WI22 India Skilled Work Instructions

1. To be considered for a work visa under these instructions, the applicant must be a citizen of the Republic of India who has a full-time New Zealand job offer from an accredited employer in one of the occupations listed in the table below, and the relevant qualifications and experience required for that occupation.

   Occupation	Requirements Qualifications must be comparable to the standard of the New Zealand qualification listed.
   Software engineer Software and Applications Programmers ICT Project Manager	Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering, Engineering, or an equivalent degree and has at least five years of work experience in that field.
   Civil Engineer Mechanical Engineer Structural Engineer Environmental Engineer	One of the following: a Washington Accord accredited (initial) engineering degree. a Bachelor of Engineering with Honours (NZQCF Level 8). a qualification at NZQCF Level 7 or higher, with a letter from Engineering New Zealand certifying that the degree and any further learning meet the benchmark requirements towards Chartered Professional Engineer professional status in New Zealand. NZ registration as a Chartered Professional Engineer by Engineering New Zealand.
   Construction Project Manager	One of the following: Bachelor of Engineering with Honours (NZQCF Level 8). Bachelor of Engineering Technology (NZQCF Level 7). Bachelor of Construction (NZQCF Level 7). A bachelor's degree at NZQCF Level 7, or a higher qualification with the minimum equivalent of 360 credits, which includes the requirements of a New Zealand major in the focus areas of construction management, civil engineering, or highway engineering. A Graduate Diploma at NZQCF Level 7, or a higher qualification which includes the knowledge requirements of a New Zealand Graduate Diploma in the focus areas of construction management, highway engineering, civil engineering or construction project management. A diploma at NZQCF Level 6, or a higher qualification, with the minimum equivalent of 240 credits, which includes the knowledge requirements of a New Zealand Diploma in the focus areas of civil engineering, highway engineering, construction or construction management. A Washington Accord or Sydney Accord accredited undergraduate (initial) engineering degree in Civil Engineering. A qualification at NZQCF Level 7 or higher, with a letter from Engineering New Zealand certifying that the degree and any further learning meet the benchmark requirements towards Chartered Professional Engineer professional status in New Zealand. NZ registration in the field of civil engineering as a Chartered Professional Engineer or an Engineering Technologist by Engineering New Zealand
   Building Project Manager	One of the following: A bachelor's degree at NZQCF Level 7, or a higher qualification with the minimum equivalent of 360 credits, which includes the requirements of a New Zealand major in quantity surveying or construction economics. A Graduate Diploma at NZQCF Level 7, or a higher qualification, which includes the knowledge requirements of a New Zealand Graduate Diploma in the focus areas of construction, construction management or construction project management. A diploma at NZQCF Level 6, or a higher qualification, with the minimum equivalent of 240 credits, which includes the knowledge requirements of a New Zealand Diploma (Level 6) in the focus areas of quantity surveying, construction economics, construction management or building.
   Primary School Teacher Secondary School Teacher	NZ registration with the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand and with either a provisional or full practising certificate issued by the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand.
   Registered Nurse	Registration with the Nursing Council of New Zealand and a Bachelor of Nursing or equivalent qualification and at least three years of work experience in the occupation.
   Physiotherapists	Registration with the Physiotherapy Board of New Zealand; and a Bachelor of Physiotherapy or Bachelor of Health Sciences (Physiotherapy) or equivalent qualification and at least three years of work experience in the occupation.

   Note 1: Qualifications listed (unless an exception is stated) are New Zealand awarded qualifications on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF). Overseas qualifications must be comparable to the standard of the New Zealand qualification listed. Unless an overseas qualification is listed on the Immigration New Zealand List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment (Appendix 17), an International Qualification Assessment (IQA) from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority stating the comparable NZQCF qualification is required.
   
   Note 2: Where a Washington Accord accredited undergraduate engineering degree is a requirement, the engineering degree has to be awarded from or after the date the country became a signatory, and must be on the list of accredited programmes of the signatory country. To determine if an engineering degree awarded is Washington Accord accredited, please refer to the links from the International Engineering Alliance on their website: www.ieagreements.org/accords/washington/signatories/.
   
