Hon Erica Stanford
Minister of Immigration

The Government is supporting businesses to secure the skills and experience New Zealand needs by continuing to refine the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV).

“A responsive immigration system is fundamental to rebuilding the economy,” Immigration Minister Erica Stanford says.

“Earlier in the year, we made initial changes to the AEWV to get unsustainable net migration under control and reduce migrant exploitation. Since then, Immigration NZ has also made operational changes and focused on upskilling of immigration officers to mitigate risk, significantly increase productivity, and speed up AEWV processing.

“For example, the median Employer Accreditation processing timeframe has reduced from 62 calendar days to 14, and productivity in the Job Check has doubled. These efficiency gains alongside the changes announced today will ensure we have the right balance of ensuring New Zealanders are prioritised for job opportunities while providing a more fit for purpose and responsive visa when a business needs to employ a migrant.

“In March we will remove the median wage threshold as set out in the coalition agreement with ACT. The previous Government used the median wage as an artificial proxy for skill which did not work. Instead, it distorted wages and in some cases resulted in businesses paying migrant workers more than New Zealanders doing the same job. Other businesses had to increase prices to ensure pay equity across Kiwi and migrant workers.”

Other changes coming into effect from March 2025 include:

• Reducing the minimum experience requirement for lower skilled migrants to two years.
• Increasing the visa duration for new applicants in Level 4-5 roles from two to three years to align with the maximum continuous stay.
• Extending interim work rights to AEWV applicants who are applying from any work visa type or from a student visa that allows them to work during term time. This will support migrants to maintain employment while their visa is processed.
• Reduce the domestic workforce threshold for labour hire employers of certain construction roles from 35 to 15 per cent.
• Amending the labour market test to a declaration-based model. Employers will need to advertise with MSD and be able to demonstrate they considered New Zealanders who applied for any role in good faith.
• Inflation adjusting the income threshold for an AEWV holder to support a dependent child from NZ$43,322 to NZ$55,844.

“Cabinet has also agreed in principle to two new seasonal visas to be implemented in late 2025. These visas will provide a more nuanced and flexible response to differing needs of businesses in certain sectors and regions. While further design work is underway, the current seasonal subcategory visa will be extended.

“Immigration New Zealand is also undertaking a re-design of the Job Check step of the AEWV process to allow for greater streamlining for low-risk employers. It is my expectation processing times improve further as a result.

"Our focus remains on attracting more higher-skilled workers while managing migration levels responsibly, so New Zealand has access to the skills we need to grow our economy. These changes will support a smarter, efficient and predictable immigration system,” Ms Stanford says

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