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AEWV Declined: What the Options Are

A declined AEWV can be reconsidered by INZ for NZD 220 if the worker applied in New Zealand and meets the 14-calendar-day rule; a declined employer job check or accreditation can be reconsidered for NZD 250 within 14 days of the day after the decline. Otherwise INZ describes a new application.

A declined Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) can mean three different things, and the options differ for each. The worker's own visa application can be declined. The employer's job check can be declined. The employer's accreditation can be declined. Each has its own fee, its own deadline and its own page on the Immigration New Zealand (INZ) site. The pages are written for different readers, so the rules for workers and employers get mixed up, and a worker may not realise that a decline of the employer's job check is a separate event from a decline of their own visa. This guide sets out what INZ publishes for each, with fees and time limits as read on 9 October 2026, plus the requirements INZ names as grounds for a decline. It explains the rules. It does not say which option fits any particular decline, because that depends on the decline letter and the facts, and applying the rules to them is something only a licensed immigration adviser or a lawyer can do.

Three decisions that can be declined

An AEWV involves three separate applications, and any of them can be declined.

Employer accreditation. An employer must be accredited by INZ before it can hire a migrant on an AEWV. A decline here is the employer's decision to deal with.

Job check. For each job, an accredited employer applies for an approved job check, which produces the unique link or "job token" the worker needs. INZ's AEWV page describes the job offer as one "from an employer who is accredited to hire migrants for the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) and has an approved job check for your job".

The worker's visa application. The worker applies using the link the employer sends them and is assessed on their own skills, experience, English, health and character.

A decline of the employer's accreditation or job check happens to the employer's application. The worker's application cannot proceed without the link, and INZ's pages do not describe a way for a worker to challenge an employer-side decline. What INZ does describe is the worker's own reconsideration route for a declined AEWV and, for employers, a separate reconsideration route. Both are covered below.

What INZ says a worker's application is assessed against

A decline letter turns on one or more requirements. INZ's AEWV page lists what a worker must meet, and the list is the nearest thing INZ publishes to the grounds for a decline:

an offer of full-time work (at least 30 hours a week) from an accredited employer with an approved job check, paid at least the required rate;

the skills requirement: either 2 years or more of relevant job experience or a qualification at level 4 or higher on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework, in the same field as the job unless the person holds a bachelor's degree or higher, with exceptions INZ lists (for example Green List jobs and some registered occupations);

occupational registration where the job requires it;

English, if the job is skill level 3 to 5 on ANZSCO or the National Occupation List. INZ's "applying for another AEWV" page adds that these English requirements changed on 1 June 2026 for people in skill level 3 occupations;

good health, including a chest X-ray in some cases;

good character, including police certificates from certain countries for people whose total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or longer; and

a genuine intention to meet the conditions of the visa.

INZ also names specific ways an application goes wrong. A work experience claim supported only by a CV is "not sufficient". A reference letter or employment certificate without payslips or tax certificates may not satisfy INZ. Identity mistakes can lead INZ to "decline your application or refuse you entry". If a valid police certificate is not provided when applying, INZ "may decline your application". If required documents are missing at the time of applying, INZ "may decline your application". And the employment agreement is checked: INZ's page says an agreement that does not meet its requirements, such as one containing a trial period or an unacceptable bonding clause, may lead to a decline.

Payments for a job offer

One decline ground is stated in unusually blunt terms. INZ's AEWV page carries this alert: "We will decline an application for an AEWV if we consider you or your agent has offered or promised money to the employer (or their agent) in exchange for a job offer." It adds that "job offer scams are common in India and South Asia".

INZ's scams page, "Protecting yourself from immigration scams", says: "New Zealand employers or agents cannot charge you fees for a job or make you pay any of their recruitment costs." It extends that to charges made "indirectly through a third party who then demands you pay them". INZ also says it only charges an application fee, and it will never ask for visa or medical fees to be deposited into a bank account.

