A vineyard worker in Blenheim has been charged with rape.

Police say the 22-year-old Tongan man raped a woman near a bar in central Blenheim in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The man who works in Marlborough under the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme, was held in custody until his appearance at the Blenheim District Court on Monday.

His lawyer Marcus Zintl asked for the defendant to be remanded on bail until later this month. He did not enter a plea.

The Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme came into effect in 2007. The policy allowed the horticulture and viticulture industries to recruit workers from overseas for seasonal work when there were not enough New Zealand workers.

Judge Stephen Harrop granted the man bail on conditions that he worked a 6-day week, and did not leave the house on his day off.

He surrendered his passport to the court on Monday. He was not to enter the bar, or associate with the complainant or any prosecution witnesses.

He was not to leave his place of residence at any time, except in the presence of an RSE supervisor.

The man would next appear on July 27.