The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) is a new temporary work visa that will replace the Essential Skills Work Visa and Talent (Accredited Employer) Work Visa, when it launches on 4 July 2022. Employers who want to hire migrants on an AEWV will need to be accredited and submit a job check for relevant roles before they can hire a migrant.
On 3 February 2022, the Prime Minister announced the Government’s plan for reconnecting New Zealand to the world. As part of Step 4, the new Accredited Employer Work Visa will open in July to applications from migrants both in New Zealand and in other countries.
The Prime Minister also announced that, as part of planned Immigration Rebalance changes, a new minimum pay threshold, set at the median wage, will be introduced for the Accredited Employer Work Visa.
The Government is further considering whether there will be any exemptions to the median wage rule and whether additional restrictions should apply for a limited number of roles.
The following changes have been made to streamline the accreditation and job check steps:
High-volume accreditation no longer includes a requirement that jobs must pay at least 10% above minimum wage or be covered by a collective agreement, as the new median wage threshold will apply across the board.
This means high-volume accreditation now has the same requirements as standard accreditation. However, employers must still apply for high-volume accreditation and pay a higher fee if they want to employ more than 5 workers on AEWVs at one time.
Employers can upgrade from standard to high-volume accreditation at any point during their accreditation period, for a fee. This fee reflects the additional risk assurance activities that INZ may have to undertake, as the impact of non-compliance increases with the greater number of migrants employed by a business.
Additional accreditation requirements remain for employers who are franchisees or who place AEWV holders with controlling third parties – but there is now no limit on the number of AEWV holders these employers can employ at one time.
At the job check stage, the labour market test is no longer regionalised. All employers need to advertise their vacancies unless the role is paid at least twice the median wage.
There will be more flexibility in how INZ calculates whether a migrant meets the median wage threshold.
To account for the changes to the AEWV and further decisions to come from the Government, the key dates are now:
23 May 2022 – employers can apply for accreditation
20 June 2022 – accredited employers can submit a job check
4 July 2022 (unchanged) – migrants can apply for an AEWV, where the employer is accredited, and a job check has been completed.
Migrant workers can still apply for an Essential Skills Work Visa until 3 July 2022.
Employers do not need to apply for accreditation from 23 May 2022, unless they intend to hire migrants on an AEWV soon after 4 July 2022.
Median wage increase on 4 July 2022
The median wage will increase from $27.00 to $27.76 an hour on 4 July 2022, in line with when the AEWV opens to applications.
Employers who submit a job check in advance of 4 July 2022 should use the new median wage figure, as all visa applications will be made on or after this date.