Essential Skills Work Visa

At a Glance

Item	Details
Visa name	Essential Skills Work Visa
Status	Permanently closed
New applications closed	4 July 2022
Replacement visa	Accredited Employer Work Visa
Stay	Up to 3 years
Cost	From NZD $1,355
Processing	Data not available
Main eligibility	Full-time New Zealand job offer
Labour market test	No New Zealander available
Work rights	Employer, occupation, location restricted
Study	Up to 3 months yearly
Medicare	Not stated in the source
Travel facility	Multiple-entry conditions required
Citizenship pathway	Not stated in the source
Family sponsorship	Not stated in the source
Dependent children	Study visas, income threshold applies
Visa record	Conditions recorded in eVisa

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Purpose

This visa was for people with a full-time New Zealand job offer where the role could not be filled by New Zealanders.

It closed permanently to new applicants on 4 July 2022 and was replaced by the Accredited Employer Work Visa.

Eligibility

Applicants had to:

• Have a current offer of full-time work in New Zealand.
• Be qualified and experienced for the role.
• Hold, or be eligible for, New Zealand occupational registration where required.
• Be of good character and good health.
• Genuinely intend to comply with visa conditions.
• Not be subject to a stand-down period for below-median-wage work.

Job offer requirements

The employment agreement had to state:

• Employer and worker contact details.
• Job title, workplace address and duties.
• Required qualifications, experience and registration.
• Employment duration and start deadline.
• Pay and conditions complying with New Zealand employment law.

The employer needed a history of immigration and employment-law compliance. The job offer could not be for horticulture or viticulture crop planting, maintenance, harvesting or packing.

Employers could not pay less than a New Zealander would receive for the work.

Availability of New Zealanders

Applicants had to provide an Employer Supplementary Form (INZ 1113) completed by the employer.

Generally, employers also had to show genuine recruitment attempts for New Zealanders. Exceptions applied where:

• The role was on an Essential Skills in Demand List and requirements were met.
• The applicant was continuing current work while pursuing a Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa.
• The applicant was continuing the same full-time role, employer and region under specified visa circumstances.

For work paying below the median wage, employers had to provide a Skills Match Report from Work and Income New Zealand.

Skills and registration

Applicants had to provide evidence of relevant qualifications and work experience. Evidence could include qualification documents, NZQA recognition, employment records, work dates, weekly hours, employer contacts and job duties.

Where registration was required, applicants needed either:

• Full or provisional New Zealand registration; or
• Confirmation of eligibility from the relevant registration body.

Stay and conditions

Stay could be granted for up to 3 years, depending on the job’s pay level.

Visa holders could work only:

• In the occupation specified on the visa.
• For the employer specified on the visa.
• At the location specified on the visa.

Workers in roles assessed at or above the New Zealand median wage had to be paid at or above that wage. Immigration officers could request evidence of remuneration.

Visa holders had to leave New Zealand before the visa expired.

Study

Visa holders could study for up to 3 months in any 12-month period.

Other study may have been permitted where required by the employer as part of employment.

Family provisions

Dependent children could apply for visas to study in New Zealand if the visa holder earned at least NZD $43,322.76.

Travel

To travel outside and return to New Zealand, visa holders needed valid multiple-entry travel conditions.

If no multiple-entry travel conditions were held, leaving New Zealand caused the visa to expire. Travel conditions were listed on the visa label or visa letter.

Evidence and documents

Identity

Applicants had to provide:

• One acceptable photo for online applications, or two for paper applications.
• Passport or certificate of identity.

Passports had to remain valid for at least 3 months after planned departure from New Zealand.

Additional identity documents applied to certain applicants, including citizens or residents applying from China, Hong Kong, Macao, Indonesia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia and the Philippines.

Character

Police certificates were required where total time in New Zealand would be 24 months or longer, including prior visits, or when requested.

Certificates had to:

• Be less than 6 months old at application.
• Cover countries of citizenship or residence exceeding 5 years since age 17.
• Include English translations if not in English.

Applicants aged 16 or younger did not need police certificates.

Health

Immigration New Zealand could require a chest X-ray, medical examination or both.

Normally:

• No chest X-ray was needed for stays under 6 months.
• No medical certificate was needed for stays under 12 months.

Arrival obligations

All travellers had to complete a New Zealand Traveller Declaration.

It could be submitted:

• By air: from 24 hours before the journey begins.
• By sea: from 24 hours before departure from the last overseas port.

Entry permission could be refused if a person did not meet character requirements, circumstances had changed, or they refused a photo, fingerprint or iris scan.

Important warnings

• This visa is closed permanently and cannot be newly applied for.
• Job offer scams are common in India and South Asia; verify job offers.
• Visa conditions were recorded in the applicant’s eVisa.
• The historical stand-down policy stated that certain lower-skilled or below-median-wage workers could need 12 consecutive months outside New Zealand after 3 years of relevant work.