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Recruitment of Foreign Workers: A guide for employers

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration (MFAI) have developed this document to assist employers satisfy Immigration requirements when foreign workers are recruited to work in the Cook Islands.

Employers are expected to:

(a).    Have advertised locally the jobs being filled by foreign workers.

(b).    Appoint a local resident to work closely with the foreign worker and be trained to take over the foreign worker’s role at the end of the contract. The local resident’s name must be submitted in writing to Immigration.

(c).    Provide full time employment for foreign workers during their term of employment in the Cook Islands.

(d).    Ensure the foreign worker has the required qualifications for the job on offer with relevant work references from their most recent employers.

(e).    Ensure an “employment contract” (EC) with the foreign worker was completed and signed before the employee commence employment.

(f).    Ensure a provision in the EC include the repatriation of the foreign worker and family to their country of domicile at the completion of their contract or when the contract is terminated.

(g).    Inform Immigration immediately in writing on completion or termination of the contract and departure arrangements for the employee & family.

 (h).    Ensure the AIDS/HIV and TB reports are forwarded to the Cook Islands Ministry of Health for clearance.

(i).    Ensure their foreign worker (and family’s) hold valid Entry Permits or an application for extension of the Permit are lodged at MFAI at least TWO WEEKS prior to expiry of the permit.
 
(j).        Ensure Entry Permit fees are paid to Immigration.

(k).    Ensure their foreign worker or a member of their family do not invest in the employer’s business or any other business while in his/her employ.

 (l).    Ensure foreign workers in his/her employ and their family are aware of and abides by the laws of the Cook Islands.

(m).    Ensure that the worker recruited has never been or employed in the Cook Islands before.

OR  If employed previously, the worker has fulfilled their employment contract in the Cook Islands successfully.

OR  Is not a family member or relation of any foreign worker currently employed in the Cook Islands?

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

An application maybe declined if an employer cannot or refuses to meet these requirements.

Employers must submit to Immigration:

  • The relevant application form fully completed.
  • (On request) evidence of their capacity to meet their contractual obligations to their employees, including payment of Entry Permit fees and wages;
  • The foreign worker’s Police character reference from a country where they have resided for at least 12 months over the past 10 years at least 5 working days prior to the worker’s travel to the Cook Islands;
  • A certified copy of the employee’s fully completed and signed EC, and
  • The relevant Entry Permit fee.

Non payment of Immigration fees will result in an Entry Permit application being declined and the employee asked to depart if in the Cook Islands.

Foreign workers who do not satisfy the Ministry of Health’s medical requirements will NOT be permitted to travel to or remain in the Cook Islands. In addition, those charged of an offence or convicted of a crime in or outside the Cook Islands may not be permitted to travel to or remain in the Cook Islands.

Under this policy employment in the Cook Islands can be approved for a period of up to three years. Applicants must however seek an annual extension of their Entry Permit.