There are several pathways to gaining residence in New Zealand through your job/job offer in New Zealand. They are:

Green List: Straight to Residence

If you have a job or job offer from an accredited employer, and your role is on Tier 1 of the Green List, you may be eligible for Straight to Residence as long as you meet the specified qualification, registration, and wage requirements set out in the List for your role.

Green List: Straight to Residence is the fastest track to obtain residence in New Zealand. Additionally, priority will be given to those applications whose applicants are employed or have been offered employment in an occupation listed in Tier 1 of the Green List. Therefore, you may be granted a straight-to-residence resident visa in less than a month.

Green List: Work to Residence

If you have a job or a job offer listed under Tier 2 of the Green List in New Zealand, and you meet the specified qualification, registration, and wage requirements set out in the List for your role, you may be eligible for Work to Residence after you have completed 24 months' work in New Zealand in that role.

Work for 24 months: To be eligible for Work to Residence, you need to work in that specific occupation for 24 months in New Zealand. During this period, you may change your employer as long as you stay in the same role or occupation.

Role-specific wage threshold: If your occupation has specific remuneration requirements, ensure you still meet the requirement when you change your employer or at the time you apply for your residence.

Skilled Migrant Category

If you are employed in skilled employment and can fulfil the 6-point requirement from one of the skill categories (such as income, qualification, or New Zealand registration) or a combination of one skill category and your skilled work experience in New Zealand, you may be eligible for residence under the Skilled Migrant Category.

If you qualify for 6 points, you need to submit an expression of interest (EOI). Once your EOI is selected from the pool, you will receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA), which will give you four months to submit your Skilled Migrant Category application.

We will discuss the Skilled Migrant Category in greater detail in the upcoming chapter.