07/10/2022
New Zealand announced three new residence categories.
1. Straight to Residence Visa
To be eligible for this residence visa you must be working for an accredited employer or hold a job offer from one.
Your role must be on Tier 1 of the Green List.
You must meet the requirements set out on the list for your role.
Green List roles and qualification requirements
Your role must be full-time (at least 30 hours a week), genuine, and permanent, or be at least a 12-month fixed term contract. Under certain circumstances independent contractors are also eligible.
Contracting and eligibility
To be eligible under the Straight to Residence pathway as a contractor you must meet these requirements:
Your contract or contracts total at least 6 months. Shorter contracts must be without any breaks between them.
If your role has a wage threshold as the skill requirement (as set out on Tier 1 of the Green List) you will need 10 years' relevant experience and also meet the higher wage threshold. This is set at 50% more than the wage threshold for applicants with permanent or fixed term employment.
Roles with a wage threshold as the skill requirement include Chief Information Officer, ICT Project Manager, ICT Managers not elsewhere classified, Software Engineer, ICT Security Specialist, and Multimedia Specialist.
If you are eligible you can apply for the visa now. You can either come to New Zealand on a work visa and apply, or apply from outside of New Zealand.
Information about applying for the Straight to Residence Visa
2. Work to Residence Visa
To be eligible for this residence visa you must:
be employed in a role on Tier 2 of the Green List or hold an offer of employment for one
meet the specified requirements on the list for the role
have worked for 24 months in New Zealand in a role (and meet the specified its requirements) on Tier 2 of the Green List.
Your employer must be accredited when you apply for this visa.
Employment criteria
The employment or offer of employment must be full-time (at least 30 hours a week), genuine, and permanent, or be at least a 12-month fixed term contract.
Acceptable work in New Zealand
Acceptable work in New Zealand can be counted towards a Work to Residence Visa while you hold or held:
an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV)
another work visa or a Critical Purpose Visitor Visa (with work conditions) that was held or applied before 4 July 2022.
Acceptable work in New Zealand can be counted from 29 September 2021.
There can be small breaks in your employment. But you must still show you worked for the required 24 months within the 30 month period before your visa application date.
You can mix acceptable work criteria, such as a role on Tier 2 of the Green List and work earning twice the median wage.
You can apply for this visa from September 2023.
Green List roles and qualification requirements
3. Highly Paid Residence Visa
To be eligible for this residence visa you must have:
employment or an offer of employment in a role that is paid at least twice the median wage (currently NZD $55.52 an hour)
been working for 24 months in New Zealand in a role that paid at least twice the median wage.
Your employer must also be accredited when you apply for this visa.
Acceptable work in New Zealand
Acceptable work in New Zealand can be counted towards a Highly Paid Residence Visa if you hold or held:
an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV)
another work visa or a Critical Purpose Visitor Visa (with work conditions) that was held or applied before 4 July 2022.
Acceptable work in New Zealand can be counted from 29 September 2021.
There can be small breaks in your employment. But you must still show you worked for the required 24 months within the 30 month period before your visa application date.
You can mix acceptable work criteria, such as working in a role on Tier 2 of the Green List and also any work earning 2 times the median wage.
You can apply for this visa from September 2023.
Application fees
The application fee and immigration levy will be between NZD $4,020 and NZD $4,890 depending on whether you are applying from within New Zealand or another part of the world.
Eligibility criteria for the straight to residence, work to residence and highly paid skilled residence categories.
