This visa was for people who had a job offer for a role that could not be filled by New Zealanders. It closed on 4 July 2022.
This visa closed permanently on 4 July 2022.
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Provide your country to make the experience more relevant to you.Check if you are eligible to apply for this visa and what supporting documents and information you need to provide.
You must provide proof of your identity
If you apply online, you must upload a copy of your passport when you apply. We will let you know if you need to send your passport after you have applied.
If you submit a paper application, provide your original passport or a certified copy. We can usually process your application faster if you provide your original passport.
Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months after you plan to leave New Zealand.
You must also provide your Kartu Keluarga.
If you are not a French national, you must provide a copy of your carte d’assuré.
You must also provide a copy of your livret de famille.
If you are a Filipino citizen leaving the Philippines, your passport must be valid for 6 months after the date you plan to leave. This is a departure requirement in the Philippines.
Also provide a copy of your Identity card.
Also provide your:
If you are a citizen of China and you submit a paper application form in China, you must also complete a supplementary form.
If you are submitting a paper application form, you must provide a supplementary form for Hong Kong and Macao visitors, workers and students.
You must be of good character
If you have a criminal conviction or are a security risk to New Zealand we may not be able to grant you a visa.
You must provide police certificates if your total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or longer across all visits. This includes any time you have spent in New Zealand in the past on other visas, even if you have been out of the country since then.
You also must provide police certificates if we ask for them.
If you are 16 years old or younger you do not need to provide police certificates.
If you have already sent us Police Certificates with a previous visa application and they are less than 24 months old, you do not need to send them again.
Police certificates must be less than 6 months old when you submit your application. They must be from any country you are a citizen of, or have spent more than 5 years in since you turned 17.
If you are applying for an Essential Skills work visa on or after 19 July 2021, and you have previously provided a police certificate with a visa application, then you do not need to provide another police certificate with your Essential Skills visa application.
If you provide a police certificate that is not in English, you must provide an English translation.
This includes police certificates that record no convictions.
The acceptable character certificate for the Philippines is the NBI clearance.
You must be in good health
We may ask you to have a chest X-ray, a medical examination or both as proof of your good health.
If you are staying less than:
When we process your application we let you know if we need you to have a chest x-ray or medical examination.
You must provide a chest x-ray completed in the last 3 months, even if you've provided one to us previously, if:
You must genuinely intend to meet the conditions of your visa
When we decide if your intentions are genuine, we consider all the information:
You must have an offer of full-time work
Your job offer must:
You must provide a copy of your employment agreement as evidence of your job offer. The employment agreement must include:
Your employment agreement must be with an employer who has a history of compliance with immigration and employment law. We won’t normally grant a visa if your employer is included on the list of non-compliant employers maintained by the Labour Inspectorate.
Job offer scams are common in India and South Asia, ensure your job offer is genuine.
How to determine how realistic the job offer is
Your employer can’t pay you less than they’d have to pay a New Zealander to do the work.
Your job offer can’t be for work planting, maintaining, harvesting or packing crops in the horticulture or viticulture industries.
If a labour hire company has offered you work in the construction sector in Canterbury, the labour hire company must be accredited.
See a list of accredited labour hire companies
Your dependent children can apply for visas to study in New Zealand if you will be earning at least $43,322.76.
There must be no New Zealanders available to do the work you have been offered
You must provide an ‘Employer Supplementary Form’ completed by your employer
We update this form often. Check that your employer provides you with the latest version of the form.
Your employer must also provide evidence they have made genuine attempts to recruit New Zealanders, unless:
Your employer’s evidence can include:
You must be qualified to do the work you have been offered
You need to show that you meet the skills, qualifications, work experience and other requirements of the job you have been offered. Evidence of qualifications can include:
Evidence of experience can include documents that show:
You can check the specific qualifications and experience you need by searching ANZSCO for your occupation.
If you need to provide evidence of relevant work experience in Eastern Europe, you should provide a copy of your official workbook from that country.
If you need to provide evidence of work experience in a European country but are not a citizen of a Schengen member state, you should provide evidence of your right to work in that country.
Evidence of your right to work is a copy of your Schengen visa for the time you were working.
Evidence of work experience includes employment certificates, employment contracts, payslips, Social Security System (SSS) records, PhilHealth records and income tax returns (with receipts).
Employment certificates should be on the employer’s official letterhead and include the company’s contact details. A CV or resume is not sufficient.
Certificates of employment must be complete and independently verifiable. The certificate must indicate as a minimum: the positions you held, the periods of your employment, your employer’s address and contact details
If you have worked overseas, you should provide a copy of your work visa and Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) issued by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) or an e-Receipt and copies of your job descriptions.
If you are a citizen of Brazil you should provide your work book as evidence of your work experience.