Kia ora Tobias Tohill,
 
On behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment I
acknowledge your email of 3/06/2026 requesting, under the Official
Information Act 1982, the following:
 
"With regards to the assessment of Accredited Employer Work Visa
applications, we write to request information that provides guidelines,
definition, list of examples, scenarios, staff training manuals, internal
operating procedures, standard operating procedures, memos to staff,
updates to staff, unpublished Visa Paks, or any other information that is
not publicly available on the following;

1. What constitutes 'independently verifiable evidence'
2. What is not considered to 'independently verifiable evidence'
3. Whether any such country profile information held by Immigration New
Zealand should be referred to when immigration officers consider whether
evidence provided consitutes sufficiently 'independently verifiable
evidence' in their assessments of particular applications
4. Standard Operating Procedures for AEW. Work Visa processing with
regards to assessment of work evidence, including any definition or guide
as to what constitutes verifiable evidence or independently verifiable
evidence

For the avoidance of doubt, this request excludes all information publicly
available on websites, including immigration instructions, published Visa
Paks and guides.'
 
We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible, and no
later than 1/07/2026, being 20 working days after the day your request
was received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will
notify you of an extension of that timeframe. If you have any enquiries
regarding your request feel free to contact us via email to
[1][MBIE request email].
 
Nāku noa, nā
Ministerial Services
Strategy and Assurance
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
15 Stout Street, Wellington 6011 |  P O Box 1473 Wellington 6140

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[MBIE request email]

Kia ora Tobias,

 

Please see attached extension of your request.

 

Kind regards,

 

Ethan

 

MINISTERIAL SERVICES

Immigration New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

15 Stout Street, PO BOX 1473 Wellington 6140

NZBN 9429000106078

 

 

 

------------------- Original Message -------------------
From: [1][FOI #34835 email]; 
Received: Wed Jun 03 2026 10:34:45 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
To: OIA <[2][MBIE request email]>; 
Subject: Official Information request - Request for definition of
independently verifiable evidence and Standard Operating Procedures for
Work Visa processing and assessment

[Some people who received this message don't often get email from
[3][FOI #34835 email]. Learn why this is
important at [4]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]

Dear Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment,

With regards to the assessment of Accredited Employer Work Visa
applications, we write to request information that provides guidelines,
definition, list of examples, scenarios, staff training manuals, internal
operating procedures, standard operating procedures, memos to staff,
updates to staff, unpublished Visa Paks, or any other information that is
not publicly available on the following;

1. What constitutes 'independently verifiable evidence'
2. What is not considered to 'independently verifiable evidence'
3. Whether any such country profile information held by Immigration New
Zealand should be referred to when immigration officers consider whether
evidence provided consitutes sufficiently 'independently verifiable
evidence' in their assessments of particular applications
4. Standard Operating Procedures for AEW. Work Visa processing with
regards to assessment of work evidence, including any definition or guide
as to what constitutes verifiable evidence or independently verifiable
evidence

For the avoidance of doubt, this request excludes all information publicly
available on websites, including immigration instructions, published Visa
Paks and guides.

Please feel free contact me should you required any clarification of this
request.

Yours faithfully,

Tobias Tohill

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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[5][FOI #34835 email]

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References

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1. mailto:[FOI #34835 email]
2. mailto:[MBIE request email]
3. mailto:[FOI #34835 email]
4. https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific...
5. mailto:[FOI #34835 email]
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7. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
8. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

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Kia ora Tobias,

 

Please accept my apology for the delay in responding to your request as
our response was due yesterday. Please see attached response to your
request.

 

Kind regards,

 

Ethan

 

MINISTERIAL SERVICES

Immigration New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment

15 Stout Street, PO BOX 1473 Wellington 6140

NZBN 9429000106078

 

 

 

------------------- Original Message -------------------
From: [1][FOI #34835 email]; 
Received: Wed Jun 03 2026 10:34:45 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
To: OIA <[2][MBIE request email]>; 
Subject: Official Information request - Request for definition of
independently verifiable evidence and Standard Operating Procedures for
Work Visa processing and assessment

[Some people who received this message don't often get email from
[3][FOI #34835 email]. Learn why this is
important at [4]https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific... ]

Dear Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment,

With regards to the assessment of Accredited Employer Work Visa
applications, we write to request information that provides guidelines,
definition, list of examples, scenarios, staff training manuals, internal
operating procedures, standard operating procedures, memos to staff,
updates to staff, unpublished Visa Paks, or any other information that is
not publicly available on the following;

1. What constitutes 'independently verifiable evidence'
2. What is not considered to 'independently verifiable evidence'
3. Whether any such country profile information held by Immigration New
Zealand should be referred to when immigration officers consider whether
evidence provided consitutes sufficiently 'independently verifiable
evidence' in their assessments of particular applications
4. Standard Operating Procedures for AEW. Work Visa processing with
regards to assessment of work evidence, including any definition or guide
as to what constitutes verifiable evidence or independently verifiable
evidence

For the avoidance of doubt, this request excludes all information publicly
available on websites, including immigration instructions, published Visa
Paks and guides.

Please feel free contact me should you required any clarification of this
request.

Yours faithfully,

Tobias Tohill

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[5][FOI #34835 email]

Is [6][MBIE request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests
to Ministry of Business, Innovation &amp; Employment? If so, please
contact us using this form:
[7]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[8]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[FOI #34835 email]
2. mailto:[MBIE request email]
3. mailto:[FOI #34835 email]
4. https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentific...
5. mailto:[FOI #34835 email]
6. mailto:[MBIE request email]
7. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
8. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

hide quoted sections