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AEWV cost in pesos for Filipino workers: your real share of the New Zealand move

Visa guide · 2026-10-25 · 10 min read

The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) costs from NZD $1540, which is roughly ₱54,900. But that visa charge is only one line of the bill, and under the 2023 Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) rules it sits on the employer's side, together with your airfare, OWWA membership and the DMW processing fee. What you pay yourself is mostly paperwork at home: NBI clearance, passport, PSA and school records, your medical and government memberships. New Zealand jobs also carry no placement fee. This guide puts every cost in one place, in pesos, and shows who is meant to pay it.

The AEWV charge, converted to pesos

Immigration New Zealand (INZ) says on its Accredited Employer Work Visa page that the AEWV costs from NZD $1540 and lets the holder stay up to 5 years, depending on the job. INZ shows processing as 80% of applications within 5.5 weeks.

The peso figures in this guide go through the Reserve Bank of Australia's rates for 16 Oct 2026: 1.2285 New Zealand dollars and 43.78 pesos to one Australian dollar. That makes one New Zealand dollar about ₱35.64. These are rough comparisons only. Rates change every day, so check again before you budget.

At that rate, NZD $1540 is about ₱54,900. If you are a welder in Cebu City or a carpenter in Pampanga, that is the figure people quote, but it may not be yours to pay.

For the visa rules themselves (job check, experience, English), read our Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) guide first.

Your peso budget sheet: every cost and who pays

Why most of the big costs belong to your employer

The DMW's 2023 Rules and Regulations Governing the Recruitment and Employment of Landbased Overseas Filipino Workers split costs into two lists.

The employer's list covers the visa and stamping fee, work and residence permits, round trip airfare, transport from the airport to the jobsite, the DMW processing fee, the OWWA membership fee and any extra trade test it asks for.

The worker's list is short: documentation costs such as the passport, NBI clearance, records and the DOH-prescribed medical exam, plus PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG and SSS membership, and any allowed placement fee. The rules then say no other fees in any amount, form or purpose shall be charged to the OFW. You can read both lists in the DMW Department Circular No. 01, Series of 2023.

New Zealand adds its own rule from the other side. INZ says New Zealand employers cannot charge you fees for a job or make you pay any of their recruitment costs, including indirectly through a third party. So an agency collecting the employer's costs from you is still you paying.

More detail: our guide to who pays the US$25 OWWA membership and how OFWs renew it.

No placement fee for New Zealand jobs

The 2023 DMW rules allow a placement fee of one month's basic salary, except for countries whose law, policy or practice does not allow recruitment or placement fees.

New Zealand is treated that way. A POEA news advisory of 19 December 2014 said licensed agencies may not charge placement fees for New Zealand jobs, citing New Zealand's Wages Protection Act of 1983, with licence cancellation even on the first offence. The advisory dates from 2014, so confirm the current position with the DMW; INZ's own rule on recruitment costs points the same way.

There is a second reason to keep money away from the job offer. INZ will decline an AEWV application if the applicant or their agent offered or promised money to the employer, or the employer's agent, in exchange for a job offer.

What the Migrant Workers Office in Wellington charges

The Migrant Workers Office (MWO) New Zealand, at the Philippine Embassy in Wellington, appears twice on the sheet.

Before you are hired: the employer's paperwork

MWO New Zealand's verification sheet for a direct employer asks for a Certificate of INZ Employer's Accreditation and a Philippine recruitment agency, and charges NZD70.00 for each verified document. This is the employer's process, not a fee to pass to you. The MWO New Zealand accreditation requirements show what the employer files.

After you arrive: your own renewals

MWO New Zealand requires Filipino work visa holders who changed employers in New Zealand, entered from another country, or entered on a visitor or student visa to have their contract verified before getting an OEC. That verification costs NZD17.50, about ₱624. OWWA membership renewal or registration there costs NZD40.00, about ₱1,425.

Our guide to the OFW Pass and its 60-day window before you fly explains when it is issued and how long it lasts.

Paperwork you pay for at home

These are your own costs, and you can lower them by doing things in the right order.

