# Hiring temporary migrants Official source: https://www.employment.govt.nz/starting-employment/hiring/hiring-temporary-migrants Scanned: 2026-06-07T03:31:31.402Z Use this as a current official guidance reference, not as a substitute for legal advice. ## Page Text Home Starting employment Hiring Hiring temporary migrants Hiring Starting employment Rights and responsibilities Types of worker Hiring The hiring process Hiring your first employee Hiring young people Hiring temporary migrants Employment for disabled people Discrimination against transgender people Pre-employment trials Tests and checks Employers on stand-down Trial periods Probationary periods Employment agreements Employers Hiring temporary migrants Before hiring someone from overseas, you need to make sure they have the legal right to work in New Zealand. What you must do It is your responsibility as an employer An individual or organisation that hires 1 or more employees and contracts them to work in exchange for wages or salary under a ‘contract of service’ (commonly called an ‘employment agreement’). to make sure that an employee Any person, whatever their age, who is employed by an employer to do any work for hire or reward under a ‘contract of service’ (commonly called an ‘employment agreement’). is legally allowed to work for you. You must make sure your employees can legally work in that job in New Zealand. Immigration Act 2009 (external link) Immigration New Zealand (external link) VisaView (external link) Recognised Seasonal Employers (RSE) If you cannot find enough horticulture and viticulture workers in New Zealand, the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme lets workers from specific countries come to New Zealand to plant, maintain, harvest and pack crops. You can apply to be a Recognised Seasonal Employer on the Immigration New Zealand website: Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme and Agreement to Recruit process - Immigration New Zealand (external link) Supplementary Seasonal Employment - Approval in Principle - Immigration New Zealand (external link) Applying for an Agreement to Recruit: process steps - Immigration New Zealand (external link) You must meet all the employment standards, including paying employees hired under the RSE scheme no less than the applicable minimum hourly wage The lowest amount an employee can be paid per hour. There are 3 types of minimum wage: adult, starting-out and training. There is no minimum wage for employees younger than 16 years old. plus 10% per hour for actual hours worked. If you want the same workers back for another season, they may be able to come back to New Zealand under a new agreement to recruit if: the conditions of their visa have been met, and there is a continued labour shortage. Best practice tips Business.govt.nz has more information about hiring people from overseas : How to hire overseas workers — business.govt.nz (external link) Human Rights Commission (external link) Published: 18 December 2023 Last modified: 25 August 2025 Written for: Employers Share this page: Print this page: