New Zealand
General Work Visa

This New Zealand Work Visa is a multiple-entry visa that allows you to live and work in New Zealand for up to four years. To be eligible you must have proof of a job offer which is in line with your skills and experience. While in New Zealand you have to stay within your chosen profession/occupation while on this visa.

Apply for a New Zealand Work Visa today.

To apply for this New Zealand Visa you need a genuine job offer from an eligible New Zealand employer who is willing to sponsor you. The job offer must be in line with your skills, qualifications and experience and the job must be on the Immediate Skill Shortage List in New Zealand. NZIS must be satisfied that there are no suitable New Zealanders available for the position.

On this NZ Visa you will be sponsored directly by your employer and the company would then be your sponsor during the validity of your visa. Note that your employer will need to be eligible to sponsor you. Visa First will check that the employment position is approved.

Visa First will give you a free assessment of your New Zealand employer’s eligibility to sponsor.

Your position must be consistent with the position description lodged with Immigration New Zealand (INZ) at the time of your sponsorship. If your position is to change, we must first seek approval from INZ by lodging a new position description.

If the new position is outside your initial position description at the time of your sponsorship or if you wish to change employer, you will need to lodge a new visa application.

No. Your eligibility for a New Zealand Work Permit will be based on many criteria including qualifications and work experience. Visa First will assess your eligibility for this visa for free. We will need a letter of job offer from your New Zealand employer and a detailed copy of your CV. We will not apply for your visa unless we are confident that you are eligible.

Yes. To be eligible for this NZ Work Permit you must be aged less than 56 years.

No, any nationality can apply for a New Zealand General Work Permit once they have an approved job offer.

The following documents are required for the assessment stage of your New Zealand sponsorship visa application:

1. A genuine job offer from a New Zealand employer, who is willing to sponsor you. Your letter of offer/employment contract should state:

• Company business and trading names;
• Company contact details (postal address, telephone/ fax numbers, etc);
• Title of the job position and a description of the occupation to be filled including skill and qualification requirements and details of the tasks that will be performed in the position;
• Period of employment and working hours (not less than 40 hours per week);
• Base salary and total remuneration package offered per annum. Base salary is the gross salary paid, excluding any additional payments or allowances such as superannuation, accommodation, bonuses, commissions, shares, meals and vehicles.

2. Your up-to-date Curriculum Vitae (CV) including:

• Certified* copies of any education and training certificates/diplomas held, as well as any other evidence of qualifications obtained, relevant to your job offer;
• Certified* copies of employer references;
• Full employment history including information for each employer/position:

-    Employer's name
-    Position held / name of occupation
-    Date started
-    Date finished
-    Duties, tasks, responsibilities required/performed in this position

*To certify your documents you need to visit a registered Justice of the Peace attorney to certify the copies of the documents requested. On the copies the Justice of the Peace must put the date, sign and stamp, as well as his/her name and contact details.

On receipt of the above documents we will contact you to confirm your assessment results and to advise you on the next step of your NZ Visa application. Additional documentation requirements will follow.

A chest x-ray and/or medical examination will be a part of your New Zealand Work Visa application, but please do not get your examinations done in advance. There is a strict procedure related to all health examinations and we will notify you of this procedure in detail at a later stage.

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• The company business and trading names.
• The company contact details (postal address, telephone/fax numbers etc).
• Title of the job and a description of the position including the skills and qualifications required to do the job and details of the tasks that will be performed in the position.
• The period of employment and working hours (no less than 40 hours per week).
• Base salary and total remuneration package offered per annum. The base salary is the gross salary excluding any additional payments or allowances such as superannuation, accommodation, bonuses, commissions, shares, meals, vehicles etc.

Your CV should be at least one page and no longer than four pages long. It must include:

• Your full contact details;
• Your education history;
• Your fluency in English, written and spoken;
• Certified copies of any education and training certificates/diplomas, as well as any other evidence of qualifications obtained that are relevant to your job offer;
• Certified copies of employer references.
• Your full employment history with information for each employer/position including the employer’s name, position held/name of occupation, date started, date finished, duties/tasks/responsibilities.

• If you have tertiary qualifications, then a MINIMUM of one years experience relevant to the nominated position is required.
• If the tertiary qualification is less than a degree (i.e. a diploma or certificate) then the MINIMUM experience required will be at least 2-3 years.
• If there is no tertiary qualification, a MINIMUM of 5 years experience relevant to the nominated position is required.

It also depends on the NZ Standard Classification of Occupations as to what is actually required of prospective applicants, according to what it deems as the qualification requirement of the position that is nominated. All relevant employment experience must be evidenced via references from previous employers.

Certificates (e.g. Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Cisco Training, Microsoft Certified Professional, Microsoft Training) do NOT count as a formal qualification for New Zealand Visa applications. The certificate courses referred to vary in duration. You may be able to tally the duration of each and come up with something meaningful but it would depend on each individual case and the level of experience combined with what you have. A couple of these certificates with 2 years experience may not suffice.

Register online for your NZ Visa and Visa First will assess your eligibility.

Visa First has priority processing with the New Zealand Immigration Authorities which enables New Zealand visa applications to be finalised within 6-8 weeks. However, the processing time of a visa depends on each individual case and so timeframes may vary. Please note that insufficient information from either you or your sponsoring employer may result in additional delays or visa refusal.

Visa First is the only company with an online visa status engine through which you can check the status of your New Zealand Visa application 24/7. Check your visa status here.

Yes, you can apply for a New Zealand Work Visa from within New Zealand.

Spouse, de-facto and dependants of NZ General Work Visa holders are able to work and study during their stay in New Zealand. Spouses and dependants, however, may incur education/tuition costs for any study undertaken in New Zealand. You should contact the relevant education provider about such costs. You should note that under State legislation, school-age dependants may be required to attend school while in New Zealand. Dependants studying at tertiary level attract the same fees as those which apply to overseas students.

A dependant is a member of the family unit of the visa applicant. This may include the spouse/ partner of the applicant, any dependent children (under 18 years of age) or some other dependent relative.

Once your application has been successfully submitted, you will not be able to receive a refund of the application charge.

If your visa application is refused, you may apply for a review of the decision. You will be notified of your review rights in writing. You will also be advised how to apply for a review and the time limits for lodging such an application.

Make sure you print and keep a copy of your visa approval letter. You should also discuss health insurance arrangements with your sponsor.

Contact our office for further information.

Thousands of customers every year choose Visa First to organise their work visas because:

• We make getting the visa you need fast and hassle-free.
• We are the only company with an online visa status engine which allows you to check the status of your visa 24/7. Check your visa status now.
• We’re visa experts and have organised over 130,000 visas for people like you.
• Our visa guarantee means no visa – no fee!*
• We don’t just do visas, we sort out everything you’ll need overseas – from accommodation, bank accounts, airport pick up, jobs and much more.

Apply online for your NZ Visa with Visa First today.

Visa First makes sure you can start working and getting paid as soon as you get to New Zealand. Our partner Traveltowork can start organising your New Zealand bank account before you leave home which means you can transfer money in advance and access it as soon as you arrive. Apply for your NZ bank account today.

To work in New Zealand, you will need a New Zealand Tax Number – called an Inland Revenue Department (IRD) number. Without an IRD number you will pay tax at the emergency rate of 48%. The Visa First NZ Taxsaver Pack gives you step-by-step instructions for getting your NZ IRD number fast so you can start earning and pay tax at the normal rate of 29%. Apply for a New Zealand Taxsaver Pack today.