What do you need to know about this Accredited Employer Work Visa?

Changes on temporary work visa were announced by the government in 2019, and finally the guideline and circulars were released successively in the past couple of days.

The objective of this new Accredited Employer Work Visa (hereinafter referred to as “AEWV”) is to ensure New Zealanders are first in line for all jobs. Immigration New Zealand expects to involve employers in providing more trainings to New Zealanders to fill the genuine labour shortage through this regime, meanwhile, to combat the exploitation and misuse of immigration system that occurred in the past.

So, what’s changing? The main change is the AEWV application becomes a three-step system, compared to the one-step system of Essential Skills Work Visa at the moment.

• Step 1 Employer Check – application is open on 23 May 2022

The employer must be accredited to hire migrant workers. There are four types of accreditation, namely, the standard, if the business wants to hire up to 5 migrant workers on AEWVs at any one time; the high-volume, if the business wants to hire more than 5 migrant workers on AEWVs at any one time; the triangular, if the business is placing migrant workers to controlling third parties; and the franchise, if the nature of the business meets the franchise definition.

As a migrant who is seeking employer’s sponsorship on the AEWV from 4July 2022, you must identify and confirm if the employer is accredited, in addition, whether the employer reaches the quota of migrant workers it can sponsor under its accreditation.

• Step 2 Job Check – application is open on 20 June 2022

There are some new requirements imposed on the job advertisement and employment agreement.

Employers can apply for multiple positions for a single job check. A sample employment contract with a closed job advert must be submitted to Immigration New Zealand for assessment.

As a migrant worker, you must make sure the employer has a current job check, in which the quota is available to support you visa application.

• Step 3 Migrant Check - application is open on 4 July 2022

The migrant worker will be invited to apply for the job. The good news is that if your background and qualifications were assessed by Immigration New Zealand in the past, the case officer may waive the requirements of providing evidence to demonstrate your suitability towards the job, which as a result, escalates the visa approval.

In a nutshell, the above significant changes do not change the cornerstone of Immigration New Zealand, which is to ensure the best interest of all New Zealanders. However, there still are a number of things on the operational manual await to be clarified, taking into account that the fallout of a negative employer check is catastrophic to a business.