Green List in-demand role
For this visa, you must have worked full time in a role that is in Tier 2 on our Green List of in-demand roles. Search the Green List to:
- confirm your role is Tier 2, and
- find the documents you need to provide with your application.
If your Green List role is removed from the list after you start working, your time in that role still counts towards your 24 months of work.
Green list roles
Qualifications not gained in New Zealand
If the qualifications you need for your role were gained in another country, you may need to have them assessed by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). NZQA assesses overseas qualifications to confirm they are equivalent to New Zealand qualifications.
Getting overseas qualifications recognised by NZQA — NZQA
You do not need to get an NZQA assessment for some qualifications.
24 months' work
Documents you can provide include:
- your employment agreement and job description
- a letter from your employer that describes your role, hours of work and length of employment — especially if your pay and conditions have changed since you applied for your work visa.
Things an employment agreement must contain — Employment New Zealand
Calculating 24 months' work
You must have been working in your role for at least 24 months in the 30 months before you apply. To make up the 24 months you can:
- have been working in Green List roles for 24 months
- work for some of the time in a role that is not on the Green List, but, for that work, your pay must be twice the median wage or more
- count annual, bereavement or other leave you are legally entitled to, such as parental leave
- complete it in several stretches — for example, you could work for 2 lots of 12 months with a gap of 6 months in between.
Note
You can start counting your 24 months' work any time on and after 29 September 2021.
Level of pay on your work visa
Documents you can provide to show what you have been paid during your 24 months' employment include:
- payslips or full bank statements showing your salary payments
- a summary of income from Inland Revenue.
Request a summary of income — Inland Revenue
Check the Green list to find out what your level of pay should be. You must have been paid the median wage or at a specific rate for the role you have worked in.
Green list roles
Your Green List role is paid at least the median wage
For the full 24 months before you apply for this visa, and at the time you apply, you must have been paid at least the median wage.
There is an exception. If you applied for your work visa or Critical Purpose Visitor Visa before 29 September 2023, you only need to be paid the median wage at the time you apply for your residence visa. This exception does not apply if your work visa is an Accredited Employer Work Visa.
Your Green List role has a specific pay rate
For the full 24 months before you apply for this visa, and at the time you apply, you must have been paid at least the rate specified for your Green List role.
Wage rate requirements for visas