AEWV: working in New Zealand on an Accredited Employer Work Visa, from Tanzania

About the AEWV

Nearly everyone New Zealand hires from abroad comes in on a single visa, the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV). It is a temporary visa, and you cannot apply until a job is waiting for you.

The sequence is fixed: the offer comes from an accredited employer, who then emails you a link to the online form, and until that link arrives there is nothing to submit. The job has to be at least 30 hours weekly, paid at the going rate for that kind of work and never less than a legal minimum like New Zealand's minimum wage.

Three kinds of work fall outside the AEWV: working for yourself, serving as crew on a foreign fishing boat, and field work in horticulture or viticulture, meaning planting, tending, picking or packing crops.

Three checks: the employer, the job and you

An AEWV rests on three separate checks, and they always come in this order.

1. Employer check. Immigration New Zealand has accredited the business.
2. Job check. INZ is shown that the wage and terms comply and, if the rules call for it, that New Zealanders were offered the position first. Once approved, a job check stays valid for 6 months.
3. Worker check. This is the part you do. Your employer emails a personal link, the "job token", and through it you lodge evidence of your skills, English, health and character.

Skills and experience you must show

The offer must come from an accredited employer whose job check is approved. On top of that, you show your skills through any one of these:

• 2 years or more of work experience in the field;
• a qualification rated level 4 or above under the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF); or
• a bachelor's degree or higher, whatever the subject.

If your award was gained abroad and sits below bachelor's level, as a NECTA or VETA certificate does, INZ accepts it only once NZQA has issued an International Qualification Assessment (IQA). A few groups need not meet the skills test at all: Green List roles, jobs requiring occupational registration (electricians and plumbers, for instance) and jobs with pay of NZD 67.12 hourly or above (figure as of October 2026; source: government page).

To see current openings, visit jobs with sponsorship in New Zealand.

When English evidence is needed

The deciding factor is how the job itself is graded, not who you are. Under ANZSCO or the NOL, a role at skill level 1 or 2 asks for no proof of English, whereas one at skill level 3, 4 or 5 does. The lowest accepted results (figure as of October 2026; source: government page) are below.

Sit the test in person. The result may be no more than 2 years old when your application is submitted.

Medicals and police certificates

Medicals. Staying longer than 6 months means a tuberculosis (TB) chest X-ray if you are a citizen of, or recently lived in, a country without a low TB rate. A medical or X-ray report counts only if INZ gets it within 3 months of the date on it.

Police certificates. If you are 17 or older and expect to be in New Zealand for 24 months or longer overall, INZ wants certificates covering every country you hold citizenship of, plus every country you have lived in for over 5 years since your 17th birthday. Each one must be less than 6 months old. For Tanzanian citizenship, the document is a police clearance certificate from the Tanzania Police Force.

From first application to arrival

1. Apply for a vacancy with an accredited employer.
2. Interview by video, normally from Tanzania, and say yes if the offer is right for you.
3. Give the employer time to complete accreditation and then the job check for your position.
4. Your job token arrives as a link opening the application form.
5. Attach your documents: passport, proof of qualifications or work history, English results where the job needs them, police certificates, medicals and certified translations if any.
6. Pay the fee online and send the form in.
7. Wait for the decision. With the visa granted, resign from your current job, book the flight and begin work.

Speed, fees, limits and job changes

• Speed. Within 5.5 weeks INZ settles 80% of AEWV applications (figure as of October 2026; source: government page). The clock starts on the day you lodge, so add time for the employer's accreditation and job check and for gathering your documents.
• Fee. It starts at NZD 1,540 (figure as of October 2026; source: government page), and the amount depends on your country; INZ's page works out the exact sum.
• Maximum stay. 5 years overall is the norm. For roles at ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5 it is typically 3 years, except where the role is on the Green List or pays NZD 52.50 hourly or more, for example (AEWV time limits). Once you reach the cap, you have to live outside New Zealand for 12 months before a further AEWV can be approved.
• Conditions. You may work only for the approved employer in the approved job, with no side job. Study is allowed for up to 3 months in any 12.
• Moving jobs. To switch employer, role or location you need a variation of conditions or a Job Change, which in turn requires an accredited employer and a fresh job check. The visa keeps its original end date after a Job Change (changing visa conditions).

Bringing family

Relatives are not added to your AEWV. They apply individually, and the kind of visa they may get depends on what you earn per hour and on your occupation (figure as of October 2026; source: government page):

• From NZD 52.50 hourly: your partner can apply for a work visa on the strength of your job, and each dependent child can apply for a visa too.
• From NZD 28.00 hourly, in a role at ANZSCO skill level 1 to 3: the route for your partner is a Partner of a Worker Work Visa.
• Below NZD 28.00 hourly: a visitor visa is the only option for your partner.
• For children's visas (child visitor visa or dependent child student visa) your income must reach NZD 58,240 a year. If both partners hold an AEWV, their incomes may be combined.

