India Skilled Work Visa

Visas available

There is a limit on how many people can have an India Skilled Work Visa at any one time.

Jobs are grouped into sectors. The total visas available are for the sector, not each job.

Check table 1 for the jobs and how many visas are available for each sector.

You can only apply for this visa if there are available places. If there are no places, your application will not be accepted and your application fee will be refunded. As of 20 October 2026, all places are available.

How long you can stay

The length of your visa will depend on the length of your job offer. The total time you can stay in New Zealand on 1 or more India Skilled Work Visa is 3 years.

If you get a visa for less than 3 years, you can apply for another visa for the rest of the time.

After 3 years, you must leave New Zealand before you can get another India Skilled Work Visa. You cannot get another India Skilled Work Visa or an India Iconic Work Visa until you have spent at least 3 years outside of New Zealand.

Time spent on an India Iconic Work Visa also counts towards the total time you can stay in New Zealand on an India Skilled Work Visa.

Who can apply

To apply for this visa, you must:

• be a citizen of the Republic of India
• be outside New Zealand when you apply for your first visa — if you are applying for a further India Skilled Work Visa to stay for the rest of the 3 years allowed, you can apply while you are in New Zealand
• have an offer of full-time work from an accredited employer for a job that is on the list of India Skilled Work Vis a jobs
• meet the requirements for your job
• have spent the required time outside New Zealand, if you have already spent 3 years in New Zealand on an India Iconic Work Visa or India Skilled Work Visa
• provide an acceptable English language test result
• be in good health
• have a good character
• have a genuine reason for coming to New Zealand.

Citizenship

You must be a citizen of the Republic of India and have a valid passport for India.

Location

You must be outside New Zealand when you apply for your first visa.

You do not need to leave New Zealand if:

• you have an India Skilled Work Visa that was granted for less than 3 years, and
• you are applying for another visa to stay the full 3 years .

New Zealand job or job offer

You must have an offer of full-time work in one of these jobs:

• Soft ware Engineer
• Software and Applications Programmers
• ICT Project Manager
• Civil Engineer
• Mechanical Engineer
• Structural Engineer
• Environmental Engineer
• Construction Project Manager
• Building Project Manager
• Primary and Secondary School teacher
• Registered Nurse
• Physiotherapist.

Your job offer must be:

• current at the time you apply for your visa
• for at least 30 hours of work a week, and
• from an employer who is accredited to hire migrants under the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) policy.

Check if your employer is accredited:

Accredited employer list

Check the ‘Documents you need’ section for more information about what evidence you must provide about your job offer.

Requirements for your job

You must meet the requirements for your job.

The qualifications, work experience or registration required depends on the work you will be doing in New Zealand. You must meet the requirements for your job before you apply for an India Skilled Work Visa.

Check the qualifications, work experience or registration required for each job:

Requirements for India Skilled Work Visa jobs

You need to provide evidence with your application showing how you meet the requirements.

Additional requirements for international qualifications

I f your job requires you to have a qualification and your qualification is from outside New Zealand, you may need to complete an International Qualifications Assessment (IQA).

An IQA is a report from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) that:

• verifies your qualification
• assesses the level of qualification compared with New Zealand qualifications, and
• names similar New Zealand qualifications.

You do not need an IQA if you have:

• an engineering degree that is accredited by the Washington Accord or Sydney Accord, or
• a qualification that is on the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment (LQEA) .

Check Appendix 17 in the Operational Manual to see if your qualification is on the LQEA.

Appendix 17 — Operational Manual

To learn more about an IQA and the NZQA, and how to apply, go to:

Getting overseas qualifications recognised by NZQA — NZQA

Apply for an International Qualification Assessment (IQA) — NZQA

English language requirements

You must complete an acceptable English language test to show that you can speak and understand English.

The test must be completed in person at an acceptable test centre.

The results of your English language test must:

• meet the minimum score we set, and
• be no more than 2 years old when you apply.

Find out about acceptable tests and test results required:

English language requirements for India Iconic Work Visa and India Skilled Work Visa

Health

You must be in good health.

You must have a chest X-ray and a medical examination as proof of your good health. Your X-ray and medical certificate must be completed within the 3 months before you apply for your visa.

For information about how to apply, go to:

How to get an X-ray or medical examination

Character

You must be of good character.

If you have a criminal conviction, or are a security risk to New Zealand, we might not give you a visa.

For more information about what ‘good character’ means, go to:

Character requirements for New Zealand visas

Check the ‘Documents you need’ section for information about the documents you must provide to show you meet the character requirements.

Genuine intentions

You must genuinely intend to meet the conditions of your visa.

When we decide if your intentions are genuine, we will consider all the information that:

• you provide to support your application
• we have about your personal circumstances
• you have previously given to us.

Genuine intentions to visit or work in New Zealand

Documents you need

Translated documents

Provide certified English translations for any documents not in English.

Include:

• certified English translations of original documents, and
• copies of the original documents.

