AEWW Reforms (coming soon)

INZ are reforming the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme, starting January, with a number of changes being rolled out throughout 2025. I have summarised these below:

1. Wage limits for AEWV positions will be removed. Employers must continue to advertise job openings and offer AEWV applicants the market rate according to the role and location (see here for a salary guide). This change will not affect current employment contracts. Also, there will be no changes to the wage criteria for AEWV workers seeking residency.

   
   

2. New minimum salary to bring dependent partner/children here. This is $55,844 per annum.

   
   

3. New "pathways" for seasonal workers. These include a 7 month single entry visa for lower-skilled workers, and a 3 year multi-entry visa for higher skilled positions. These changes won't come in until November 2025 however.

   
   

4. Skilled work experience required: currently 3 years, decreasing to 2 years, to reflect business needs.

   
   

5. Increasing length of lower-skilled visas: currently, the maximum continuous stay for ANZSCO level 4 and 5 positions is 2 years, with an optional 1 year available, this will now be 3 years from the beginning. Keeping in mind, ANZSCO is due to be replaced next year so it's not obvious how this change will work - read more here.

   
   

6. Work rights for some Interim Visa holders: this will be for people applying from one work visa to another, or from a student visa with work rights, to a work visa, they should (according to INZ) be able to work on their interim visa. This is only a slight modification of the current rules on interim visas.

   
   

7. Changes to domestic worker requirements: for certain (currently not known) construction roles, the current required number of Kiwi workers is around 35%, this will change to 15%, to allow construction firms to hire more migrants without having to a certain number of Kiwis on board first.

   
   

   As always, this information is intended to be of a general nature and not specific individual immigration advice. If you want to discuss your situation, fee free to book in a free 15 minute consultation HERE.