The significance for a decline is that payment-for-job cases are treated as a ground for refusal in their own right, separate from whether the worker otherwise meets the requirements. Our guide to unlicensed immigration advice explains how to check who is allowed to give immigration advice in New Zealand.

The worker's reconsideration route

For a declined AEWV the fee finder lists a specific product, "declined-migrant-accredited-employer-work-visa", with these features (read 9 October 2026):

the fee is NZD 220;

the request is made online through Immigration Online, and INZ says the applicant does not need to send a passport or other documents unless asked; and

the fee finder, queried as an applicant outside New Zealand, shows no fee and the note "You must be in New Zealand to apply."

INZ's general reconsideration page for temporary visas sets out the conditions: the person applied while in New Zealand, is still there, still holds a valid visa (an Interim Visa counts), and INZ receives the request no more than 14 calendar days after the person received the decline. A different officer reviews the decision, and a confirmed decline cannot be reconsidered a second time. Our guide to reconsideration of a declined NZ visa goes through each condition.

A point specific to the AEWV: because the visa is tied to a job, a worker who is in New Zealand on an expiring work visa and applies for an AEWV will normally be on an Interim Visa if the old visa expires during assessment. INZ's Interim Visa page says that if the new application is declined, the Interim Visa "will expire 21 days after your application is declined". The 14-day reconsideration window therefore sits inside the 21 days, and what happens to work rights in that period depends on the Interim Visa's conditions. See our guide to NZ Interim Visas for the conditions.

When the employer's job check or accreditation is declined

INZ's page for employers, "If your AEWV employer accreditation or job check application is declined", says INZ emails the employer with reasons. It lists the main grounds for a decline of an employer application:

the application "was missing key information", for example key employment information, evidence the job was advertised (unless exempt) or pay details;

false or misleading information was given or important information was withheld;

the requirements were not all met; or

accreditation expired or was suspended or revoked while the job check was being assessed.

A job check may also be declined if INZ finds the role is not an acceptable job under the AEWV.

The employer then has two options, per INZ: "request a reconsideration or submit a new application."

Reconsideration. It must be requested "within 14 days (starting from the day after your application was declined)" and the employer must "explain what parts of our decision you think were incorrectly assessed and why". It is made in Immigration Online using a "Request reconsideration" option on the declined application, and that option disappears when the 14 days are up. The fee finder lists the reconsideration of a declined job check and of a declined accreditation at NZD 250 each. A different officer reviews it.

INZ's candid caution: "If you request a reconsideration, we are unlikely to change our decision if your application was declined because it was missing information, or you did not meet all the requirements." INZ says it reconsiders "based on the information you provided when you applied. If you provide new information, then you should submit a new application."

New application. INZ says a new job check or accreditation application can be made if the first was missing information or did not meet all requirements, and points employers to its checklists.

For a worker waiting on an employer, the useful fact is that these are the employer's applications and decisions. A worker's own deadlines, such as the end of a current visa, do not move because an employer's reconsideration is pending.

New application or reconsideration

INZ makes the same distinction in both worker and employer contexts. A reconsideration asks INZ to re-examine the decision on the information already given. A new application starts again, with whatever has changed. INZ's temporary visa page says: "If your situation has changed since your application was declined, and you think you might now qualify for the visa, you should submit a new application with all relevant information."

A new worker application depends on the employer side as well. INZ's AEWV page says the worker applies using a link, the job token, that the employer sends after a job check, so if the employer's job check was the thing declined, a new worker application waits on a new employer decision. INZ does not set a general waiting period after a decline on its AEWV or decline pages, and a person's position after a decline depends on why it happened.

If an AEWV application is declined, the person still needs a lawful basis to stay if they are in New Zealand. INZ's page on staying after expiry says people must apply for another visa before the current one expires, ideally at least one month earlier, and that a person on an Interim Visa cannot get a new temporary visa while on that Interim Visa.

When an adviser or lawyer is usually brought in

Working out which decision was declined, which route applies and which deadline is running is immigration advice under New Zealand law. It involves reading the decline reasons against the person's documents. Only a licensed immigration adviser, a lawyer with a practising certificate or an exempt person can give it, and employers are in the same position as workers: an employer's own decline is something an adviser assesses for the employer.

