If you are a NZ business preparing to hire migrants under the AEWV framework, or already accredited and approaching a renewal
Labour Market Test and Job Check Assistance — New Zealand
Start your migrant hire with a Job Check that holds up.
We help accredited employers build the advertising record, employment agreement, and market-rate evidence that a Job Check needs to hold up on first submission.
The basics
What is the Labour Market Test & Job Check?
Two pre-hire steps from Immigration New Zealand that an accredited employer completes before a migrant can apply for an AEWV — the Labour Market Test confirms no New Zealander is available, and the Job Check approves the specific role.
Purpose
Two linked pre-hire steps INZ requires between accreditation and the worker's own visa application — the Labour Market Test and the Job Check.
Process
Generally completed in sequence, before a migrant can apply for the AEWV.
Dependency
An approved Job Check generates a job token, which the worker uses to lodge their AEWV application.
Assessment
Advertising record (the Labour Market Test), employment agreement (for visa-compliance purposes), and market-rate evidence.
Alternatives
If declined, reconsideration is decided on the original evidence. Reapplication with rebuilt evidence is often more effective.
When not needed
Some pathways — Global Workforce Seasonal, Peak Seasonal, Specific Purpose, partnership visas with open work rights — don't need a Job Check or apply different rules.
Not sure if a Job Check applies?Some visa pathways need one, some don't, and some apply different rules. Talk to us before you start so the right pre-hire step is in play for the role you're filling.
Your new hire on the ground, productive, and employed on terms that survive an Immigration New Zealand assessment — that is the end state this process is working toward.
When our help makes a difference
Where we step in — and what we do
Some immigration processes are approved without much friction. Some situations carry real risk of delay, hard pushback or decline.
Real cases · Illustrative
Situations we've helped with
Every case is different. These are illustrative and don't guarantee a particular outcome.
Avoidable problems
Common risks — and how to reduce them
Visitor Visa applications can be declined or delayed for reasons that are sometimes avoidable with better preparation.
- 01High impact
Genuine intentions assessment
Weak ties to a home country, inconsistent travel history, or vague explanations of the purpose of a visit can raise concerns. A well-prepared application addresses these points directly with supporting evidence.
- 02High impact
Insufficient financial evidence
Bare-minimum bank balances, unclear income sources, or missing sponsorship documentation can lead to requests for further information or decline.
- 03Medium impact
Health and character flags
Applicants from countries without a low TB incidence may need a chest X-ray. Those with criminal history may need police certificates. Out-of-date evidence delays processing.
- 04Medium impact
Passport validity
Your passport must be valid for at least three months beyond your planned departure date. Travelling on a passport close to expiry can result in being refused boarding or refused entry at the border.
- 05High impact
Misrepresentation
Providing false, misleading, or incomplete information — even unintentionally — can result in decline, and may affect future visa applications.
- 06Manageable
Timing
Applying too close to your intended travel date, or failing to apply for an extension before your current visa expires, creates complications that are difficult to resolve.
Important constraints
What the Labour Market Test & Job Check doesn't cover
The Labour Market Test and Job Check are pre-hire steps inside a larger picture. They don't, on their own, address everything else that comes up in the same conversation.
Not permitted
A Job Check is the wrong step if any of these applies.
We'll tell you up front if you actually need accreditation first, a different visa pathway, or a different kind of advice.
Get Employer Accreditation in place
Accreditation is a separate, prior application. See Employer Accreditation.
Get the worker's own visa granted (the AEWV itself)
That's a downstream step the worker lodges. See Accredited Employer Work Visa.
Get employment-law advice
We provide immigration law advice only.
Hire under Global Workforce Seasonal, Peak Seasonal, or Specific Purpose Work Visa
Different frameworks, with different (or no) Job Check requirements.
Work out residence pathway implications
Residence rules sit on a different page. Some residence criteria still reference the former median-wage concept, but that's a separate question.
Find the right pathway
Other options we can also help with
If a different immigration process fits your situation, we can take you there directly.
Working with us
What the process looks like
We will guide you step by step on your Labour Market Test & Job Check process, from start to finish.
Initial enquiry
Short discussion to understand the role, the accreditation position, any prior Job Check history, and what's driving the timeline. We'll tell you up front whether a Job Check is what you need or whether a different step fits better.
Service engagement
Letter of engagement signed, invoice paid. We open the file and map the timeline against the recruitment plan and start date.
Evidence preparation
We work through advertising-record requirements, the employment agreement against INZ's Job Check criteria, market-rate evidence, and any Employer Check considerations — so the application engages the criteria head-on.
Lodgement
We file the Job Check on your behalf and confirm receipt with Immigration New Zealand.
Monitoring & response
If INZ requests further information or queries an element of the evidence pack, we draft the response with you — promptly, in the right form.
