Guide to temporary entry for Canadian business persons into New Zealand under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)
On this page
- Before you travel to New Zealand
- Business visitors
- Intra-corporate transferees
- Installers and servicers
- Independent professionals
- Disclaimer
This guide provides Canadian business persons with general information on the necessary criteria and procedures for entering New Zealand temporarily for business purposes under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and New Zealand’s acts and regulations governing entry and stay.
Please familiarize yourself with all relevant travel requirements before seeking entry into New Zealand.
Before you travel to New Zealand:
This guide is for information only. It is not the official text of the CPTPP or New Zealand’s laws. Always verify information using the text of the Agreement and official government sources of New Zealand. You may also seek advice from a licensed or authorised individual like an immigration lawyer or immigration consultant.
To be eligible for temporary entry into New Zealand under any of the categories under the CPTPP, you must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
- Consolidated TPP text – New Zealand’s schedule of commitments for temporary entry for business persons
- Consolidated TPP text – Chapter 12 – Temporary entry for business persons
- For any questions related to temporary entry commitments under the CPTPP, please contact: enquiry-demande.TE@international.gc.ca
Business visitors
Do I qualify as a business visitor?
Under New Zealand’s CPTPP commitments, a Canadian business visitor is a business person who is seeking temporary entry to perform one of the three following business activities in New Zealand:
- attending meetings or conferences, or engaging in consultations with business colleagues;
- taking orders or negotiating contracts for a Canadian enterprise; or
- undertaking business consultations or negotiations with the view to establish, expand or wind up a business enterprise or investment in New Zealand.
A business visitor’s principal place of business, payment, and accrual of profits, must remain outside New Zealand.
A Canadian business visitor cannot enter the labour market of New Zealand, nor sell goods or provide services to the general public.
Under New Zealand’s CPTPP commitments, a Canadian business visitor can stay in New Zealand for up to a total of 3 months in any calendar year.
Do I need a visa as a business visitor?
No. However, if a Canadian business person plans to visit New Zealand as a business visitor, you must request an NZeTA. An NZeTA enables you to travel to New Zealand without first applying for a visa. It is valid for many visits and up to 2 years.
To apply for an NZeTA online, complete the NZeTA application form, or apply using the mobile app.
Do I need a work permit as a business visitor?
No. A Canadian business visitor will not require a work permit, as they will not and cannot be engaged in any income-earning activities while in New Zealand.
Intra-corporate transferees
Do I qualify as an intra-corporate transferee?
Under New Zealand’s CPTPP commitments, a Canadian intra-corporate transferee is an executive, manager or specialist, employed by a Canadian goods supplier, service supplier, or investor with a commercial presence in New Zealand.
An executive is a business person who:
- primarily directs the management of an enterprise, exercises wide latitude in decision making, receiving only general supervision from higher level executives, the board of directors, or stockholders of the enterprise; and
- does not directly perform tasks related to the actual provision of the service or the operation of the enterprise.
Executives must have been employed by their employer for at least 12 months prior to their proposed transfer to New Zealand.
A manager is a business person who:
- is responsible for or directs the entire or a substantial part of the operations of the enterprise in New Zealand, receiving general supervision or direction principally from higher level executives, the board of directors or stockholders of the enterprise;
- supervises and controls the work of other supervisory, professional or managerial employees; and
- has the authority to establish goals and policies of the entire or a substantial part of the operations of the enterprise.
Managers must have been employed by their employer for at least 12 months prior to their proposed transfer to New Zealand.
A specialist is a business person with:
- advanced trade, technical or professional skills within an organisation;
- knowledge at an advanced level of technical expertise and proprietary knowledge of the organisation’s service, research equipment, techniques or management; and
- responsibilities in a particular aspect of an organisation’s operations in New Zealand.
Skills are assessed in terms of the applicant’s employment experience, qualifications and suitability for the position.
The salary (and related payments) of an intra-corporate transferee must be paid entirely by the enterprise that employs them in Canada.
Under New Zealand’s CPTPP commitments, Canadian intra-corporate transferees can stay in New Zealand for up to three years.
Do I need a visa as an intra-corporate transferee?
Yes. To temporarily enter and work in New Zealand as a Canadian intra-corporate transferee, you should apply for the Specific Purpose Work Visa.
How do I apply for a Specific Purpose Work Visa as an intra-corporate transferee?
To apply for a Specific Purpose Work Visa, you must create an account and submit your application on RealMe, a form of secure online identification that allows you to use New Zealand Government’s digital services using a single username and password.
For more information on the Specific Purpose Work Visa, please visit the Specific Work Purpose Visa page of the New Zealand Immigration website.
Do I also need a separate work permit as an intra-corporate transferee?
No. The Specific Purpose Work Visa, once issued, acts as a permit authorizing work in the specified position and for the specified duration of stay.
Installers and servicers
Do I qualify as an installer and servicer?
