Redundancy on a Work Visa: What a Restructure Means for Your Status
An Accredited Employer Work Visa lets you work only in the job, for the employer and in the location on it, and a restructure that removes the role changes all three. This guide is the timeline: what Immigration New Zealand says to do, what a new employer must have before a Job Change, why Work and Income is usually not available, and the order of calls, starting with a licensed adviser.
What the visa is tied to
An Accredited Employer Work Visa carries conditions. Immigration New Zealand's own words are that you may work only in the job, for the employer and in the location stated on your visa, and that if those conditions change you must apply to vary the conditions of your visa or apply for a Job Change. You also cannot work a second job on an AEWV. A restructure that removes your role therefore changes something your visa depends on, and the visa does not pause while the restructure runs.
The visa itself does not expire on your last day. What ends is the employment that satisfies its conditions. Immigration New Zealand says a person who holds a visa to work for a specific business may be in breach of their visa conditions by remaining in New Zealand after that employment has ended, which is why the timeline in this guide starts before the last day, not after it. The immigration consequences of a restructure are the one part of this pathway where the money comes second.
This page is the timeline and the vocabulary. It is not immigration advice, and immigration advice in New Zealand may only be given by a licensed immigration adviser or a lawyer. Book that conversation the week the proposal lands, not the week the job ends, because the options narrow as the date approaches.
When the job ends: the Job Change process
Immigration New Zealand says AEWV workers affected by a restructure, redundancy, bankruptcy or liquidation should contact its Customer Service Centre to discuss their options. Its staff can explain how losing your job affects your work visa and whether you need to vary the conditions of your visa, apply for a Job Change, or apply for a new work visa. The contact number published by Immigration New Zealand is 0508 558 855 from a New Zealand landline. Ring it as soon as the notice is confirmed; the call is the record that you acted.
If you find a new job with another employer, that employer must be accredited under the AEWV scheme and must have a valid job check for the role before you can apply for a Job Change. Where you have been made redundant and found the new job yourself, Immigration New Zealand says the standard process applies and the new employer must apply for a new job check and pay the fee. A Job Change application updates the job, employer or location on your visa; it is not a new visa, but it depends on the new employer having done its part first.
Two things are worth knowing about the employment side. Trial periods are a matter of Immigration New Zealand policy for AEWV workers: accredited employers have not been able to use 90 day trial periods for AEWV workers since 29 October 2023, so a new AEWV role should not carry one. And the pay secrecy change in New Zealand employment law applies to you as it does to everyone: since 27 August 2025 an employer cannot take action against you for discussing your pay, which matters when you are comparing a new offer with the old role.
Accreditation under the AEWV scheme, a job check for the specific role, and then your Job Change application. The order matters because each step waits on the one before it, and none of them starts until the employer decides to hire you.
Money on a temporary visa
The rest of this pathway assumes Work and Income is available once the stand-down ends. For most temporary visa holders it is not. Jobseeker Support has residence requirements that a temporary work visa does not usually meet, so the gap between the last pay and the next one is bridged by the redundancy payment, savings, and the new employer, not by a benefit. Work and Income can tell you where your visa stands, and it is worth asking, but do not plan around a payment you may not be eligible for.
The redundancy payment itself is taxed the same way as for anyone else: as an extra pay, at the rate Inland Revenue's method produces once the payment is added to your annualised pay, without the ACC earners' levy. The employment settlements guide in this series explains the calculation. If you are a KiwiSaver member, the hardship withdrawal rules apply to you as they do to any member, though many temporary visa holders were never eligible to join.
Your employment rights during the restructure are not reduced by the visa. The consultation obligations in section 4 of the Employment Relations Act, the notice period in your agreement, any redundancy compensation the agreement provides, and the 90 day window to raise a personal grievance under section 114 all apply. Employment New Zealand has information for workers affected by a redundancy, restructure, liquidation or bankruptcy, including how to claim money owed, and it is the place to start if the employer stops paying.
The order of calls
First, a licensed immigration adviser or an immigration lawyer, before the last day, with your visa, your employment agreement and the restructure letter in front of you. Second, your employer, for written confirmation of the redundancy, the last day and the reason, because Immigration New Zealand and any new employer will ask for it. Third, Immigration New Zealand's Customer Service Centre, so that the record shows you contacted them as soon as the job ended. Fourth, the job search, with the visa expiry date and the accreditation requirement in every conversation with a prospective employer.
Keep a folder. The letter, the final payslip, the certificate of service, every email with Immigration New Zealand, and the adviser's notes. A Job Change application asks for evidence of the new offer and the old employment; a new visa application asks for more. The folder is the difference between a two week application and a two month one.
The same restructure can end differently for you than for the colleague at the next desk, because their next step is Work and Income and yours is a job check. That is not a reason to panic; it is a reason to start earlier than they do. The rest of the pathway, from the consultation response to the contracting decision, applies to you in full.
One sentence to remember
Your visa is tied to the job, the employer and the location on it; when the role goes, the question is not whether you can stay, it is which application keeps you compliant, and a licensed adviser answers that, not this page.
Related guides and tools
- Redundancy Checklist, the last fortnight, with the immigration steps added at the top of the list
- From Redundancy to Contracting, why contracting is rarely an option on an AEWV, and what the gateway test says
- Employment Settlements and Tax, how the redundancy payment is taxed as an extra pay
- Jobseeker Support, the residence requirements, for anyone unsure where their visa stands
Test Your Knowledge
Ten questions on visa conditions, the Job Change process, what a new employer needs, and the order of calls when the role goes.
Sources: Immigration New Zealand, Accredited Employer Work Visa conditions and the Job Change process, read on immigration.govt.nz on 3 September 2026; Employment Relations Act 2000 and the Employment Relations Amendment Act 2026, read on legislation.govt.nz on 3 September 2026; Work and Income, Jobseeker Support eligibility, read on 3 September 2026.