   Where a Sydney Accord accredited undergraduate engineering degree is a requirement, the engineering technology degree has to be awarded from or after the date the country became a signatory and must be on the list of accredited programmes of the signatory country. To determine if an engineering technology degree awarded is Sydney Accord accredited, please refer to the links from the International Engineering Alliance on their website: www.ieagreements.org/accords/washington/signatories/.
   
   Note 3: A letter, certificate or registration from the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand Incorporated (IPENZ), as Engineering New Zealand was formerly known, may be used to meet the requirement for a letter, certificate or registration from Engineering New Zealand. A letter from IPENZ may also be used to meet an applicable requirement instead of a letter from IT Professionals New Zealand. IPENZ’s name changed to Engineering New Zealand in October 2017.

2. At any one time, the number of Indian nationals holding a visa granted for any occupation under these instructions must not exceed the following:

   Occupation	Maximum per sector
   Software engineer Software and Applications Programmers ICT Project Manager	1000
   Civil Engineer Mechanical Engineer Structural Engineer Environmental Engineer	1000
   Construction Project Manager Building Project Manager	700
   Primary School Teacher Secondary School Teacher	500
   Registered Nurse	900
   Physiotherapists	300

3. To be granted a work visa under these instructions, applicants must:
   1. provide a completed work visa application form, fee and immigration levy; and
   2. have a full-time New Zealand job offer from an accredited employer (see WA2) at the time the application is made and decided, in one of the occupations listed above, which meets the requirements set out in W2.10.10; and
   3. meet the specific qualifications and/or experience requirement for their occupation, as detailed in WI22(a) above; and
   4. meet the English language requirements, as detailed in WI22.1 below; and
   5. meet health and character requirements set out in A4 and A5; and
   6. meet the requirements for bona fide applicants set out in E5.
4. For the avoidance of doubt, under these instructions, an applicant is not considered to have a job offer from an accredited employer if the employer’s accreditation is suspended, expired or revoked at the time the application is made, and an immigration officer may decline the application on the basis that the applicant does not have a job offer from an accredited employer.
5. Where the employer offering the job has its accreditation suspended after an application is made under these instructions, and the applicant otherwise meets requirements, an immigration officer must postpone making a decision on the application until the suspension is lifted, or until such time as the applicant provides evidence of a full-time New Zealand job offer from another accredited employer.
6. A labour market test is not required.
7. An applicant for an initial work visa under these instructions must be outside New Zealand at the time their application is lodged.

   Note: An initial work visa refers to the first visa that counts towards the maximum three years (WI22(h)(ii)) that can be granted under these instructions.

8. Successful applicants who apply offshore will be granted a work visa and entry permission with the following conditions:
   1. first entry to New Zealand must be made within six months; and
   2. the work visa will be valid for multiple entries to New Zealand for the period for which the employment is offered, up to a maximum of three years.
9. If the initial visa is valid for less than three years, further visas may be granted for the balance of the three-year period, provided the applicant still meets all the requirements of these instructions.
10. India Skilled Work Visas will be subject to conditions that the holder:
    1. may only work in a specified occupation; and
    2. may only work for a specified employer; and
    3. must be employed full time (as defined at W2.2.10).
11. An applicant is not eligible for a further visa under these instructions if they have not spent at least three years outside of New Zealand following completion of a three-year period on a visa granted under these instructions or under the India Iconic Work instructions (WI21).

    Note 1: These instructions reflect New Zealand's international trade commitments (see E9).
    Note 2: For avoidance of doubt, where anyone applies to vary the conditions of a visa granted under these instructions their offer of employment must meet the requirements at WI22(c)(ii) through (vi) and not result in oversubscription to the number of places available for the relevant sector as outlined at WI22(b).

WI22.1 English Language requirements

1. To be granted a visa to work in any occupation under these instructions an applicant must have acceptable English language test results as set out below, which are no more than two years old at the time the application is lodged, obtained by sitting the test in person at a test centre (tests taken remotely outside of a test centre, including ‘at home’ tests, are not acceptable).

Effective 20/10/2026