Under New Zealand’s CPTPP commitments, a Canadian installer or servicer is a Canadian business person who is seeking temporary entry to perform installation or servicing of machinery or equipment where installation or servicing is a condition of the purchase of machinery or equipment business activities in New Zealand
Under New Zealand’s CPTPP commitments, a Canadian installer or servicer can stay in New Zealand for up to a total of 3 months in any calendar year.
Do I need a visa as an installer or servicer?
Yes. To temporarily enter and work in New Zealand as a Canadian installer or servicer, you should apply for the Specific Purpose Work Visa.
How do I apply for a Specific Purpose Work Visa as an installer or servicer?
To apply for a Specific Purpose Work Visa, you must create an account and submit your application on RealMe, a form of secure online identification that allows you to use New Zealand Government’s digital services using a single username and password.
For more information on the Specific Purpose Work Visa, please visit the Specific Work Purpose Visa page of the New Zealand Immigration website.
Do I also need a separate work permit as an installer or servicer?
No. The Specific Purpose Work Visa, once issued, acts as a permit authorizing work in the specified position and for the specified duration of stay.
Independent professionals
Do I qualify as an independent professional?
Under New Zealand’s CPTPP commitments, a Canadian independent professional is a self-employed Canadian business person with advanced technical or professional skills, working under a valid contract in New Zealand and without a commercial presence in New Zealand.
A Canadian independent professional must:
- have a qualification resulting from at least three years of formal post-secondary education (e.g. degree or diploma); and
- have at least six years of experience.
In addition, to qualify for temporary entry into New Zealand under the CPTPP, a Canadian independent professional must work in one of the following service sectors:
- Business Services
- Professional Services
- (a) Legal services (international and foreign law)
- (b) Integrated engineering services
- (c) Consultancy related to urban planning and landscape architectural services
- Computer and Related Services
- (a) Maintenance and repair of office machinery and equipment including computers
- (b) Other computer services
- Other Business Services
- (a) Management consultancy services
- (b) Services related to management consultancy
- (c) Services incidental to animal husbandry
- (d) Placement and supply services of personnel
- (e) Photographic services
- (f) Convention services
- (g) Other (credit reporting, collection agency services, interior design, telephone answering and duplicating services)
- Professional Services
- Educational Services
- Other education services
- Language training provided in private specialist language institutions;
- Tuition in subjects taught at the primary and secondary levels, provided by private specialist institutions operating outside the New Zealand compulsory school system.
- Other education services
- Environmental Services
- Waste Water Management
- Waste Management
- Sanitation and similar services
- Protection of ambient air and climate: consultancy only
- Noise and vibration abatement: consultancy only
- Protection of biodiversity and landscape: consultancy only
- Other environmental and ancillary services: consultancy only
Under New Zealand’s CPTPP commitments, a Canadian independent professional can stay in New Zealand for a maximum of 12 months and are subject to an economic needs test.
Do I need a visa as an independent professional?
Yes. To temporarily enter and work in New Zealand as a Canadian independent professional, you should apply for the Specific Purpose Work Visa.
How do I apply for a Specific Purpose Work Visa as an independent professional?
To apply for a Specific Purpose Work Visa, you must create an account and submit your application on RealMe, a form of secure online identification that allows you to use New Zealand Government’s digital services using a single username and password.
For more information on the Specific Purpose Work Visa, please visit the Specific Work Purpose Visa page of the New Zealand Immigration website.
Do I also need a separate work permit as an independent professional?
No. The Specific Purpose Work Visa, once issued, acts as a permit authorizing work in the specified position and for the specified duration of stay.
I qualify for temporary entry into New Zealand under the CPTPP; can my spouse or dependents accompany me?
New Zealand does not extend temporary entry to spouses or dependants under the CPTPP. Any such entry to New Zealand is subject to New Zealand’s acts and regulations governing entry and stay.
Consult the official guidelines on bringing family to New Zealand to learn more about traveling with your family to New Zealand.
What if I don’t qualify for temporary entry into New Zealand under the CPTPP?
Entry into New Zealand for Canadian business persons not belonging to any of the categories covered under the CPTPP is subject to New Zealand’s acts and regulations governing entry and stay.
To explore other paths for entry into New Zealand, please consult New Zealand’s official immigration website.
Disclaimer:
The information contained herein is current as of May 2023 (national immigration legislations may change, sometimes at short notice). It is offered for informational purposes only and does not constitute general legal advice. The information: (i) must be regarded as a practical guide for general information and not a process guide for determining the specific immigration requirements of the countries covered, (ii) should not be a substitute for a more in-depth analysis of applicable facts and circumstances (including, without limitation, criminal or health-related circumstances) conducted by competent professionals, (iii) indicated processing times and fees herein are approximate, are subject to the specific case circumstances, and change. The information herein does not guarantee the outcome or approval of any particular immigration application.
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