New Zealand has become a melting pot of different nationalities, this diversity is fantastic and hiring an employee with international experience  can be a great asset to a company. It is however important to ensure that any foreign nationals you hire are legally permitted to work in New Zealand as there are severe penalties if you are caught employing illegal immigrants.

As of 29^th November 2010 the changes to the Immigration Act placed the responsibility on employers to ascertain whether or not their staff are legally permitted to work in New Zealand. Employers now need to show that they have taken ‘reasonable precautions’ and ‘exercised due diligence’ in checking whether foreign nationals are entitled to work for them.

In the past many employers asked staff to complete an  IR330 form and beleieved having this was enough and if the employee has filled it in incorrectly this was not their fault. This is  is no longer considered a ‘reasonable excuse’ it is up to the employers to carry out thorough checks to ensure their staff have a work permit. Employers should request to see prospective new employees Passport and Work Permit / Visa and retain a copy of this on file or you could register as an employer on  Immigration NZ’s new system that currently being trialed called “Visaview” where check the work permits and residency status of potential employees online.

What happens if you are caught employing staff who are working illegally in NZ? Well, there is a penalty of up to $10,000 for employing foreign nationals who are not permitted to work in NZ and a fine of up to $50,000 for continuing to employ them once you are aware of the fact that they are working illegally.