What sort of accreditation an employer needs depends on how many migrants they intend to ‘sponsor’ on an Accredited Employer Work Visa.

The key types of accreditation are:

• Standard accreditation – for employers who want to hire up to five migrant workers on Accredited Employer Work Visas at any one time.
• High-volume accreditation – for employers who want to hire six or more migrant workers on Accredited Employer Work Visas at any one time.
• Triangular employer accreditation – for employers who place staff with controlling third parties (most commonly a labour hire business model).
• Franchisee employer accreditation – for employers who are operating as a franchise.

Employers wanting to obtain standard accreditation must:

• Be genuinely operating
• Be registered with Inland Revenue
• Have a New Zealand Business Number (NZBN)
• Be in a sound financial position
• Have a history of compliance with Immigration and Employment law
• Agree to undertake certain actions relating to the settlement of migrant workers, along with undertaking and facilitating training on employment law

If the business seeking accreditation is a franchisee, then they must have been operating for at least 12 months and have a history of hiring New Zealand workers, in addition to meeting the standard or high-volume accreditation requirements.

If the business seeking accreditation places migrant workers with controlling third parties (such as labour hire companies), then they will need to meet further requirements in addition to the standard or high-volume accreditation requirements.

Businesses who place migrant workers with controlling third parties must:

• Only place migrants on Accredited Employer Work Visas with compliant third party businesses
• Have good systems in place to monitor employment and safety conditions
• Have a history of contracting labour for the past 12 months
• Demonstrate that at least 15% of their workforce being placed with third parties are New Zealanders in full-time employment (i.e. at least 30 hours a week).

Where a business meets the accreditation requirements, they will be granted accreditation for a period of 12 months. At renewal stage, they may be granted accreditation for 24 months. Franchisees and employers who place migrant workers with controlling third parties will only be granted accreditation for 12 months at a time.

Once a business is accredited, Immigration New Zealand will need to check the details of the job before giving the green light to ‘sponsor’ a migrant worker. Depending on the rate of pay offered and occupation, the employer will need to advertise the role for a minimum of two weeks on a national job listing website. If the role is paid 200% of the median wage ($59.32 per hour) or the role is listed on Immigration New Zealand’s Green List, then an employer does not need to advertise.

All Accredited employers wishing to sponsor a migrant worker under the Accredited Employer Work Visa policy must pay a minimum of $29.66 per hour. There are some timebound exemptions to this remuneration threshold. There are also Sector Agreements in place for some industries allowing for a lower minimum wage threshold.

The final check of the three-check process is the Migrant Check. This is where the migrant applies for an Accredited Employer Work Visa. Accredited Employer Work Visas may be granted for up to five years and are renewable in some instances.

The migrant must meet health and character requirements, and any skills and/or experience requirements that were stipulated as part of the Job Check in order to be granted a visa.

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