AEWV applicants are now required to submit complete documents, including police certificates, to avoid delays, visa refusal or a shorter visa duration.
What is changing?
From 8 December 2025, INZ plans to speed up visa decisions and reduce delays due to insufficient documents by requiring applicants to provide a valid police certificate at the time of AEWV application. If applicants do not provide the police certificate at the time of submission, the application could potentially be declined or approved for a shorter duration.
This change is done to prevent processing delays, as previously INZ will follow up for the police certificates during processing.
What This Means For You
If you are planning to apply for an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), make sure that you already have a police certificate on hand for all the countries that you have been living in for at least 12 months in the last 10 years.
There are exceptions for police certificates from Fiji, Hong Kong and Israel, as they will send the certificates directly to INZ. However, applicants must upload evidence that they have applied for the certificates at the time of application.