If you have been in New Zealand on a work to residence visa for two years (or three years for Religious Worker work visa holders), you may be eligible for a residence class visa under our Residence from Work Category.

To be eligible for residence under this category, you and anyone else included on your application must meet our health, character and English language requirements, and you must meet the requirements for the category that your work visa was granted under. If you are including a partner in your application, you must also meet requirements for recognition of a partnership.

Requirements for recognition of a partnership

If you are including your partner in your application, you will have to submit evidence that you and your partner meet our partnership requirements.

Health requirements

When you apply for residence in New Zealand, you and everyone included in your application must meet our health requirements.

Character requirements

Everyone included in your application must meet our character requirements in order to get residence in New Zealand.

To show that you and your family members meet these requirements, you must provide police certificatepolice certificates for everyone 17 years and over included in your application for residence. We need certificates from:

• your country of citizenship (unless you can prove you never lived there) and
• any country you have been in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years, whether in one or more visits. If you are already in New Zealand on a work visa this includes obtaining a police certificate from the New Zealand police.

Our pages on how to obtain a police certificate tell you more about this process.

Minimum standard of English language

If you are a principal applicant under Talent (Accredited Employers), Talent (Arts, Culture and Sports) and Long Term Skill Shortage List instructions you will not be required to meet any English language requirements when you apply for residence.

Principal applicants under Religious Worker instructions are required to meet a minimum standard of English.

Partners or dependent children who are 16 years or over included in any Residence from Work application will also need to meet our English language requirements.

To demonstrate a minimum standard of English, you must provide:

In all cases we may still require an IELTS certificate to confirm our English requirements are met.

If your partner and/or dependent children are not able to provide this evidence, you may choose to pre-purchase English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) tuition in New Zealand. Find out more about pre-purchasing ESOL tuition. This does not apply to principal applicants under Religious Worker instructions.

Requirements for different Residence from Work categories

In addition to meeting the generic requirements, you must meet the requirements for the Residence from Work category you are applying under. Which category you apply under depends on the category that your visa was granted under.

I hold a Talent (Accredited Employers) Work Category visa

If you were granted a temporary work visa to allow you to work for an accredited employer in New Zealand, you can apply for a residence class visa under Talent (Accredited Employers) Residence Category.

To be approved for residence you must:

• have held a work visa granted under the Talent (Accredited Employers) Work Category for at least 24 months
• have been employed in New Zealand during the currency of that visa for a period of 24 months by an accredited employer (or another employer if you were granted a Variation of Conditions to your work visa by Immigration New Zealand)
• have current employment in New Zealand with a base salary of at least NZ$45,000 per year, at least NZ$50,000 per year if your work visa  application under this category was made on or after 30 July 2007 but before 28 July 2008, or at least NZ$55,000 per year if your work visa application under this categorywas made on or after 28 July 2008
• hold full or provisional registration, if full or provisional registration is required to practise in your occupation in New Zealand.

Your employment must be:

• full-time (on average, at least 30 hours per week)
• ongoing (permanent or indefinite, or for a stated term of at least 12 months with an option of further terms)
• genuine
• compliant with relevant employment law in force in New Zealand. This includes having a written employment agreement specifying the necessary terms and conditions, and meeting holiday, special leave and occupational health and safety requirements.

I hold a Talent (Arts, Culture and Sports) Work Category visa

If you were granted a temporary work visa to allow you to be actively engaged in your field in New Zealand, you can apply for residence under Talent (Accredited Employers) Residence Category.

To be approved for residence you must:

• have held a work visa granted under the Talent (Arts, Culture and Sports) Work Category for at least 24 months
• have been actively engaged in your field of art, culture or sport during the currency of that visa, throughout a period of 24 months in New Zealand
• still be prominent in your field
• show that your continued presence in New Zealand will enhance the quality of New Zealand’s accomplishments and participation in your field of art, culture or sport
• not have applied for or been granted any social welfare benefits in New Zealand.

You will also need to be sponsored for residence by a New Zealand organisation of national repute in your field. To do this you must provide a completed Talent (Arts, Culture and Sport) Sponsorship Form (INZ 1091) PDF from an organisation of national repute with your application for residence. The organisation must agree to sponsor you for residence, and the form must include an undertaking by an eligible personal sponsor to provide you with financial support and accommodation during the first two years of your residence, if this should be necessary.

I hold a Long Term Skill Shortage List Work Category visa

If you were granted a temporary work visa to allow you to work for an employer in New Zealand in an occupation on the Long Term Skill Shortage List, you can apply for residence under Long Term Skill Shortage List Residence Category.

To be approved for residence you must:

• have held a work visa granted under the Long Term Skill Shortage List Work Category for at least 24 months
• have been employed in New Zealand during the currency of that visa in an occupation included on the Long Term Skill Shortage List for a period of at least 24 months
• currently have employment with a minimum base salary of NZ$45,000
• be aged 55 years or younger
• hold full or provisional registration, if full or provisional registration is required to practise in that occupation in New Zealand.

Your employment must be in the occupation for which you were granted a work  visa under the Long Term Skill Shortage List Work Category, or another occupation which is on the list at the time your application for residence is made. See the Long Term Skill Shortage List for more details.

You employment must also be:

• full-time (on average, at least 30 hours per week)
• ongoing (permanent or indefinite, or for a stated term of at least 12 months with an option of further terms)
• genuine
• compliant with relevant employment law in force in New Zealand. This includes having a written employment agreement specifying the necessary terms and conditions, and meeting holiday, special leave and occupational health and safety requirements.

I hold a Religious Worker work visa

If you have held a work visa under the Religious Worker instructions for at least three years, you can apply for residence under Religious Worker Residence instructions.

To be approved for residence you must:

• have an acceptable sponsor for residence (a registered charitable organisation with the primary purpose of advancing religion), and 
• have a genuine offer of religious work from the sponsoring organisation, that is in New Zealand and ongoing, and
• have at least five years of religious training and/or religious work experience, and
• be aged 55 years or under, and
• meet the minimum English language requirements (IELTS Level 5), and
• be healthy and of good character, and
• not have applied for or been granted any social welfare benefits in New Zealand.

You must provide a completed Sponsorship Form for Religious Workers (INZ 1190) PDF [234KB] and any evidence specified in the sponsorship form relevant to your application.

The sponsoring organisation must undertake to provide maintenance and accommodation (and costs to cover repatriation or deportation, if required) to you and anyone else included in your application for residence, for five years from your first day as a resident visa holder in New Zealand.

Apply

Find out how to apply under the Residence from Work categories.