Changing or ending employment on an Accredited Employer Work Visa?14 Apr 2025

If you are holding an accredited employer work visa and are changing your employment role, employment location, employer, or any combination of these, then you may be able to just apply for a Variation of Conditions (VOC) of your existing visa to enable you to change your employment.

To undertake a VOC, you must have a new job offer from an Immigration New Zealand (INZ) accredited employer, and the employer must have a valid job check approved from INZ for this role. The role must also be paid at the current market rate, and you must satisfy the requirements outlined in the job check approval.

Job change VOC applications are not subject to any English language requirement.

A VOC application can be submitted online. You need to include in your application:

  • the offer of employment and employment agreement
  • if you need to work out a notice period, a cover letter should be included confirming the notice period
  • the existing AEWV job check approval number
  • evidence tthat you are suitably qualified for the offered role (as per the job check approval)
The INZ fee for a VOC application is $325, and applications can be approved within 1-3 weeks. If the VOC application is successful the work visa will be re-issued with the new employment conditions, however the visa expiry date will remain the same as with the existing visa. Only once the VOC has been approved can you commence in your new employment.

If your employer’s business is sold or restructured an AEWV holder must still apply for a VOC, but in this circumstance a job check may not be required, and INZ can process the VOC application if the new employer is accredited or has applied for employer accreditation. In this case the new business owner will not need to apply for a job check unless the employee’s role or work location is changing.

Accredited employers are required to inform INZ within 10 working days if the employment of an Accredited Employer Work Visa holder ends (if more than one month before their visa expires). Once you finish the employment on which your AEWV is based then you are technically in breach of your visa conditions and you need to be proactive in addressing this situation either by getting a new job and applying for a VOC, or a new AEWV, or changing your visa to another visa (eg; student or visitor) or leaving the country. There is no fixed timeframe within which you must address your visa situation, but generally this should happen within a few weeks, and certainly within 1-2 months of when the employment ended.

If you are unable to find a new job within a month our advice would be to apply for a visitor visa to maintain your lawful status while you are considering your future options.

Changing jobs, and especially having your job terminated, can present a very challenging situation and especially when your visa is dependent on your job. In this situation it is important to seek professional advice so you can be clear about your visa options by contacting one of Pathways to New Zealand® licensed immigration advisers today!