Your work rights in New Zealand are set by the conditions on your visa. The same visa type that lets one person work full-time for any employer might, in a different category, restrict you to a single named employer in a single role. Getting this wrong — even accidentally — is a visa condition breach with real consequences for your immigration future.
Open Work Rights vs Employer-Specific Rights
The most important distinction in New Zealand work rights is whether your visa is open or employer-specific.
An open work visa lets you work for any employer in New Zealand, in any role, for any number of hours. You can change jobs without telling INZ. You can have multiple jobs simultaneously. You can work in any industry. Resident class visas (including permanent resident visas) and some temporary visas — the Post-Study Work Visa, partner-based open work visas — carry open work rights.
An employer-specific visa ties you to the employer, role, and often the location specified on the visa. The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) is the main example. If your AEWV names "Auckland Bakery Ltd" as your employer and "baker" as your role, you cannot take a shift at a different bakery, pick up extra hours at a café, or move to your employer's branch in another city without a visa variation or a new visa. You cannot take a second job, even with a completely different employer in a different industry.
This matters enormously for how you plan your work arrangements.
Work Rights by Visa Type
Accredited Employer Work Visa
The AEWV is employer-specific. You must work for the accredited employer named on your visa, in the role and location approved when your visa was granted. You cannot:
- Work for a different employer (even temporarily, even for a few hours)
- Take a second job anywhere
- Work for a related business under a different legal entity — even if it's the same brand or operated by the same people
- Continue working for your employer after their accreditation lapses
If your employer changes name, is sold to a new legal entity, or restructures, your visa conditions may no longer match reality — and you may be technically in breach even if you're still doing the same job. A variation or new visa may be needed.
Changing employers requires applying for a new AEWV under the new accredited employer. You cannot simply transfer your existing visa. There is a grace period provision if you lose your job, but it doesn't extend your ability to work for a different employer — it gives you time to find a new role and apply for a new AEWV or make other immigration arrangements.
Student Visa
Student visa holders can work up to 20 hours per week during the academic term, and full-time during scheduled institution holidays (typically Christmas and mid-year breaks). This is cumulative across all employers — 10 hours here and 14 hours somewhere else in the same week is a breach even if neither employer individually looks problematic.
The 20-hour limit applies to the institution's scheduled term dates, not your individual workload. If your semester runs until December 15 but you've finished your exams, you're still on term hours until that date.
Partners of student visa holders may have open work rights depending on the level of study and the institution. Check the specific conditions on the student's visa.
Visitor Visa
Visitor visas do not include work rights. You cannot take any paid employment in New Zealand on a visitor visa. This applies whether the employer is a New Zealand business or an overseas one — receiving payment for work while you're in New Zealand on a visitor visa is a breach regardless of where the employer is based.
The one grey area is remote work for your own overseas employer — someone who is genuinely just continuing their normal remote job while visiting New Zealand, and who is paid entirely by an overseas employer with no New Zealand connection. INZ has not formally ruled on this, and the legal position is uncertain. It is not clearly prohibited but is not clearly permitted either. If you intend to work remotely while in New Zealand for an extended period on a visitor visa, get specific advice rather than assuming it's fine.
What is clearly prohibited: working for a New Zealand employer on a visitor visa, receiving payment from a New Zealand business, or treating your "visit" as a way to work without a work visa.
Working Holiday Visa
Working holiday visas provide open work rights — you can work for any employer in any role — with one key restriction: you cannot work for the same employer for more than three months (for most nationalities; the limit varies by agreement). This prevents working holidays from becoming de facto permanent employment with a single employer while avoiding the requirements of a work visa.
You can take on casual or seasonal work, pick up shifts in hospitality or retail, do farm work, or work in any sector. You are not restricted to specific industries, though the visa is designed for temporary and varied work rather than a single ongoing position.
Post-Study Work Visa
The Post-Study Work Visa gives full, open work rights with no employer or industry restrictions. It is specifically designed to let recent graduates gain New Zealand work experience across any sector. You can hold multiple jobs, change employers freely, or be employed in a role unrelated to your field of study.
Partner-Based Open Work Visas
Partners of New Zealand citizens or residents, and partners of AEWV or student visa holders (subject to conditions), can apply for an open work visa that gives them unrestricted work rights. This visa is separate from the principal applicant's visa — the partner applies in their own right.
Residence Visas
Resident class visas (both resident visas and permanent resident visas) carry full, unrestricted work rights. You can work for any employer in any role, hold multiple jobs, work any hours, and be self-employed. There are no conditions on what sector you work in or how many hours you work.
Self-Employment
Most temporary work visas do not permit self-employment. The AEWV in particular requires you to be genuinely employed — not a contractor working through your own company, and not operating your own business on the side. If you want to operate a business in New Zealand on a temporary visa, there are specific pathways (Entrepreneur Work Visa, certain investor categories) designed for that.
Residents can be self-employed without restriction.
Second Jobs
On the AEWV and most employer-specific visas, holding a second job is not permitted — the visa ties you to the named employer, and working for anyone else (even for a few hours a week) is a breach. If you are offered additional work by a different employer and you're on an employer-specific visa, do not accept it without first confirming that your visa conditions allow it.
On open work visas and residence visas, there is no restriction on holding multiple jobs simultaneously.
How Employers Check Your Work Rights
Employers are required to verify that you have the right to work in New Zealand before employing you. They do this through VisaView, an INZ online tool that lets employers confirm your visa status and work entitlements. VisaView shows whether you can work, and for employer-specific visas, shows the conditions.
Employing someone who doesn't have work rights — or whose work rights don't cover the role you're employing them in — exposes the employer to significant penalties. A responsible employer will check VisaView before you start.
Consequences of Working Outside Your Conditions
Working outside your visa conditions — whether that's working for the wrong employer, exceeding hour limits, or working when your visa doesn't permit it at all — is a visa condition breach. INZ records these breaches as part of your immigration history, and they are assessed as part of the good character requirement for every future visa application.
The consequences depend on the nature and severity of the breach. A short accidental breach that you proactively disclose is treated differently from a sustained pattern of deliberate non-compliance. In serious cases INZ can cancel your visa, require you to leave New Zealand, and impose stand-down periods on future applications.
See visa condition breach for a detailed guide to what happens if you've worked outside your conditions and what to do about it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know exactly what my work conditions are?
Your visa conditions appear on your visa label (the sticker in your passport for older visas) or in your eMail visa approval letter. For e-visas, check your immigration online account. If anything is unclear, contact INZ or an adviser before you start work.
My employer says it's fine to do some extra shifts — does that matter?
Your employer's view is irrelevant. Only INZ can authorise your work rights. If your visa says you must work for a specific employer, employer permission to work elsewhere doesn't make it legal. The obligation falls on you.
I'm losing my job — what happens to my visa?
For AEWV holders, losing your job means you no longer have the employment your visa was granted for. INZ has provisions for a transition period, but you cannot simply continue working for a different employer on the same AEWV. Get immigration advice promptly if your employment ends, as the window to take action is limited.
Can I study while on a work visa?
Most work visas permit part-time study. Full-time study while holding a work visa is more complicated — if your primary purpose becomes study rather than work, you may need to apply for a student visa instead. AEWV holders should check their specific conditions and get advice if they're considering full-time enrolment.
Unsure whether your current work arrangement matches your visa conditions? Find a licensed immigration adviser who can review your situation before it becomes a problem.