Fruit picking is the job most people picture when they think of seasonal work in New Zealand — apples in Hawke’s Bay, kiwifruit in Bay of Plenty, grapes in Marlborough. It’s also the job category with the most misinformation online. Before you spend months chasing this route, here’s the honest picture.
The Route Most Guides Don’t Explain Properly
Most seasonal picking, pruning and packing roles in New Zealand horticulture are filled through the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme. This scheme is real, well-run, and pays fairly — but it is only open to citizens of Samoa, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Timor-Leste. If you are not a citizen of one of these Pacific nations, you cannot apply to RSE, regardless of what a recruiter or Facebook page tells you.
The other common route backpackers use is the Working Holiday Visa, which is limited to citizens of countries that have a working holiday agreement with New Zealand — mostly the UK, Ireland, most of the EU, Canada, the US, Japan, South Korea, and a handful of others. It is worth checking Immigration New Zealand’s current partner list for your country, but for most applicants outside these two groups, this route isn’t available either.
That leaves the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) as the realistic route — but be honest with yourself about the odds. Entry-level picking is short-term, low-skill (ANZSCO level 5) work, and New Zealand’s Job Check process requires employers to prove they couldn’t fill the role locally or through RSE first. Growers rarely go through the sponsorship process for a role that lasts a few weeks.
What Actually Pays Off in Horticulture
The better target for AEWV sponsorship is ongoing, semi-skilled horticulture roles — packhouse supervisors, quality control staff, irrigation and orchard machine operators, and permanent (not seasonal) orchard hands. These roles run year-round, are easier for an employer to justify sponsoring, and pay better than casual picking.
Harvest Seasons and Regions
- Apples (Hawke’s Bay, Nelson): February–April
- Kiwifruit (Bay of Plenty): March–June for picking, year-round in packhouses
- Grapes (Marlborough, Central Otago): February–April
- Stonefruit and cherries (Central Otago, Hawke’s Bay): December–February
Pay
- Casual/seasonal picking: NZD $23.95–$26/hr (minimum wage floor, sometimes piece-rate on top)
- Packhouse staff: NZD $24–$28/hr
- Permanent orchard hand / machine operator: NZD $26–$32/hr
- Packhouse supervisor: NZD $28–$35/hr
Who to Approach
- T&G Global (Mr Apple) — Hawke’s Bay and Nelson apple operations, with year-round packhouse and orchard roles
- Trevelyan’s Kiwifruit & Avocado — Bay of Plenty, both seasonal and permanent positions
- Seeka — major kiwifruit post-harvest operator with orchard and packhouse vacancies
Final Thoughts
Fruit picking is genuine, well-paid work in New Zealand — but for most overseas applicants it isn’t the entry point people assume it is. If you’re serious about horticulture as your route in, target permanent packhouse, machine-operator or supervisory roles with a large grower, not short-term picking, and be very wary of anyone who claims they can get you into RSE from outside the Pacific.
Also worth reading: our guides on farm jobs for foreign workers in New Zealand and dairy farm jobs in New Zealand.