Religious worker visa approved for a buddhist temple

[EMPLOYER] is a Korean Buddhist temple in Canterbury that has run for more than twenty years and is a registered charity. Over the years several monks have come from Korea to lead it and then returned home. After the previous monk went back to Korea, the temple asked Immigration New Zealand to grant a religious worker visa for [Applicant A] to take over as its head monk.

We answered each concern in writing. To show the genuine need, we set out the temple’s long history, its current membership of about XXX people, the monks who had served before, and a statement from the temple’s secretary. We explained that a monk serving a temple is not an employee in the ordinary sense, so the rules do not require an employment contract, and we provided a clear description of the monk’s role and the support the temple gives. To show the finances, we provided the temple’s bank statement, a term deposit, and the council valuation of the temple property, which is owned outright.

Immigration New Zealand accepted the response and granted the work visa on 10 September 2024, six days after we lodged it. The monk can now lead the temple in Christchurch.

When a faith community needs a religious worker, the genuine need for the role is best shown with real history: how long the organisation has existed, how many members it has, and who has filled the role before. Where the person is not an ordinary employee, it is clearer to explain the actual arrangement and describe the role than to create a contract that does not match reality. And money evidence should plainly belong to the organisation that is sponsoring, supported by a track record of looking after earlier workers, so the decision-maker can be confident the support is real.