What is Employer Accreditation?
Employer accreditation is a process by which employers can obtain approval to hire skilled migrant workers using the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) program. To become accredited, employers must demonstrate that they have met specific criteria, including paying at least the New Zealand median wage (unless the role is on an exemption list) and showing that they have made genuine efforts to recruit suitable New Zealanders first.
Once accredited, employers can access a pool of qualified migrant candidates from around the world and hire them for up to 3 years. Accreditation is a valuable tool for New Zealand businesses looking to attract and retain skilled talent to help their organizations thrive.
How can an Employer Apply for Accreditation, and What are the Different Levels of Accreditation Available?
Employers can apply for accreditation under the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) program to hire skilled migrant workers for up to 3 years.
There are four levels of accreditation available, including:
- Standard accreditation for hiring up to 5 migrants
- High-volume accreditation for hiring 6 or more migrants
- Franchisee accreditation for businesses that are part of a franchise, with no limit to the number of migrants they can hire
- Controlling third-party accreditation for businesses that place migrants with third parties, with no limit to the number of migrants they can hire
Employers must have an NZBN (unless they are a foreign diplomatic mission) and a business IRD number to apply for accreditation.The fees for accreditation will vary depending on the type of accreditation needed.
Once a compliant employer submits a complete application, standard and high-volume applications are estimated to take about 10 working days to process.
Understanding Job Advertising Requirements for Work Visas in New Zealand
If you are considering hiring someone from overseas for a job in New Zealand, you may need to advertise the role before you can apply for a work visa. This is a way of ensuring that suitable New Zealanders have the opportunity to apply for the position before it is offered to someone from overseas, and to make sure that employers offer attractive wages to New Zealanders.
To meet the advertising requirements, you must list the job for at least two weeks on a national listing website or channel where suitable New Zealanders are likely to apply, and meet other advertising requirements.
Note that advertising must take place within the 90 days before you submit your work visa application. However, you may not need to give evidence of advertising if the job pays at least twice the NZ median wage, or if it is an occupation on the Green List.
To ensure that you meet the advertising requirements for hiring someone from overseas for a job in New Zealand, your job advertisement must include the following details:
- A job description that outlines the duties and responsibilities of the position
- The minimum and maximum pay that will be offered for the role. The location of the job
- The minimum number of hours that the successful candidate will be expected to work
- Estimated actual earnings if the job pays by piece, commission, or has other rates or bonuses
- Minimum skills, experience, and qualifications required for the role
- A pay range that is at least the market rate for that role
- Proof that you pay at least the NZ median wage of NZD $29.66 an hour unless the role is on an exemption list
When you apply for a work visa, you will need to upload a copy of the job advertisement and provide information about the dates and channels used for the job check application.
Apply for a Job Check After Employer Accreditation
The job check is valid for six months or until your accreditation expires, whichever comes first. It is important to note that the processing of complete job check applications from compliant employers can take up to 10 working days.
When do you Need to Renew Your Employer Accreditation and How Long Does it Last?
Your initial employer accreditation lasts for 12 months before you need to renew it. The duration of your renewed accreditation depends on your business type. Standard businesses can renew their accreditation for 24 months as long as it has not lapsed for 12 or more months.
Franchisees and employers placing migrants with controlling third parties can renew their accreditation for 12 months.
If you renew your accreditation, we may ask for evidence that you have completed activities committed to during the previous accreditation period. It is important to note that employer accreditation and job check applications approved before the AEWV opens on 4 July 2022 will be granted for a longer duration, with an expiry date of 4 July 2023 for accreditation and 4 January 2023 for job checks, so that employers are not disadvantaged by submitting early applications.
What you Need to Know About Legal Compliance?
As an employer, it is important to understand the immigration and employment laws you must comply with to get and maintain your accreditation for the AEWV.
To obtain and keep your accreditation for the AEWV, you and your key people must adhere to the following:
- Do not employ a migrant who does not have the right visa or visa conditions to work in that role
- Do not provide false or misleading information to Immigration New Zealand
- Do not have a pattern of immigration breaches in other businesses that you or your key people have been involved in
- Have not been banned from acting as a director
- Have not been subject to a stand-down period for breaching minimum employment standards or committing immigration offenses
- Have not been permanently banned from sponsoring work visas for committing serious immigration offenses
Stand-Down Periods for Breaching Minimum Employment Standards
If you breach minimum employment standards, you may be subject to a stand-down or permanently banned from supporting migrants on work visas. The Labour Inspectorate maintains a list of employers who are subject to a stand-down for breaches of employment standards, and this list is checked when you apply for accreditation to hire migrants.
Stand-down periods for Immigration Act offenses:
There are some offenses under the Immigration Act 2009 where the court imposes a fine but no other penalty. If you are convicted of one of these offenses, you will be stood-down for a defined amount of time, and you will not be able to sponsor work visas during that time. The offenses leading to a stand-down period include:
- Knowingly providing false or misleading information
- Aiding and abetting someone to remain in New Zealand unlawfully or breach their visa
- Resisting or obstructing an Immigration Officer
- Publishing false or misleading information
- Allowing someone to work for you when they are not entitled to
The length of your stand-down period is determined by the fines you are given in court, as follows:
- Up to NZD $999.99 – you are stood down for 6 months from the time the penalty is imposed
- Between NZD $1,000 to 9,999.99 – you are stood down for 12 months from the time the penalty is imposed
- Between NZD $10,000 to 24,999.99 – you are stood down for 18 months from the time the penalty is imposed
- NZD $25,000 or more – you are stood down for 24 months from the time the penalty is imposed
Regaining Accreditation
After the stand-down period has ended, you must demonstrate that you have addressed the non-compliance and taken steps to ensure that it does not happen again. It is important to note that a business with compliance failures cannot be closed and opened again under a new name to avoid those failures. We still take the compliance issues in the previous business into account. Please note that this only applies to stand-downs for Immigration Act offenses, not the Labour Inspectorate stand-down list for breaches of employment standards.
Permanent bans for serious immigration offenses:
If you are convicted of any of the following Immigration Act offenses, you will be permanently banned from sponsoring work visas and sentenced to prison:
- Helping someone to remain in New Zealand unlawfully
- Assisting someone to breach the conditions of their visa, or
- Resisting or obstructing an immigration officer
You will also be permanently banned from sponsoring work visas if you are convicted, regardless of the penalty, under the Immigration Act for offenses including:
- Helping someone to remain in New Zealand unlawfully or to breach their visa conditions for your material benefit
- Falsifying documents, or
- Knowingly providing false and misleading information
Getting and keeping accreditation for the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) requires compliance with immigration and employment law. Non-compliance can result in penalties, stand-down periods, and permanent bans from sponsoring work visas.
It is important to understand the requirements and maintain ongoing compliance to avoid these consequences. Seeking professional advice and regularly reviewing your practices can help you stay on track and maintain your accreditation.