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Right to work in New Zealand: the employer's checklist

Confirming a candidate's right to work is the employer's obligation. Here is a clean checklist you can apply on every hire — citizen, resident, or work visa.

The obligation

Under the Immigration Act 2009, employers must take reasonable steps to confirm that a worker has the right to work in New Zealand for the role being offered. "Reasonable steps" is interpreted strictly. A photocopy of a passport from five years ago is not enough.

The checklist

  • Verify identity using a current government-issued photo ID.
  • Confirm immigration status via VisaView or Immigration NZ — for non-citizens, capture visa class, conditions and expiry.
  • Document the right-to-work decision and store it against the employee record.
  • Diary the visa expiry, if any, with a reminder at least 30 days before.
  • Re-check on every material change of circumstances (renewal, role change, location change).

Common mistakes

The two we see most often: relying on a candidate's verbal assurance, and failing to track visa expiry. Both are easily fixed by running right-to-work as a standard step in every onboarding and by letting your background-check platform do the diary work.

If the role is conditional on visa renewal, write that into the offer. It protects you and sets clear expectations.

Keep reading

Pre-employment checks every NZ employer should consider

A practical guide to the background checks New Zealand employers should run, when each one applies, and how to stay on the right side of the Privacy Act.

MoJ criminal check vs NZ Police vetting — which do you need?

The two main criminal-history checks available in New Zealand serve different purposes. Here is how to decide which one applies to your role — or whether you need both.