People usually seek help in the first few days, because both the worker and employer reconsideration windows are 14 days and the worker's Interim Visa may end 21 days after a decline. Under the Code of Conduct, a licensed adviser who goes on to act for a client must put the services and fees in a written agreement (cl. 17–19), and the adviser's fee is separate from INZ's NZD 220 or 250. INZ's scam guidance adds that employers and their agents cannot charge a worker for a job, so anyone asking for money in exchange for a job offer is outside what INZ allows.

Migratio lists licensed immigration advisers so you can compare them and contact one directly. Every listing shows the adviser's licence number, which you can check on the IAA's public register before you book. We don't assess cases and don't tell anyone which visa or route fits them; that is the adviser's job.

Questions people ask

What can I do if my AEWV is declined?

INZ describes reconsideration for a declined AEWV for people in New Zealand (NZD 220, request within 14 calendar days of receiving the decline) and, in other cases, a new application. Which applies depends on the decline reasons and the person's situation, which a licensed adviser can assess.

Can I ask INZ to reconsider a declined AEWV if I applied from outside New Zealand?

INZ's fee finder shows no fee and the note "You must be in New Zealand to apply" for the declined AEWV reconsideration product when queried from outside New Zealand (read 9 October 2026).

My employer's job check was declined. Can I do anything?

INZ's pages describe the reconsideration and the new application as the employer's options. The employer has 14 days from the day after the decline to request reconsideration (NZD 250) or can submit a new job check.

Will INZ decline an AEWV if money was paid for the job?

INZ's AEWV page says it will decline an application if it considers the applicant or their agent has offered or promised money to the employer or their agent in exchange for a job offer.

How long does a worker reconsideration take?

For the general temporary visa reconsideration INZ's fee finder shows 80% within 4 weeks. The declined-AEWV product showed no published processing time when read on 9 October 2026.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-09.

Related guides

  • Reconsideration of a Declined NZ Visa: How the Rules Work — INZ can reconsider a declined work, student or visitor visa only if the person applied in New Zealand, is still there, still holds a valid visa (an Interim Visa counts) and INZ receives the request within 14 calendar days of the decline. The fee is NZD 220 and there is one review only.
  • NZ Visa Declined: Reconsideration, IPT Appeals and Reapplying — Which routes exist after a decline depends on the visa type and where the person is. Temporary visa declines can be reconsidered by INZ in limited cases (14 days, NZD 220); residence declines can be appealed to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal (42 days, NZD 964).
  • NZ Interim Visas: When They Start and What They Allow — INZ normally grants an Interim Visa automatically, for no fee, if a temporary visa expires while a new temporary visa application is being assessed. It starts the day after the old visa expires, lasts up to 6 months, ends if the holder leaves New Zealand, and its work and study conditions depend on the old and new visa types.
  • AEWV Job Change and Variation of Conditions: The Rules — An Accredited Employer Work Visa holder who wants a different employer, job or location applies online for a Job Change, which needs an accredited employer and a valid job check for the new job. It does not change the visa's expiry date, and the new job's maximum continuous stay can block a move.
  • Unlicensed Immigration Advice in NZ: How to Spot It — Anyone who gives New Zealand immigration advice, in NZ or overseas, must be licensed by the IAA or exempt (for example, a lawyer with a current practising certificate). Unlicensed advice can lead INZ to return an application, and the adviser faces up to NZ$100,000 and/or 7 years' imprisonment, even without charging. Complaints go to the IAA and do not affect your immigration status.
  • AEWV Maximum Continuous Stay: How the 3 and 5 Year Caps Work — INZ caps the total time a person can stay in New Zealand on one or more Accredited Employer Work Visas at 5 years for most jobs and 3 years for ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5 jobs unless a pay or list exception applies. After reaching the cap, a person must spend 12 months in a row outside New Zealand before another regular AEWV.