Graham Johnson had been due to fly out on April 29 to shear for former Oamaru man Grant Rowland, who is now living in Wales, as he has done for the past two years.
Mr Johnson admitted making a mistake when applying for his latest work visa - an email from his sponsor was not acceptable, it had to be a letter - but said it could have been easily rectified, and he could have supplied a faxed letter within 12 hours.
"I've got the requirements, but it's on the wrong document. They won't now let me send a faxed letter to correct it all and I think that stinks."
He was told he could either appeal, but was not allowed to send additional documents, or he could reapply and go through the process again, paying another $554, which he did not intend doing. It had already cost him days off work and he would have to cancel his airfares.
Mr Johnson had also intended to visit his daughter in the UK and take a holiday in Spain. He was "gutted" the opportunity had been taken away.
Earlier this month, the UK's National Association of Agricultural Contractors chief executive Jill Hewitt said new immigration rules were "fast descending into a farce".
UK officials were expecting New Zealand shearers working in the US to return home for a three-minute biometric test and identity check and then wait up to 12 weeks while the British consular service cleared their paperwork to allow them into the UK.
When contacted this week, Ms Hewitt said the NAAC was in negotiations with UK ministers to try to resolve the problems.
"We are facing a ludicrous situation where red tape, under new immigration rules, is preventing shearers from coming to do short-term and essential work."
It was potentially very serious as there was a risk of "millions of sheep" not being shorn within the required timeframes, and there were fears animal welfare would be at risk, she said.
When contacted, Mr Rowland said there were 20 million sheep in the UK, with New Zealand and Australian shearers shearing about 5 million.
The new rules made it so difficult that he feared New Zealand shearers would not bother applying.
"Obviously, it's very frustrating. I'm very annoyed. We're banging our heads against a brick wall and the only one getting a headache is us," he said.
He had contacted an immigration lawyer and was told the best thing he could do was to get an immigration consultant to do the applications, which was another cost, he said.