• NBI clearance: the NBI says the basic fee is ₱130, plus an e-payment service charge. If you get a "HIT" (a name match), you return after a set period, usually 5 to 10 working days, at no extra cost. The steps are on the NBI clearance application page.
• Medical: for the OEC, the DMW accepts only medical certificates from a DOH-accredited clinic for OFWs. For the visa, INZ needs X-rays and medical exams done by a doctor on its approved panel physician list, if there is one in your country. AEWV applicants staying more than 6 months may need a chest X-ray, depending on their citizenship and where they have lived.
• English test: if your job is at ANZSCO or NOL skill level 3 to 5, you must show you can speak and understand English, and test results must be no more than 2 years old. Skill level 1 or 2 jobs do not need this.

If you need an English test, practise before you pay for a booking. PractiseNow has IELTS and PTE practice, so you do not spend money on a second attempt.

How to build your own AEWV peso budget

1. Check the employer first. Search INZ's accredited employer list by company name or its 13-digit NZBN. Our guide to checking the accredited employer before you sign or pay walks through it.
2. Ask who pays what, in writing. Ask the employer or agency to confirm the visa fee, airfare, OWWA and DMW processing fee are on its side, as the DMW rules list them.
3. Price your own documents, from the NBI clearance to your school records.
4. Time the medical. The DMW rules say the medical is done only after reasonable certainty that you will be hired under an approved job order, so do not pay for one on a rumour.
5. Add the English test if your role needs it, and check the result will still be under 2 years old when you apply.
6. Pay INZ only through INZ. INZ never asks for visa fees to be paid into a bank account; it accepts card payment on its forms or payment at an approved Visa Application Centre.
7. Save for arrival: a rental bond of up to 4 weeks' rent and your first weeks before payday.
8. Convert at today's rate. Redo the peso figures with the latest official rates on the day you pay.

Already looking at offers? Two roles on our site right now are a fitter, turner and welder job in Christchurch and a heavy excavator operator job in Auckland. Read each ad for its visa line before you apply.

After you land, and if you are also weighing Australia

Your first tasks in New Zealand cost little: an IRD number is free to apply for and kept for life, as our guide to your IRD number and first 30 days in New Zealand explains. Comparing countries? Our Australia work visa cost in pesos breakdown uses the same kind of budget sheet.

Common mistakes Filipino workers make with AEWV costs

• Paying a placement fee for a New Zealand job. Licensed agencies may not charge one, and New Zealand employers cannot pass recruitment costs to you.
• Depositing a "visa fee" into a personal or company bank account. INZ does not take visa fees that way.
• Paying anyone for the job offer itself. INZ declines an AEWV when money was offered or promised to the employer for the offer.
• Paying a medical clinic that is not on the list. Only approved panel doctors and other registered doctors can accept payment for immigration medicals, and INZ never asks for medical payments itself.
• Agreeing to salary deductions to "repay" the employer. An AEWV employment agreement cannot include unlawful deductions.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the AEWV in Philippine pesos?

INZ says the AEWV costs from NZD $1540. Using the Reserve Bank of Australia's rates for 16 Oct 2026, that is roughly ₱54,900, but the exchange rate changes daily, so redo the sum on the day you pay.

Who pays the AEWV fee, the worker or the employer?

The 2023 DMW rules for landbased OFWs list the visa fee among the employer's costs, together with airfare, OWWA membership and the DMW processing fee. Ask the employer or agency to confirm this in writing before you sign anything.

Do Filipino workers pay a placement fee for New Zealand jobs?

No. A POEA advisory said licensed agencies may not charge placement fees for New Zealand jobs, and INZ says New Zealand employers cannot make you pay their recruitment costs, even through a third party such as an agency.

Can my employer or agency deduct visa costs from my salary in New Zealand?

An AEWV employment agreement cannot include unlawful deductions, and New Zealand employers cannot make you pay their recruitment costs. If someone asks you to repay costs from your wages, call the DMW hotline 1348.

Key takeaways

• The AEWV costs from NZD $1540, roughly ₱54,900 at the 16 Oct 2026 rates.
• Under the 2023 DMW rules the visa fee, airfare, OWWA and DMW processing fee are employer costs.
• New Zealand jobs carry no placement fee, and no one may sell you the job offer.
• Your own costs are documents, medicals, memberships and money for your first weeks.
• Report illegal fees to the DMW's Migrant Workers Protection Bureau at 87221192 or mwpb@dmw.gov.ph.

Every case is different — book a consultation and our partner registered migration agents (MARA) / licensed NZ advisers will assess yours.

Last checked: 2026-10-25 against the official pages linked above.

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