Hire a Japanese Chef in Queenstown: Seasonal Visas and the AEWV

A Japanese restaurant in Queenstown hires into two peaks, the ski winter and the summer high season, in a town where staff housing is scarce and much of the workforce is on a visa. New Zealand opened two seasonal work visas in December 2025, and many operators assumed they would solve the kitchen problem. They do not, because neither list includes chefs or cooks. This guide sets out which routes do work for a Queenstown kitchen and how to time them. The national rules for sponsoring a chef are covered in more depth in our guide to hiring a Japanese chef in New Zealand.

1. Why Queenstown hiring is different

Three things set a resort kitchen apart from one in Auckland or Wellington.

• The local Japanese pool is small. Japan's foreign ministry (MOFA) counted 21,471 Japanese nationals in all of New Zealand on 1 October 2025. Queenstown does not appear among the cities MOFA reports separately. Japan's agriculture ministry (MAFF) counted about 500 Japanese restaurants across New Zealand in 2025, up 20 on 2023. Most of the experienced Japanese cooks in the country work in the big cities, so a Queenstown restaurant usually recruits from overseas or from working holiday makers.
• Demand is seasonal but the good cooks want continuity. A sushi or kaiseki cook with real training rarely wants a four month contract and a flight home. If your menu depends on one skilled person, you need a role that lasts beyond the season.
• Housing is part of the offer. In a resort town, the question a candidate asks first is often where they will live. Budget for it before you advertise.

2. The new seasonal visas do not cover kitchens

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) opened two seasonal visas on 8 December 2025, and on the same date the Specific Purpose Work Visa stopped being available for seasonal roles.

Both lists are fixed and published by INZ. We checked each occupation on them in September 2026: no chef, cook, kitchenhand or other food service role appears. A Queenstown ski operator can use the GWSV for its lift and snow staff, but the Japanese restaurant at the base of the mountain cannot use it for its kitchen.

3. The AEWV for a seasonal or year-round chef

INZ lists the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) as one of five options for employers hiring for seasonal peaks. For a restaurant kitchen it is the main one. You must first be an accredited employer and pass a job check; our New Zealand guide walks through accreditation and the advertising rules. The worker's side, as INZ describes it in September 2026:

• A job of at least 30 hours a week with an accredited employer.
• At least 2 years of relevant work experience, or a qualification at level 4 or higher on the New Zealand framework.
• English ability if the job is at skill level 3 to 5. A chef role coded at a higher skill level avoids this, which matters for a traditionally trained Japanese cook.
• Visa fee from NZ$1,540. INZ reports that 80% of applications are decided within 6 weeks.
• The visa can run up to 5 years for skill levels 1 to 3 and up to 3 years for levels 4 and 5. After reaching the limit, the worker must spend 12 months outside New Zealand before applying again.

Two changes from 2026 are worth knowing. From 9 March 2026 INZ recognised 47 more occupations under its National Occupation List, and said chef roles have been split into clearer occupations based on skill and seniority. The same announcement raised the immigration median wage to NZ$35.00 an hour, which moves several thresholds tied to it. Check which chef occupation fits your role before you submit the job check, because the code decides the skill level and therefore the English requirement.

4. Japanese working holiday makers

INZ's own guidance on short-term work names hospitality and tourism among the industries where working holiday makers find jobs, and says that for most roles experience is not required. For a Japanese restaurant, this is the natural source of seasonal cooks and front of house staff who speak Japanese. The Japan Working Holiday Visa, as published by INZ:

• Japanese citizens aged 18 to 30.
• Stay of up to 12 months.
• Fee from NZ$770, with at least NZ$4,200 in funds.
• Temporary work only. The holder cannot take a permanent job.
• Once only: INZ will not grant a second Japan working holiday visa, even if the first was never used.

Plan around the 12 month limit. A working holiday cook who arrives in May for the winter season can also cover the summer, but not the following winter. If a working holiday maker turns out to be the cook you want long term, the path is an AEWV job offer, which brings back the experience and English tests above. The wider picture for employers is in our Japanese guide to working holiday hiring.

5. Pay floor and what sits on top

The adult minimum wage in New Zealand is NZ$23.95 an hour from 1 April 2026. Employment New Zealand notes that employer KiwiSaver contributions must be paid on top of at least the minimum wage, not counted towards it. For an AEWV job, INZ also expects pay at the market rate for the work, in other words what a New Zealander would be paid for the same job.

Queenstown competes for kitchen staff with hotels and ski field operators. We found no official Queenstown wage figure for Japanese chefs, so we do not quote one. Build your offer from what you actually pay locals in the same role, then add what makes a resort move work: housing or a housing allowance, a meal on shift, and a clear roster through the shoulder months.

Accredited employers commit not to pass accreditation, recruitment or operational costs on to the worker. Do not deduct visa or job check fees from wages. Our guide to staff housing covers how to handle accommodation fairly in the contract.

6. A hiring calendar for a resort kitchen

INZ decides most AEWV applications within 6 weeks, but accreditation and the job check come first, and you need time to collect the chef's employment certificates from Japan. Working back from the first day of service:

1. Six months or more ahead: apply for or renew accreditation. Decide which chef occupation matches the role.
2. Four to five months ahead: advertise and submit the job check. Start interviews, including a practical test. See remote skills tests for chefs.
3. Three months ahead: make the offer, secure housing and ask the candidate for employment certificates and translations.
4. Two to three months ahead: the chef lodges the AEWV. Recruit working holiday makers for the peak, many of whom are already in New Zealand.
5. Arrival: onboarding, IRD number, bank account, and a first week that covers your suppliers and prep standards.

If you are weighing Queenstown against a city site, hiring in Auckland covers the larger local pool there. For contract clauses, use our chef employment contract checklist.

General information checked against official New Zealand and Japanese government sources in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. INZ settings, occupation lists and fees change often. Confirm with Immigration New Zealand or a licensed immigration adviser before acting.