policy updates By Inder Singh
AEWV 2025–26: What Changed and What It Means for You
The biggest AEWV changes since 2024 — median wage removed, longer visas, police certificate rules. What every employer and applicant should know.
The Accredited Employer Work Visa is the most-used work visa pathway into New Zealand, and across 2025 it had its biggest overhaul since it was introduced. INZ made changes that affect almost every AEWV case — from how wages are tested, to how long visas can run, to which documents you can submit at lodgement.
Most of these changes are good news for employers and applicants. A few are tighter. Here’s what actually changed, what it means in practice, and where the new rules sit relative to the old ones.
Market rate replaces median wage — the biggest change of all
Effective 10 March 2025, the median wage requirement was removed from the AEWV pathway entirely. INZ now applies the New Zealand minimum wage floor plus a market-rate test. The market rate is the range a New Zealander would be paid for the same job.
The change makes the pathway more accessible for many roles where the median wage was effectively a higher bar than the actual pay range in the industry. But “market rate” isn’t a free pass — employers can’t pay the minimum wage if comparable New Zealand workers earn more. The Job Check evidence pack now needs to show what the market rate is for the specific role, not just clear a single threshold.
The sector agreements that previously provided wage exemptions all ended on the same date. Meat processing, seafood, care workforce, and tourism/hospitality keep their minimum-skill-requirement exemptions, but no longer have a separate wage track.
If you’re an employer drafting a Job Check, the pay-rate calculation now needs market evidence. If you’re an applicant offered AEWV employment, your pay offer should match what a New Zealander in the same role would earn.
Skills evidence: 3 years became 2 years
The work experience requirement for AEWV applicants dropped from 3 years to 2 years on 10 March 2025. The other route — an NZQCF Level 4 or higher qualification — is unchanged.
The 2 years is total equivalent full-time experience, not necessarily consecutive. It must be in the same field or industry as the offered job, unless the qualification is a Bachelor’s degree or higher (in which case any field is acceptable).
Evidence INZ expects: employment certificates that show position, period, employer address, and contact details; payslips; tax certificates. Reference letters are supporting evidence but don’t replace these primary documents. CVs alone aren’t accepted.
Longer visas for lower-skill roles
ANZSCO Level 4–5 roles now qualify for AEWVs of up to 3 years, up from the previous shorter limits. The maximum continuous stay for these roles is also 3 years; you can apply for further AEWVs within that period without leaving New Zealand.
ANZSCO Level 1–3 roles continue to support visa lengths up to 5 years, with a 5-year maximum continuous stay. After hitting the maximum continuous stay, applicants need 12 months out of New Zealand before applying for another AEWV.
This change matters for retention. Employers in industries where ANZSCO 4–5 roles dominate can offer migrants a longer planning horizon, and workers can build the experience that becomes the foundation of a residence application.
Police certificates: receipts no longer accepted
From 8 December 2025, INZ stopped accepting receipts of pending police certificates as a substitute for the certificate itself. Fiji, Hong Kong, and Israel keep the receipt exception. Everywhere else, applicants need the actual police certificate before they can lodge.
This shifts the timing pressure earlier in the case. Some countries’ police certificates take weeks or months to obtain — the Philippines NBI, India, and several South Asian and African certificates are notable examples. A strong AEWV case now requires planning the certificate timing 8–12 weeks ahead of lodgement, not 2.
Interim visa work rights expanded
A quieter change from April 2025: AEWV applicants who hold any existing work visa, or a student visa permitting work during term, now keep interim work rights while their AEWV is being processed. Time on interim counts toward both total continuous stay and toward the work experience that feeds residence applications.
For applicants transitioning from a current AEWV to a new one, or building experience toward Skilled Migrant Category residence, this is materially helpful — the interim period used to be dead time and isn’t anymore.
Occupations reclassified to Level 3
Seven occupations moved up from ANZSCO Level 4 to recognised Level 3 on 10 March 2025: Cook, Pet groomer, Kennel hand, Nanny, Fitness instructor, Scaffolder, Slaughterer. Four more are recognised as Level 3 if the employer specifies 3 years of experience or a Level 4 qualification: agricultural/horticultural mobile plant operator, excavator operator, forklift driver, and mobile plant operators NEC.
Why this matters: ANZSCO Level 3 roles don’t carry an English-language requirement, and they support 5-year visas instead of 3-year. For employers and workers in these occupations, the reclassification reshapes the available pathway.
What this means if you have an AEWV matter underway
None of these changes are retroactive — applications lodged under the old rules complete under those rules. But they shape every new lodgement, every renewal, and every accreditation decision from here.
If you’re an employer, the renewal cadence is unchanged (Standard or High-Volume: 24 months; Triangular: 12 months), but the evidence pack for accreditation and Job Check has shifted: market-rate documentation, settlement support records, updated organisational disclosure.
If you’re an applicant or worker, the likely impact areas are three: whether your offered pay matches the market-rate test, whether your skills evidence is complete to the 2-year-or-Level-4-qualification standard, and whether your police certificate timing leaves enough lead time before lodgement.
If your case doesn’t fit cleanly into the current rules — or if your circumstances have changed since you held a previous visa — that’s the conversation to have with a licensed immigration adviser. We won’t promise an outcome. We’ll tell you what’s possible, what isn’t, and where the risks sit.
Talk to a licensed adviser about your AEWV matter
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Last reviewed . Information may have changed since this article was reviewed. For your specific case, talk to a licensed immigration adviser.