Some roles, Green List ones included, are treated differently. Compare the official page with your own circumstances.

Ways to residence

The AEWV itself does not give residence, but there are ways to get from it to a resident visa (figure as of October 2026; source: government page).

• Green List. A Tier 1 role opens the Straight to Residence Visa. A Tier 2 role leads to the Work to Residence Visa once you have worked full time in it in New Zealand for 24 months (Green List pathway).
• Skilled Migrant Category (SMC). This resident visa suits applicants aged 55 or younger and has three pathways: points, skilled work experience, and trades and technicians (SMC Resident Visa).

Government revisits residence settings from time to time; confirm the present rules before relying on any of this.

A checklist for applicants in Tanzania

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) applies one set of rules to every applicant. This is how they read for somebody lodging from Tanzania.

• Passport. It must stay valid for at least 3 months beyond the day you intend to depart New Zealand.
• Police certificates. They are needed if you are 17 or over and will be in New Zealand for 24 months or more in total. As a citizen of Tanzania you supply a police clearance certificate from the Tanzania Police Force. Add one for each other citizenship you hold and for any country where you lived for more than 5 years after turning 17. No certificate may be older than 6 months at the time you apply, and INZ wants the certificate itself rather than proof you asked for one. The INZ police certificate tool walks through each country.
• Work experience. A CV alone does not convince INZ. Provide reference letters, payslips or tax records that show your duties, the dates and someone who can confirm them.
• Qualifications. An overseas award below bachelor's level, a NECTA or VETA certificate for instance, has to be assessed by NZQA (an International Qualification Assessment, or IQA) before INZ counts it.
• Medicals. If INZ requests a medical or a chest X-ray, the result must be less than 3 months old when it reaches INZ.
• Translations. Documents already in English seldom need any. Everything else, police and medical certificates included, needs a certified translation, and INZ will not accept one made by you, a relative or your immigration adviser (INZ translation rules).

Timing matters. Police certificates and medicals go out of date, so ask for them when your employer is close to sending the job token, not months earlier. INZ's complete list is on the AEWV page.

Scams and slip-ups to avoid

The rule in New Zealand is just as simple: anyone who wants payment in advance to "secure" a job or a visa should be turned down on the spot.

• Jobs are not for sale. No New Zealand employer or agent may charge you for a job or make you cover their recruitment costs, directly or through someone else.
• Paying for an offer gets you declined. If INZ concludes that you or your agent gave or promised the employer money for the offer, it declines the AEWV.
• INZ charges its application fee and nothing else. It never asks for visa fees by bank transfer.
• Advice has a licence attached. Immigration advice may only be given by an adviser licensed with the Immigration Advisers Authority or by an exempt person (INZ on immigration advice). Lodging on your own is allowed too.
• Common reasons for refusal: a CV standing in for real evidence of work; police certificates over 6 months old; untranslated documents; and a job with an employer that is not accredited or whose job check was never approved.

More detail from INZ: how to spot immigration scams.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get an AEWV before finding a job?

No. First comes an offer from an accredited employer whose job check is approved; the job token that starts your application is sent by that employer afterwards.

How much experience is enough?

2 years of relevant work is the usual yardstick, and a qualification at NZQCF level 4 or higher is an alternative. Green List roles and very well-paid jobs are among the few that require neither.

Is IELTS or PTE compulsory?

Only when the job is graded ANZSCO skill level 3, 4 or 5. In that case you need an overall IELTS of 4.0, a PTE Academic score of 29 or the equivalent on another accepted test (as of October 2026), sat within 2 years before you lodge.

What police certificate does New Zealand ask for from Tanzania?

A police clearance certificate from the Tanzania Police Force, when you are 17 or over and plan to spend 24 months or longer in New Zealand altogether. It cannot be more than 6 months old when you apply. Other countries are covered by the INZ police certificate tool.

How quickly is an AEWV decided?

As of October 2026, 80% of applications are decided by INZ inside 5.5 weeks. Look at the AEWV page for the latest number.

How many years can I stay?

Up to 5 in total for most roles, or 3 for most roles at ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5. After reaching that limit you must spend 12 months outside New Zealand before you can get another AEWV.

Can my partner take a job?

That turns on your own job and pay. They may qualify for a Partner of a Worker Work Visa when you earn at least NZD 52.50 an hour, or at least NZD 28.00 an hour in a role at ANZSCO skill level 1 to 3.

Does New Zealand recognise my Tanzanian nursing or trade registration?

Not by default. A nurse registers with New Zealand's nursing regulator, and certain trades, electrical and plumbing among them, need occupational registration in New Zealand. Check the advert for the employer's needs.

Is an employer allowed to charge me for the job?

Never. New Zealand bans job fees and bans employers from passing recruitment costs to workers, and if an offer was paid for, the visa is declined.