certificate needs a certified English translation, even a police certificate that shows no convictions. Your Judicial Record Certificate is usually in Vietnamese, so plan for this. You, your relatives and your immigration adviser cannot do the translation (INZ rules for translations).

Tips for workers in Vietnam: ask each employer for a letter on company letterhead that confirms your job title and dates, and keep your payslips with it. Your social insurance record can also help show where and when you worked. Translate everything that is in Vietnamese. The official AEWV page has the complete list of requirements.

Also read official Vietnamese government sources about working abroad, and work only with licensed organisations and real employers.

Avoid scams and common mistakes

A real job in New Zealand never starts with a payment from you. Keep these rules in mind.

• No fee for a job. Employers and agents in New Zealand cannot charge you for a job. They also cannot ask you to cover their recruitment costs, either directly or through another person.
• Paying for an offer ends your application. INZ declines the AEWV if it believes you, or an agent for you, offered or promised money to an employer for a job offer.
• INZ only takes its application fee. It will never ask you to pay a visa fee by putting money into a bank account.
• Advice needs a licence. Immigration advice can only come from an adviser licensed by the Immigration Advisers Authority, or from a person who is exempt (INZ on getting immigration advice). You do not have to use an adviser. You can apply by yourself.
• Mistakes we see often: sending only a CV when independent proof of work is needed; police certificates more than 6 months old; certificates without a translation; and accepting a job from an employer that is not accredited or has no approved job check.

Learn more: how INZ says to protect yourself from scams.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get an AEWV without a job offer?

No. First an accredited employer offers you a job. Then the employer gets a job check approved and sends you a job token. You apply with that token.

How much experience is needed for the AEWV?

Usually at least 2 years of relevant work, or an NZQCF qualification at level 4 or higher. Some jobs are exempt, for example Green List jobs and very well-paid jobs.

Is IELTS needed for the AEWV?

Only for jobs at ANZSCO skill level 3, 4 or 5. For these jobs you need an overall IELTS band of at least 4.0, or a similar score on another accepted test (as of October 2026). The result must be less than 2 years old.

How long does the AEWV take?

As of October 2026, Immigration New Zealand decides 80% of applications within 5.5 weeks. See the newest figure on the official AEWV page.

How many years can I stay on an AEWV?

For most jobs, up to 5 years in total. For most jobs at ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5, up to 3 years. After that, you must spend 12 months outside New Zealand before you can get another AEWV.

Can my partner also work in New Zealand?

That depends on your job and pay. For example, if you earn NZD 52.50 or more per hour, or NZD 28.00 or more per hour in a job at ANZSCO skill level 1 to 3, your partner may be able to get a Partner of a Worker Work Visa.

Will I need a chest X-ray as a Vietnamese citizen?

Most likely, if you will stay in New Zealand for more than 6 months. Citizens of countries without a low rate of tuberculosis need a chest X-ray, and Vietnam is one of these countries. INZ must receive the X-ray within 3 months of the exam.

Can an employer or agent charge me for the job?

No. Employers and agents in New Zealand cannot charge you for a job or pass their recruitment costs to you. If you pay for a job offer, INZ will decline your visa. Never pay an unlicensed broker either.