SR7.15 Skilled Residence: Transport Sector Work to Residence requirements for 24 months of work in New Zealand (18/08/2025)

1. Applicants must have worked for at least 24 months in New Zealand in a Transport Sector occupation or occupations, on and after 29 September 2021.
2. To be considered as having worked in a Transport Sector occupation or occupations, applicants must have met the requirements for their occupation or occupations for the duration of the 24 month period as specified in the following table:

   Transport Sector occupation and ANZSCO code	Transport Sector work in New Zealand requirements
   Bus Driver (731211)	Be paid at least $28 per hour and have employment: with an employer who has signed the Waka Kotahi (New Zealand Transport Authority) ‘All Parties Memorandum of Understanding on Improving Driver Terms and Conditions’ for the region they are working in; or as a school bus driver on a Ministry of Education-funded school bus service (list of operators provided by Ministry of Education); or as a school bus driver on a service directly contracted to a school.
   Truck Driver (733111), Aircraft Refueller (733112), Furniture Removalist (733113), Tanker Driver (733114), Tow Truck Driver (733115)	Be employed to drive class four or five vehicles and paid at the least the median wage (SR7.15(k)); and Hold either a New Zealand or overseas equivalent class four or five drivers’ licence.
   Ship’s Master (231213)	Be employed as a Ship’s Master paid at the least the median wage (SR7.15(k)).
   Deck Hand (899211)	Be employed as a Deck Hand and paid at the least the median wage (SR7.15(k)).

   Note: The 24 months of work in New Zealand can be made up of different types of work within one of the four Transport Sector occupations, for example 6 months in a Deckhand role and 18 months as a Ship’s Master.

3. For the 24 months of work in New Zealand, applicants must have been working full-time (at least 30 hours per week) in a Transport Sector occupation listed under SR7.10(a)(i) and have held one of the following visas:
   1. any work visa; or
   2. a critical purpose visitor visa with work conditions; or
   3. an interim visa granted while the applicant held a work visa or a critical purpose visitor visa with work conditions and had applied for a further work visa.
4. The 24 months of work must be gained during the 30 month period immediately before the date the residence application is made.
5. The 24 month period will start to be counted when the applicant’s remuneration is at the rate specified in (k) below (provided they hold a visa described (c) above).
6. The 24 month period (while earning the specified hourly rate) will stop being counted if:
   1. the applicant ceases to hold one of the visas listed in (c) above; or
   2. the applicant changes employment and their new income is below the rate specified in (b) above; or
   3. the applicant’s remuneration decreases, and the new rate is below the rate specified in (b) above.
7. For the avoidance of doubt, work experience for Transport Sector will continue being counted if the specified hourly wage rate in immigration instructions increases as long as the applicant’s income does not decrease below the hourly rate that applied when their visa was granted and they have not changed employment.

   Note: For SR7.15 (g), for example, a Deck Hand must be paid an hourly rate of $33.56. An applicant can start counting work experience from 25 October 2022 if they earn $27.76 an hour (the wage rate in effect at the time). When the wage requirement increased to $29.66 an hour on 27 February 2023, they can keep counting their work if they are still in the same job earning $27.76 an hour.

8. For the purposes of these instructions, any leave consistent with section 16 of the Holidays Act 2003 (including parental leave and ACC leave) taken during a period of work in New Zealand in a Transport sector role can be counted.
9. Despite (a) above, where an occupation is removed from the Transport sector occupation list under SR7.10(a)(i), the applicant may count work in New Zealand towards the 24 months required after the date the occupation was removed from the list if the applicant had:
   1. started to count work before the date the occupation was removed from the list (see (e) above); or
   2. applied for an AEWV to work in that occupation on or before 6 April 2024: or
   3. held a non-AEWV work visa (or had applied for a non-AEWV visa that was subsequently granted); and
      • on or before 6 April 2024, had an offer of employment or a signed employment agreement to work in that occupation; and
      • started work (in that occupation) within four weeks of signing the employment agreement or being granted the visa.
10. If an applicant has worked in New Zealand for at least 24 months in the last 30 month period but has not maintained a role in a Transport Sector occupation (see SR7.10(a)(i) for the full 24 months, they can still be considered for the grant of residence if they meet the acceptable work in New Zealand requirements for the balance of the 24 months in one or more of the following:
    1. the Green List Work to Residence visa (SR5.15);
    2. the Care Workforce Work to Residence visa (SR6.15); or
    3. work in New Zealand earning at least twice the median wage (SR5.20).

       Note:
       The 24 months of work in New Zealand does not have to be gained consecutively and can be totalled by combining different periods, for example two 12-month periods with a gap of six months in between. Additionally, it can be made up of different types of work in New Zealand, for example 18 months in an eligible Transport sector role and six months in a role paid twice the median wage.

11. The median wage in effect for the Transport Sector Work to Residence across time is:

Note: The median wage rate of $33.56 (from 18 August 2025) for SR7.15 reflects the June 2024 quarter publication of median wage data by Statistics New Zealand.

Effective 18/08/2025