Work visa saved after a drink-driving conviction

[Applicant A] is a chef from Vietnam who has lived and worked in New Zealand since 2023. He had one conviction for drink driving after a farewell party in 2024, for which the court fined him and disqualified him from driving for six months. When he applied for an Accredited Employer Work Visa, that conviction meant Immigration New Zealand had to look closely at his character before it could approve the visa.

We prepared a detailed written response. We accepted the conviction openly and did not try to make light of it, then set out the full picture: it was a single mistake with no other offending in New Zealand or Vietnam, he had complied fully with the court’s orders, he had genuinely changed his habits since, and he was a hardworking, tax-paying employee his employer could not easily replace. We backed each point with the court records, his own statement, his employment and income evidence, and letters from his family, his church, and his workplace, and we asked Immigration New Zealand to weigh all of these factors together rather than just count them.

Immigration New Zealand accepted our response, granted the exception, and approved the work visa, valid until March 2028.

A conviction does not have to be the end of a work visa, but it has to be met head-on with an honest and complete response rather than ignored or downplayed. What carried the most weight here was evidence of genuine change shown through actions, court compliance, and consistent letters from people who know the applicant, rather than promises alone. And when a single mistake is set against years of steady, lawful work and strong family and community ties, that full picture can be enough to persuade Immigration New Zealand to make an exception.