Sports people, artists and performers from overseas may be eligible for a Work Visa and Permit as a step towards residence under our Work to Residence, Talent (Arts, Culture and Sports) work policy.
To be eligible…
In addition to meeting our requirements for health and character the prospective employee needs to:
If they’re eligible, we’ll issue the overseas worker with a multiple entry Work Visa or Permit that allows them to work in New Zealand for 30 months.
Note: If the worker from overseas is planning to eventually apply for residence, which they can do after working here for two years, they need to be under 53 years of age when they apply for the Work Visa or Permit. This is because they have to be under 56 years to be eligible for residence.
Prospective employees who meet these requirements can apply under our Work to Residence, Talent (Arts, Culture and Sports) work category.
To gain residence…
Once the worker from overseas has been living and working in New Zealand for at least two years, they‘ll be eligible to apply for residence - under our Residence From Work Category policy for holders of Talent (Arts, Culture and Sports) work permits.
They’ll need to:
- meet our additional residence application requirements
and
- have been employed in their field of arts, culture or sport by an accredited employer, or another employer approved by us, for at least two years
and
- be currently employed at an annual salary of at least NZ$45,000, and have an offer of on going employment with at least this salary
and
- still be prominent in that field
and
- have not sought or been granted New Zealand welfare assistance during their time here on their Work Permit.
Because the worker from overseas will have worked here for two years, we won’t require them to meet any English language requirements when they apply for residence. But a partner or dependent children included in their application will need to meet our English language requirements.