Changes to work visas, but watch the clock!

As reported in the autumn Human Resources issue, 2025 has brought positive changes in the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) settings. Rachael Mason, Partner in the Immigration team at Lane Neave, provides a further update here.

Immigration New Zealand has slightly changed the rules around ANZSCO skill level 4 and level 5 roles being listed with Work and Income. However, employers are still required to engage with Work and Income “in good faith”, so that, from a practical perspective, not a lot has changed. Employers are encouraged to keep good records of their interactions with Work and Income and genuinely engage with candidates referred via this pathway.

Removal Of Median Wage Requirement

The change that is likely to be most impactful is removing the median wage as a minimum pay rate for being able to secure a work visa. Previously, in most cases, an employer could only sponsor a work visa for a migrant worker if the pay rate was at least $29.66 per hour. This pay rate meant that in several sectors (where it has been traditionally difficult to find enough suitable New Zealand citizens or residents), it was not feasible to sponsor a work visa, because the job simply didn’t pay that much.

The change that is likely to be most impactful is removing the median wage as a minimum pay rate for being able to secure a work visa.

It is still necessary for employers to demonstrate they are paying at least minimum wage ($23.50 per hour) and the “market rate” of pay for that role and location. Employers looking to sponsor work visas in lower-skilled or lower-paid roles should pay particular attention to ensuring the rate offered meets the market rate. We expect more focus on this requirement in the future. To determine market rate, Immigration New Zealand will take into account factors such as:

• the typical rate a New Zealand citizen or resident receives for equivalent work

• rates of pay in collective agreements in that industry

• region of employment

• period of employment

• other terms and conditions of employment (for example, if the usual hours of work are “unsociable hours”)

• the level of training and experience required

• available industry salary guides.

It is also essential to be aware that, although the median wage won’t dictate whether or not a work visa can be secured, the median wage and the individual pay rate on offer are still important components in determining other aspects of work visas, such as the maximum duration of the visa and whether partners can secure open work visas. Pay rate (relative to median wage) is also a central component of eligibility to secure residence.

RESIDENCE PATHWAYS AND MAXIMUM CONTINUOUS STAY

As has long been the case, migrant workers in New Zealand generally hope to secure residence visas to ensure they can remain in New Zealand long-term. The “maximum continuous stay” (MCS) rules play an important role in determining how long a migrant is allowed to be in New Zealand on a temporary work visa before they need to depart New Zealand and stand down offshore for 12 months before they can return on a new AEWV. Broadly speaking, those in lower-paid and lowerskilled roles will have threeyear MCS conditions, whereas those in higher-skilled or higher-paid positions will have five-year MCS conditions. If the migrant worker can apply for residence before their MCS is triggered, they may not need to stand down offshore.

Time is, therefore, of the essence, and employers should be proactive in this area, to ensure they are aware of the residence pathway that may (or may not) be open to their employees. In some cases, there will not be an option for residence, and employers will need to plan for the employee to depart at the end of their visa. However, there will be other cases where eligibility for residence depends on timesensitive issues, such as holding registration for a certain period or being paid at a particular rate of pay for two or three years. Therefore, employers must clearly understand how the MCS will affect their workforce from as early as possible in the visa journey so appropriate measures can be put in place where possible. In many cases, a line manager may be willing to pay a slightly higher hourly rate to a migrant worker, thereby ensuring their residence pathway, rather than risk losing them and having to find a replacement. Other changes to interim visa work rights are also welcomed and show an effort to take a practical approach to the rules. However, the advice is still the same: the devil is in the details, and timing is everything.

Time is, therefore, of the essence, and employers should be proactive in this area, to ensure they are aware of the residence pathway.

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.