Employee requirements - priority occupations

People from overseas may be eligible for a Work Visa and Permit as a step towards residence under our Priority Occupations work policy. We list these occupations in our Long Term Skill Shortage List, which we update twice yearly.

To be eligible…

In addition to meeting our requirements for health and character the prospective employee needs to show us:

 

• an offer of employment, in an occupation on the Long Term Skill Shortage List, which:
  • is genuine
  • is full time
  • is for a term of at least two years
  • meets our requirements for offers of employment
• and that they’re suitably qualified through either training or experience to do the job.

 

They’ll also need to show us that they’re either fully or provisionally registered – if the occupation requires registration in New Zealand. 

 

Prospective employees who meet these requirements can apply under our Work to Residence, Long Term Skill Shortage List work category.

 

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.

 

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 Priority Occupation work permits.

 

They’ll need to:

 

• meet our additional residence application requirements 
  and
• be under 56 years
  and
• have been employed in an occupation on the Long Term Skill Shortage List for two years
  and
• have current employment in New Zealand with an annual base salary of at least NZ$45,000 in either:
  • the same priority occupation they got their Work Visa and Permit for
    or
  • an occupation on the Long Term Skill Shortage List at the time they apply for residence. 

 

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.  How do workers apply for residence?