The Government has announced reforms to the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme, a new seasonal work pathway and work rights for more Interim Visa holders.  

The changes will be rolled out during 2025 and include removing wage thresholds, reducing work experience requirements and streamlining the Job Check process. 

From 27 January 2025

·       Accredited employers will no longer need to complete Employment New Zealand’s online modules or offer migrants paid time to do these. This also applies to Recognised Seasonal Employers. 

·       The percentage of New Zealanders that certain construction sector businesses must employ to hire AEWV employees will reduce from 35 per cent to 15 per cent. 

In March 2025

·       Wage thresholds for all AEWV roles will be removed. Employers still need to advertise and offer AEWV employees the market rate for their position and workplace location. This change does not affect existing employment agreements. There are no changes to the wages that AEWV workers must earn to apply for residence. 

·       Migrants will need to demonstrate 2 years of relevant work experience, instead of 3 years currently. 

·       Employers will no longer have to provide evidence of engagement with Work and Income in their Job Check. They will need to declare they have advertised lower-skilled roles with Work and Income, and interviewed appropriate candidates. 

·       The AEWV duration for new migrants in a lower-skilled role will increase to 3 years, to align with the maximum time they can stay in New Zealand on an AEWV. Migrants on two-year visas will be able to apply for a further year. 

·       AEWV migrants will need to earn at least NZ$55,844 a year to bring children, along with meeting other criteria. This threshold has not been updated since 2019. 

Further detail and an implementation date will be released in early 2025. 

 

Other changes announced today include:

·       From April 2025, some work and student visa holders who apply for an AEWV can receive an Interim Visa that allows them to work while their AEWV application is processed. 

·       In mid-2025, a new Job Check process will be in place, to allow for greater streamlining for low-risk employers and improve processing timeframes. 

·       In November 2025, two new pathways for seasonal workers will be introduced, including a 3-year multi-entry visa for experience workers and a 7-month single entry visa for lesser-skilled workers. The existing temporary seasonal pathways will remain available until then. 

 

Read more about changes