Spring cleaning!

As spring is upon us, Rachael Mason, Partner at Lane Neave, reminds us to get our “house in order” with regard to immigration compliance.

Immigration compliance continues to be an area of focus for Immigration New Zealand (INZ).

INZ aims to conduct postaccreditation checks on around 16 per cent of employers per year. These checks are a routine part of the accreditation regime and are designed to ensure employers are complying with their responsibilities under immigration and employment laws and business standards. Employers are selected for these checks through a combination of random selection, targeted checks on a sample of all accredited employer types, all controlling third-party business models and businesses that have been referred via a complaint or issue raised. As at June 2025, INZ had undertaken 6,554 post-accreditation checks on 4,598 employers.

In addition to post-accreditation checking, INZ will also hold employers to account for immigration violations, including employing people in breach of visa conditions or who are unlawfully in New Zealand. A new infringement regime was introduced in April 2024, allowing INZ to issue a range of penalties to employers for immigration compliance breaches on a strict liability basis. Penalties include: issue of infringement notices, fines (starting at $1,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a company or corporate entity) and being placed on the standdown list (meaning employers will be unable to support visa applications during the time they are stood down).

The top three industries to receive infringements are construction, hospitality and the beauty industry. During the first 12 months of the scheme, INZ had issued 121 infringement notices to 118 employers, leading to fines of $363,000. At the time of writing, 902 employers have had their accreditation revoked, and 298 have had their accreditation suspended.

During the first 12 months of the scheme, INZ had issued 121 infringement notices to 118 employers, leading to fines of $363,000.

To avoid the risk of suspension, revocation or infringement action, employers should proactively review and strengthen their internal systems and processes to ensure full compliance with immigration and employment obligations. This includes having a solid understanding of how the visa system works, being clear on employer responsibilities under the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme, and ensuring that employees are working in line with their visa conditions. Maintaining accurate documentation, robust record-keeping and conducting regular internal audits can significantly reduce the risk of non-compliance. If selected for a post-accreditation check or investigation, being well-prepared can help employers navigate the process smoothly and successfully.

Processing Timeframes Improved

It’s not all bad news. On the plus side, we have seen a steady improvement in the processing timeframes from INZ for AEWV applications.

Job checks relating to higherskilled and higher-paid roles continue to be processed the fastest, with many completed within one week. Job checks for lower-skilled and lowerpaid roles are generally completed within two weeks.

AEWV (migrant check) applications are taking a little longer, but timeframes are still considerably improved from this time last year. The average wait time is currently around two and a half weeks, but lowerskilled and lower-paid roles are more likely to take up to five weeks to be processed.

As has always been the case, an application will flow through the system fastest when it is well-prepared and is ‘decision-ready’. Ensuring your employee’s application is complete with all relevant supporting documents and information remains a priority.

We advise making applications well in advance of a migrant worker’s visa expiry date (usually three to four months out) to avoid unnecessary stress and uncertainty in relation to continued work rights while a visa is still processing and other issues. Applications that involve complex health, character or other issues can often take a lot longer to process, so additional time needs to be allowed in these instances.

Employers should also anticipate slower processing leading into the summer Christmas and New Year break, as well as during January, and plan accordingly.

INZ aims to conduct postaccreditation checks on around 16 per cent of employers per year.

Rachael Mason is qualified in New Zealand, England and Wales, and has practised exclusively in the area of immigration law for several years. Rachael is a facilitator for HRNZ PD courses, virtual courses and webinars. She works with both multi-national corporate clients and smaller local employers across a range of industry sectors in managing their global and local migrant workforces and developing and maintaining compliance and legal right-to-work policies. Rachael is focused on providing high-quality technical immigration advice that is both pragmatic and commercial. Go to hrnz.org.nz/pd to see upcoming courses.