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Job offer scams, paying for jobs and migrant exploitation in New Zealand

Updated 26 July 2026

Charging a migrant for a job is illegal in New Zealand from both directions. Employment law has banned premiums for employment since 1983, and since 28 November 2025 knowingly seeking or receiving a premium for a migrant's employment — or even potential employment — is an immigration offence carrying up to seven years' imprisonment, covering employers, their agents and recruiters, whether the money changed hands in New Zealand or offshore, and whether or not the job ever started. If you paid for your job, were pushed to repay wages, had your passport held, or discovered your job offer was never real, the law is on your side — and reporting it can protect your visa rather than end it.

Paying for a job is illegal — on both sides of the law

Section 12A of the Wages Protection Act 1983 prohibits an employer or anyone engaged on their behalf from seeking or receiving any premium in respect of employment — from the worker or from anyone else. The money can be recovered as a debt through the Employment Relations Authority, on top of penalties, and a Labour Inspector can sue on your behalf. Immigration New Zealand's employer rules point the same way: an accredited employer must pay all recruitment costs, in and outside New Zealand, and cannot pass recruitment, training or equipment fees to the worker.

The new immigration offence goes further. Section 351A of the Immigration Act 2009 makes it a crime for any employment-related person — employer, agent or recruiter — to knowingly seek or receive a premium for the employment or potential employment in New Zealand of a temporary visa holder or applicant. It applies before or after work starts, whether or not the victim ever starts work, and whether the premium was demanded in New Zealand or overseas. The penalty is up to seven years' imprisonment, a $100,000 fine, or both.

Migrant exploitation and how to report it

Exploitation offences under section 351 cover employers who seriously fail on minimum wage, holiday pay or wage protections while employing temporary workers or unlawful employees, and employers who try to stop a worker leaving, contacting help, learning their rights or disclosing their situation — the statute's own examples include taking or keeping a worker's passport. Penalties run to seven years' imprisonment where the employer knew the worker's status.

Report exploitation to Employment New Zealand — online at gethelp.employment.govt.nz or by phone on 0800 200 088, with interpreters available in more than 180 languages. If the report is assessed as credible and you hold an employer-tied work visa, you receive a Report of Exploitation Assessment Letter, which supports an application for the Migrant Exploitation Protection Work Visa: free, up to six months (or until your current visa expires, whichever is first), letting you work while you get clear of the exploitative employer. Importantly, INZ says it will ignore visa-condition breaches and false or withheld information that happened as a result of the exploitation. Two 2024 changes narrowed the scheme: a second protection visa is no longer available, and redundancy, liquidation or a lawful termination do not count as exploitation.

Fake and non-genuine job offers

Accredited Employer Work Visa jobs must pass a job check: the employment must be genuine, guarantee at least 30 hours a week, and sit on a compliant employment agreement. INZ verifies and can decline where information is false or misleading — which is also where the danger lies for the worker, because an application built on a fabricated job can expose the applicant under the false information rules even where the scheme was the recruiter's. Classic warning signs: being asked to pay for the offer, to repay part of your wages after starting, jobs with no real duties, or an employer who cannot be found at the advertised premises.

Where the person who sold the job was a licensed immigration adviser, the Immigration Advisers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal's published decisions — all of which appear in this directory's decisions section — show these schemes recur, and a complaint is free to make. Advisers whose businesses also operate recruitment agencies carry a neutral fact pill on their profiles here, so the dual role is visible before you engage.

When the employer's failure hits your visa

If your employer loses accreditation, workers already in New Zealand can keep working for that employer on their existing visa — but the employer cannot support new visas, and from November 2025 INZ can pause or decline simplified job-change applications involving employers whose accreditation was revoked within the past year or where there is credible evidence of poor employment practices. Employers must tell INZ within 10 working days when an AEWV holder leaves a month or more before their visa expires.

There is no grace period after dismissal or redundancy for AEWV holders — an ended job puts you out of step with your visa conditions, so move promptly: a Job Change to a new accredited employer with an approved job check, a different visa application, or a visitor visa to buy time lawfully. If the job ended through exploitation, the protection visa route above is faster and free. Whatever happened, your employment rights survive: Employment New Zealand states plainly that minimum employment rights apply to everyone and cannot be taken away, even from someone working unlawfully — unpaid wages go to free mediation and then the Employment Relations Authority.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to pay for a job offer in New Zealand?
No. Charging a premium for employment breaches the Wages Protection Act, the money is recoverable as a debt, and since 28 November 2025 knowingly seeking or receiving a premium for a migrant's employment — or potential employment — is an immigration offence carrying up to seven years' imprisonment, covering employers, agents and recruiters, in or outside New Zealand.
Can I get a visa if I have been exploited at work?
If you hold an employer-tied work visa, report the exploitation to Employment New Zealand (0800 200 088). If the report is assessed as credible you receive an assessment letter supporting the free Migrant Exploitation Protection Work Visa — up to six months or until your current visa expires. Since October 2024 a second protection visa is not available, and redundancy or lawful termination does not qualify.
Do I lose my visa if my employer loses accreditation?
Not immediately — workers already in New Zealand can continue working for that employer on their existing visa. But the employer cannot support new visas, so plan your next step: a Job Change to another accredited employer with an approved job check, or a different visa.
Is there a grace period if I am made redundant on an AEWV?
No formal grace period exists. An ended job puts you out of step with employer-tied visa conditions, so act promptly — Job Change, a new visa application, or a visitor visa. Redundancy itself does not count as exploitation for the protection visa.

Sources

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General information, not immigration advice. Rules change; always check the linked official sources.