BIV additional employment: the five-FTE baseline and a genuinely new permanent job
BIV residence requires more than a list of five employees. The business must maintain the five full-time-equivalent baseline and create additional ongoing employment for a New Zealand citizen or resident, maintained for at least 12 months. A position already established when the holder began operating, even if vacant, does not become newly created merely because somebody is later hired into it.
Distinguish the baseline from the additional job
BD 9.35 describes the baseline as five permanent full-time-equivalent jobs for people entitled to work in New Zealand. It does not require all five to be citizens or residents. The separate additional-job definition in BD 9.40 does require a citizen or residence-class visa holder. Do not exclude every lawful work-visa employee from the baseline or assume such an employee automatically satisfies the additional-job identity test.
The new employment must be additional both to the five-job minimum and to all established positions, filled and unfilled, when the BIV holder began operation. If the business already had more than five positions, the existing sixth position is not automatically the new one. Preserve the actual staffing and vacancy baseline rather than reconstructing it years later.
The stages have further distinctions: BD2.5 excludes owners from the nominated-business count, while BD6.1 at the transition to operation excludes owners and relevant family members of any BIV holder operating the enterprise. A family member's work entitlement alone does not establish that they count at every stage; check the specific requirement and facts.
Element | Instruction requirement |
Full-time permanent role | At least 30 hours a week demonstrated by written employment agreement |
Combined part-time positions | New, fixed-hours, permanent and ongoing roles meeting the equivalent-work rules |
Excluded arrangements | Contract, subcontracted and casual roles |
Additional-job holder | New Zealand citizen or residence-class visa holder |
Multiple BIV operators | Each holder creates an additional qualifying job |
Part-time roles can count only under the stated conditions
The instructions allow qualifying permanent and ongoing part-time roles to combine into a full-time equivalent. Simply adding several people's hours for one week is not enough. The additional roles must be genuinely new, with fixed hours, written agreements and employment and immigration compliance. Contractor, subcontractor or casual arrangements should not be relabelled to make the total look sufficient.
Match actual agreements, commencement dates, hours, wages, PAYE and relevant status evidence. The business need and work should exist. This is not a suggestion to create fictitious employment for immigration. Replacing an existing worker and creating an additional position are different events, even if the replacement has a new name on the payroll.
The vacancy rule has conditions before and after the gap
The additional employment must have been maintained for at least 12 months for residence. BD 9.40 treats employment as ongoing where a vacancy is no longer than three months within a12-month period and is immediately preceded and followed by a person working in that role. This should not be reduced to an unconditional three-month allowance for any vacancy.
Record real departure, recruitment and start dates. A candidate who has not started is not already working. The fast-track route's12-month operating milestone does not supply missing history for a job created later. Compare the employment timeline and the operating timeline to assess when the complete residence requirements can be met.
Multiple BIV holders cannot share one creation result
Where a business is operated or proposed to be operated by more than one relevant BIV applicant or holder, BD 9.40 requires each visa holder to create an additional permanent full-time-equivalent job for a qualifying citizen or resident. Joint ownership does not allow the same new position to be counted for everyone. Explain the complete operating and employment arrangement.
BI 2.15 identifies employment records, tax records and qualified statutory-accountant assessments among the evidence. Connect the original baseline, new roles, status, hours and periods, using appropriate channels for personal information. A private compliance spreadsheet is not a government determination. Genuine hiring is necessary evidence where applicable, but does not by itself guarantee residence approval.
Official sources and verification date
18 October 2026
Comments