Right to Work in New Zealand: VisaView, Visa Conditions and the AEWV
Before anyone starts work for you in New Zealand, you need to know they are allowed to do that work. For New Zealand and Australian citizens that means sighting a document. For a visa holder it means checking the visa and reading its conditions, usually in Immigration New Zealand's VisaView. The check takes minutes. Remembering that a work visa names one employer, one job and one place, and that it ends, is where employers slip.
This post covers who needs a visa, how to check, the conditions to read, the Accredited Employer Work Visa, the penalties, what to keep, and how to set WorkZerk up to track it.
Who can work without a visa
| Who | Work rights |
|---|---|
| New Zealand citizen | No visa needed. A New Zealand passport is evidence of citizenship and the right to work. |
| Australian citizen | Granted a resident visa on arrival, free, and can work in any occupation for any employer. |
| Australian permanent resident | The same resident visa on arrival, as long as they hold an NZeTA and a current Australian permanent visa. Australian temporary residents are not eligible. |
| New Zealand resident or permanent resident | A residence class visa allows work, so check the visa itself. |
| Everyone else | Needs a visa that allows the work, for you, in that job. |
How to check
Immigration New Zealand says you must check that a worker's visa gives them the right to work before they start. You can use VisaView or check documents yourself.
For a document check, the person can show:
- a foreign passport with a valid New Zealand work visa, another visa that allows work, or a residence class visa
- an Australian passport
- a Refugee Travel Document with a valid New Zealand work visa or resident visa
Most visa holders now have an eVisa rather than a label in their passport. The conditions are on the eVisa, or on the label or a letter from Immigration New Zealand.
For a New Zealand citizen, look at their passport. If they have no passport, Immigration New Zealand says to sight photo ID and proof of citizenship, such as a New Zealand birth certificate or citizenship certificate. A birth certificate issued after 1 January 2006 must confirm citizenship to be accepted.
How VisaView works
VisaView is Immigration New Zealand's online check for employers. It shows whether the person can work for you, their current visa, its expiry date and its conditions.
- Registering. You nominate an account administrator, Immigration New Zealand confirms you are a genuine New Zealand employer, and the administrator invites other users. Every user needs a RealMe login.
- Consent. The visa holder must agree to the check. Consent can be verbal or written, for example in the job application or employment agreement.
- What you enter. Their passport number, nationality and family name.
- What it doesn't show. Applications not yet decided, or travel movements. It does not confirm identity, so check the person against original photo ID, face to face where you can.
- New Zealand passports. With an agreement with the Department of Internal Affairs, VisaView can also confirm New Zealand passport details.
Your enquiries are saved in your VisaView account, and Immigration New Zealand says they can be used as evidence that you complied with the Immigration Act 2009. Keep your own copy of each result too.
Read the conditions, not just the yes or no
A temporary visa can limit who the holder works for, the job, the place and the hours.
- Accredited Employer Work Visa. The holder can work only in the job, for the employer and in the location on their visa, and cannot take a second job. Changing any of these needs a variation, a Job Change or a new visa.
- Student visas. Many students can work up to 25 hours a week, and some can work full time in scheduled holidays. The limit rose from 20 hours on 3 November 2025, but a visa granted before then still says 20 until the holder applies to vary it. Students cannot be self-employed.
- Interim visas. If someone applies for a new visa before theirs ends, Immigration New Zealand may grant an interim visa. They can keep working for you only in the same position, for the same employer, in the same location. It ends when the new visa is granted, 21 days after the application is declined or withdrawn, or after 6 months with no decision. VisaView shows whether one has been granted.
Check again whenever a visa ends, a new one is granted, or the job, hours or location change.
The Accredited Employer Work Visa
To hire someone on an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), the process has three parts: you get accredited, you pass a job check for the role, and the worker applies for the visa.
Fees as listed in November 2026:
| Application | For | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Standard accreditation | Up to 5 migrants | NZD $775 |
| High-volume accreditation | 6 or more migrants | NZD $1,280 |
| Triangular employer accreditation | Placing migrants with a third party | NZD $4,060 |
| Upgrade from standard to high-volume | NZD $505 | |
| Job check | Per application | NZD $735 |
Your first accreditation lasts 12 months, then you renew it. For the job check, you usually advertise the role first, and you must show no suitable New Zealanders are available. Apply within 90 days of the advert closing. A job check is valid for 6 months, or until your accreditation ends. The job must offer at least 30 hours a week.
Accreditation also comes with obligations: giving workers information, supporting their settlement, and not passing recruitment costs on to them.
Penalties
The Immigration Act 2009 sets these:
| Breach | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Employing someone not entitled to do the work, or against a work condition of their visa (infringement offence, section 359A) | $1,000 per employee for an individual employer, $3,000 per employee for a company. A court can fine up to double the total. |
| Allowing someone to work knowing they are not entitled to (section 350) | A fine of up to $50,000 |
| Exploiting an unlawful employee or temporary worker (section 351) | Up to 7 years in prison, a fine of up to $100,000, or both |
The infringement offence does not mention knowing. For the section 350 offence, you are treated as knowing if an immigration officer told you in writing in the past 12 months.
Under the Immigration Employment Infringement Scheme, introduced in April 2024, an infringement can also cost you accredited employer or Recognised Seasonal Employer status and put you on the stand-down list, which stops you supporting new visa applications. One notice means a 6-month stand-down. Failing to give an immigration officer requested employment documents within 10 working days is a separate infringement.