Decision & next steps
We walk you through the outcome. If approved, the job token is issued and the worker can lodge their AEWV. If declined, we work through reasons and tell you whether reconsideration or reapplication is the better route.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
A Job Check touches immigration requirements and employment legislation at the same time — the advertising record, the employment agreement, the market-rate evidence, and the role-justification content in the form all need to hold up under Immigration New Zealand’s assessment. Legal input covers each of those elements before lodgement: reviewing the agreement for clauses that commonly cause declines, building a market-rate evidence pack that stands on its own, checking the advertising against the role’s current classification, and making sure the application is consistent with the employer’s accreditation history. Employers also often involve us when a Job Check is being prepared alongside an accreditation renewal, so the two pieces of work stay consistent. A pre-lodgement review is a relatively contained step that can prevent a round of requests for further information or, worse, a decline that triggers a 14-day reconsideration window.
The employment agreement attached to a Job Check is read by Immigration New Zealand for immigration purposes, but it remains a legally binding contract under employment legislation. Clauses that are acceptable in one frame can create issues in the other — trial-period wording that no longer meets the statutory test, bonding provisions that may be treated as recruitment-cost pass-through, overtime or pay-period terms that read differently from how the role is described in the Job Check form. Reviewing the agreement against both the immigration requirements and the employment legislation before it is lodged tends to prevent the most common reasons Job Checks are declined.
Depending on what was agreed with the candidate — including any conditional offer of employment, relocation cost arrangements, or pre-contract commitments — the employer may have exposure under employment legislation or contractual obligations even though the visa pathway has not opened. There are also reputational and relationship consequences that most employers want to avoid. The usual preventive measure is to keep the offer of employment conditional on the Job Check and the migrant’s visa, to stage any relocation costs accordingly, and to have those conditions clearly recorded in writing. If a decline has already happened in these circumstances, early legal input tends to clarify the position quickly.
Yes. A pre-lodgement review typically covers the advertising content and duration against the role’s classification, the Work and Income engagement record where it applies, the market-rate evidence pack, the employment agreement, and the Job Check form’s role-justification content itself. The output is a set of recommended adjustments rather than a guarantee of approval — Immigration New Zealand makes the decision on the evidence before it — but the review is the stage at which correctable issues are cheapest to fix. The depth of the review scales to the role, but the value is the same: catching issues before they become decline reasons.
Both routes are available, and the better choice depends on why the Job Check was declined. Reconsideration must be requested within 14 days of the decline and is decided on the original evidence only — it tends to be the right path where the decline reflects an interpretation issue rather than an evidence gap. Reapplication allows a rebuilt case with new or additional evidence, which tends to be the stronger path where the decline reflects thin market-rate evidence, unclear advertising records, or employment-agreement issues that can now be corrected. A focused review of the decision reasons, mapped against what was originally submitted, generally clarifies which route is more likely to resolve the issues. Because the reconsideration window is short, this is time-sensitive work.
The advertising evidence (copy, platform, dates, applicant logs), any Work and Income correspondence, the employment agreement and its variations, settlement-obligation evidence, and recruitment-cost declarations are all records that may be asked for on a post-decision audit or at accreditation renewal. Keeping these as a structured file rather than scattered across inboxes and folders makes them far easier to produce when they are requested. We can advise on a retention approach that reflects both the immigration requirements and the practical realities of your business.
Accreditation is the threshold: a business must hold current accreditation to submit a Job Check at all, and the accreditation carries its own ongoing obligations — settlement support, compliant employment practices, recruitment-cost rules. The Job Check is the role-level step that follows. Employment-law compliance sits alongside both — it is assumed by Immigration New Zealand when accreditation is granted, and it is tested again when the Job Check and later audits look at the employment agreement and recruitment practices. In practical terms, the three pieces reinforce each other: an employment agreement that meets the relevant legislation is generally easier to defend in a Job Check, and a business whose employment practices are in order is better positioned for accreditation renewal.
A suspended or revoked accreditation affects the basis on which existing migrant workers are employed under the Accredited Employer Work Visa, and can have implications for ongoing employment as well as for future hires. The practical response depends on the reasons for the suspension, the remedial steps available, and the nature of the existing employment arrangements. Because immigration requirements and employment obligations interact in these situations, early legal input tends to help employers understand their position and the steps available to them.
Get the role approved. We'll handle the Job Check.
Whether your immigration process is straightforward or involves complicating factors, we can help you understand your options and put your best case forward.
About MyLaw
MyLaw is a New Zealand law firm with a focus on immigration law.
Our team is led by Michael Yoon, a New Zealand lawyer and member of the New Zealand Law Society.
He holds a current practising certificate and works across a range of immigration matters, from Labour Market Test & Job Check matters to complex cases involving prior refusals, character issues, and multi-visa strategies.
Get in touch.
If you are planning a migrant hire or responding to an issue with a Job Check already in progress, we are happy to discuss how we can help. We work with employers at every stage — from a first Job Check through to responding to a decline or preparing for a compliance review.
Contact us for an initial discussion about your situation, or book a consultation through our contact page.
