29 June 2026
RB
[FYI request #34527 email]
DOIA-REQ-0031796
Tēnā koe RB
Thank you for your email of 22 April 2026 to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
(MBIE) requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), the following:
I am a Citizen of Aotearoa New Zealand.
I'm wanting to know details on work visas (AEWV) being approved by Immigration New
Zealand as the media or publicly released information doesn't provide detailed numbers on
this.
Please provide information on:
1) The number of AEWV applications approved between March 2025 to March 2026, broken
down by the month.
Columns expected: Month, Number of Submitted or Accepted applications, Number of
Approved applications
2) The number of AEWV applications approved between 1st March 2025 to 31st March 2026,
broken down by the top 10 occupations (highest numbers of the approved AEWV applications
in the duration) and month.
Columns expected: Occupation Code, Occupation Description, Month (column per month),
Total
3) The number of AEWV applications approved between 1st March 2025 to 31st March 2026,
broken down by the top 10 nationalities (of applicants, ordered by the highest numbers of the
approved AEWV applications in the duration) and month.
4) The median hourly rate for AEWV applications approved between 1st March 2025 to 31st
March 2026, broken down by the top 10 occupations.
Columns expected: Occupation Code, Occupation Description, Approved applications, Median
hourly wage rate
Notes: The occupation codes provided can be based on the Australian and New Zealand
Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) or other latest standards you use.
The “top 10 occupations” are based on the 10 occupations that have the highest numbers of
the approved AEWV applications between the duration requested in the question.
Response format used by INZ for the Appendix of DOIA-REQ-0007026 can be used as a
reference.
5) Any reports or ministerial briefs provided to the Minister which contain approval numbers
specifically for AEWV. I request release of the full text of such reports (even sections not
mentioning AEWV) so wider context can be understood.
This data is critical to understand skil shortages, wage level improvement or suppression
trends and if the system is working as intended especially during times of a slowing economy
and record high unemployment and underemployment levels in our nation.
Hence, I also urge your team to consider making these details publicly available by means of a
dashboard updated on a weekly or monthly basis and provided as a media update for public
awareness and genuine debates on Immigration policy.
On 6 May 2026, we contacted you to clarify the below:
Could you please confirm the date range for question 5 of your OIA request is the same as the
other 4 questions - 1st March 2025 to 31st March 2026?
5) Any reports or ministerial briefs provided to the Minister which contain approval numbers
specifically for AEWV. I request release of the full text of such reports (even sections not
mentioning AEWV) so wider context can be understood.
The same day, you responded:
For #5 - I am happy for the time frame to be shorter from 1st September 2025 to 31st March
2026.
In case this results in a considerable delay beyond the deadline to respond to the whole
request, please ignore #5 and provide answers for Qs 1 to 4.
Please accept our apologies for the delay on providing this information.
Our Response
Please refer to the attached appendix for the data in scope for questions 1 to 4, specifically for the
number of approved Accredited Employer Work Visa applications for the period 1 March 2025 to 31
March 2026, broken down by month, top 10 occupations, top 10 nationalities and median wage.
Please note that the data set for question 1 is using two different reference points resulting in two
different tables of data. There are submitted application numbers which are recorded based on the
month they were lodged and there are approved application numbers which are recorded based on
the month a decision was made.
Please be advised that the Migrant Data Explorer tool on Immigration New Zealand’s website is
publicly available and allows users to explore immigration data over time:
https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/research-and-statistics/statistics/
Following your email of 6 May 2026 and careful assessment of the information we have determined
that fulfilling question 5 would require a substantial amount of additional time and resources thereby
causing significant further delay in responding to this request. As such, reports or ministerial briefs
provided to the Minister which contain approval numbers specifically for AEWV are refused under
18(f) that the information requested cannot be made available without substantial collation or
research.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Information
about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800
802 602.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, please contact
[email address].
Nāku noa, nā
Peter Elms
Director Visa
Immigration New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
