Immigration

Immigration

Can I hire a worker from another country who does not have a work or residence permit?

You can make a job offer to someone who does not have a work or residence permit but this should be conditional on them getting a work or residence permit. They may not start working for you until they have the relevant permit, as described above.

Most work and residence permit categories require a person to have a job offer before they can get a New Zealand work or residence visa or permit. To support someone in their application for a work or residence visa or permit you need to establish they are eligible and that there are no New Zealanders available to do the work.

This largely depends on the type of job they are being offered, and their skills and experience in doing that job. They must also meet the Government’s health and character requirements and their qualifications and work experience must be verified.

Can I hire a worker from another country who is already in New Zealand?

If you want to offer a job to a foreign national in New Zealand you must check that they are legally able to work here. Citizens of New Zealand (including the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau) and Australia do not need a work permit to legally work here. Residents of New Zealand and Australia do not need a work permit to legally work here. 

A New Zealand passport, birth certificate, citizenship certificate, or Residence permit shows that a person is able to work here. An Australian passport, Australian Permanent Residence Visa or Australian Resident Return Visa is also proof that they are able to work here.

Most foreign passport holders eligible to work in New Zealand will have a New Zealand Residence permit or New Zealand Work permit label or stamp in their passport. Some people may have electronic permits and they will be able to show you a print out of the letter received from the Department. You can verify the letter by asking them to log on to their Online Services homepage at www.immigration.govt.nz and show their status, or by requesting verification from one of our branches.

Holders of Student permits, who are able to work in New Zealand, will have their work conditions noted in their permit or may have a letter from the Department of Labour’s immigration service called a ‘Variation of Conditions’ attesting to their ability to work.

You must check the expiry date of the permit and the conditions listed on that permit. Many permits that are granted only allow a person to work for a specific employer in a specific location, or for a limited number of hours. If they change employers or location they must go through another immigration permit process to change their permit conditions.

If a person you want to hire does not have a permit valid for the job you are offering they may be able to get one with your support. If someone who is not legally entitled to work in New Zealand works for you, you are committing a criminal offense.

© Copyright 2005 NZIS

Need more help?

If you need more help, you can:

Post a question to the forums

or

email us your query here at OnlineHR

or

go to:  http://www.immigration.govt.nz/community/stream/employ/faq/

or

look at this publication from the immigration department:  Immigration guide for employers