What to keep
Immigration New Zealand says to keep records showing you completed the check. Keep the VisaView result or copies of the documents you sighted, and the date you checked. The Act does not set a retention period for these. Wage and time records must be kept for 6 years, and under the Privacy Act you must not keep personal information longer than you need it.
Rules change, so this is general information, not legal advice. An employment lawyer or licensed immigration adviser can advise on your situation. The new employee onboarding checklist covers the rest of what to collect from a new starter.
What WorkZerk does and doesn't do
- Each person sends proof of their right to work from a private link, with no account or password. Visa holders enter their visa end date as the expiry date.
- Uploads marked Sensitive are stored encrypted, only admins can open them, and every view is recorded.
- WorkZerk emails the person and your team before a visa ends.
- The Document compliance report shows whose visa is current, expiring, expired or missing.
What it does not do: WorkZerk does not run VisaView checks or connect to any Immigration New Zealand system, and it does not handle AEWV accreditation or job checks. Your team runs the check in VisaView and records the result in WorkZerk. A passport photo uploaded to WorkZerk is not the check.
Setting it up in WorkZerk
1. Turn on two-factor authentication
Asking people to upload documents needs two-factor authentication on your account. Set it up first under Account, then Two-factor authentication (opens in WorkZerk in a new tab).
2. Create the fields
Open Fields (opens in WorkZerk in a new tab) and add:
- Right to work evidence, an Upload field. Leave Require an expiry date off, because a citizen never needs checking again.
- Passport number and country, a Text field.
- VisaView checked on, a Date field your team fills in after each check.
Switch on Sensitive for every field except VisaView checked on. See Keeping sensitive information private. The pack in step 3 adds a Work visa field for you, already sensitive and with Require an expiry date ticked. Its expiry date is the day the visa ends.
3. Create a portal from the New Zealand staff pack
Open Portals (opens in WorkZerk in a new tab), click New portal, and add the Staff onboarding (New Zealand) pack. It asks for a Tax code declaration (IR330), their IRD number, a KiwiSaver deduction form (KS2) if they are already a member, the name and number of the bank account for their pay, Proof of your right to work (marked sensitive), a Work visa upload for anyone in New Zealand on a visa, an emergency contact and, where a role needs one, a Police vetting consent form. The Work visa upload is optional, asks for the date the visa ends as its expiry date, and saves to the Work visa field. See starter request packs.
Leave the portal open while anyone on it holds a temporary visa. Closing a portal switches off its links, and the reminders stop with them.
4. Ask each person only what applies to them
On the portal's Requests panel:
- Click + Insert and add a Choice request, "Which of these applies to you?", with four options: New Zealand citizen, Australian citizen, Resident (including Australian permanent residents), Temporary visa holder. Place it before the pack's right to work requests.
- Open the pack's Proof of your right to work request and pick Right to work evidence as its Document type, so the file is kept on their contact record.
- Add a Section called "Visa details". Open Limit who sees this, pick the Choice question, tick Resident and Temporary visa holder, and choose Match any. Inside it, add a Fields request for Passport number and country, and a Choice request with one option: "I give permission for my visa to be checked in VisaView." A single option shows as a tick box.
- Open the pack's Work visa request. Under Show only when, pick the Choice question and Temporary visa holder.
A request hidden from someone never counts against them.
5. Think about contractors separately
The Contractor onboarding (New Zealand) pack does not ask for right to work. Visa conditions still matter: an AEWV holder cannot take a second job, and a student cannot be self-employed. If you engage individuals who hold temporary visas, add an Upload request for their visa to their portal, with Work visa as its Document type and Require expiry on, and take advice on whether your arrangement is covered. See the contractor onboarding checklist.
6. Run the check before they start, then approve
Uploads wait under Needs review on Requests (opens in WorkZerk in a new tab). Before each person's first day:
- Sight their passport, or run the VisaView check with their passport details.
- Read the conditions. Check the employer, job, location and hours match what you are offering.
- Compare the visa end date with the expiry date they entered. If it differs, click Change date and enter the date from VisaView.
- Save the VisaView result and attach it to their contact record.
- Approve the upload, and enter the date in VisaView checked on.
7. Switch on the reminders
Open Automations (opens in WorkZerk in a new tab) and switch on Document expiring reminder and Document expired reminder. Both start switched off. The expiring reminder goes 30 days before the date. A new visa can take months, so consider changing it to 90 days.
To remind your team to re-check VisaView too, build a Document expiring automation with Send account email. See Automations.
8. Record each new visa
Have the person upload their new eVisa on the same row, with the new end date as the expiry date. The new file replaces the old one and the reminders start again. If they are on an interim visa, check VisaView, and record the 6-month limit as the expiry date until the new visa is granted. Update VisaView checked on each time.
9. Check who is covered
Open Requests (opens in WorkZerk in a new tab) and click Document compliance. Each person shows as current, expiring, needs review, expired or missing. Tick Only people who aren't compliant for the list to work through, and use Download CSV for a register. See Document compliance.
Leave the Document retention setting off for right to work evidence, so the record stays for as long as you employ the person. See deleting documents after you approve them. Hiring for summer? See onboarding Christmas casuals in New Zealand.
Getting started
Start a free WorkZerk trial at workzerk.com, then work through the steps above. If you get stuck, the getting started guide walks through a first portal end to end, or email us at [email protected].