Translations must be completed by someone who meets our translation requirements.

Providing English translations of supporting documents

Proof of identity and citizenship

Provide:

• a copy of your passport or certificate of identity, and
• 1 acceptable photo.

Your passport or certificate of identity must be valid for at least 3 months after the date you plan to leave New Zealand.

Ensure passports are current and valid (allow time to renew if needed).

You cannot manipulate or digitally alter your photo using Artificial Intelligence (AI) or other digital editing tools.

Evidence of your job or job offer

In your visa application you must include:

• a signed copy of your job offer
• a copy of the employment agreement and job description

The employment agreement must include:

• your employer's name, address and phone number
• your name and address
• your job title
• hourly rate or salary
• any benefits or allowances paid in advance of your hourly rate or salary, if applicable
• the address for your place of work, if it is different from your employer’s address
• the kind of work you will be doing and your responsibilities at work
• details of any necessary qualifications or experience of working in that type of job
• information about whether you need New Zealand registration to do the job
• what hours you will work and how long the job will be for
• how long you have to take up the job offer
• all mandatory clauses required by New Zealand employment law .
• If you are unsure, you can use the Employment Agreement Builder to check what needs to be included.

Employment Agreement Builder — business.govt.nz

Include a job description for your current job or job offer in New Zealand. It should list your key tasks and responsibilities.

Job requirements

You must show how you meet the qualification, work experience and registration requirements for your job.

Evidence of your qualifications

You must provide copies of your qualifications with your application.

If you need an IQA, you must provide this.

Evidence of your work experience

Provide evidence with your application showing that you have worked in the job before.

The evidence must be from someone other than yourself, and can include:

• certificates of employment
• pay slips
• tax certificates
• letters of reference from a former employer (if supported by certificates of employment, pay slips or tax certificates).

Employment certificates should be on the employer's official letterhead. They must be complete and be independently verifiable.

The certificate must show:

• the positions you held
• the periods of your employment
• your employer's address and contact details.

Evidence of your occupational registration

You must provide either:

• a certified copy of your full or provisional New Zealand registration
• confirmation from the appropriate registration body that your job is eligible for New Zealand registration.

Evidence you can speak and understand English

Provide your English language test results.

English language test results cannot be more than 2 years old (from the issue date) when you submit your application. You cannot provide evidence of a future booking.

English language requirements for India Iconic Work Visa and India Skilled Work Visa

Police certificates

You must provide police certificates that are less than 6 months old when you apply, if:

• you are aged 17 or older, and
• your total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or longer — this includes time you spent in New Zealand in the past on other visas.

Police certificates must be from:

• countries you are a citizen of, and
• countries you have spent more than 5 years in since you turned 17.

You do not need to provide police certificates if you provided them with an earlier visa application and they were issued in the last 24 months.

How to get a police certificate

Ensure police certificates are less than 6 months old (from the issue date) when you submit your application.

If your police certificate is not in English, you must provide an English translation, even if your record has no convictions.

We cannot accept proof that you have applied for a police certificate but have not received it yet.

Chest X-ray and medical certificates

You must provide one of the following:

• your eMedical reference number
• the name of the clinic submitting your health information (if no eMedical reference is provided), or
• a copy of the medical certificate and/or chest X-ray certificate.

Your X-ray and medical certificate must be completed within the 3 months before you apply for your visa.

If you have provided a chest X-ray certificate before

You must provide a new chest X-ray certificate, even if you have provided one to us previously, if you:

• have spent 6 months in a row in India, or another country that does not have a low incidence of tuberculosis (TB), since the date of your last X-ray certificate, and
• are now coming to New Zealand for more than 6 months.

Countries with a low incidence of tuberculosis

When you get your visa

You must travel to or arrive in New Zealand within 6 months of the date your visa is issued. Your visa will list this as the ‘First entry before’ date.

If you do not enter New Zealand before the 'First entry before' date, your visa will expire and will no longer be valid.

When you arrive

Entry permission

You must apply for permission to enter New Zealand. You do this by completing a New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD) form.

You can start your digital declaration any time, but the earliest you can submit it is 24 hours before starting your travel to New Zealand.

New Zealand Traveller Declaration

New Zealand Customs and Biosecurity also check that you meet their entry requirements.

Arriving in New Zealand

While you are in New Zealand

Any visa conditions that apply to you will be recorded in your eVisa. You must comply with your visa conditions.

The conditions below are a summary of how work, study and travel conditions apply to this visa. For information about how to check and change all your visa conditions, go to:

Check or change your work visa conditions

Work

You can work only in the job, for the employer and in the location stated on your visa.

Your employer must offer you at least 30 of hours of work a week.

If these conditions change, you must apply to vary the conditions of your visa

Apply for a Job Change or a variation of conditions if you have a work visa

Study

You can study for up to 3 months in any 12-month period.

If you want to study for longer than this, you will need to apply for a student visa.

Travel

You can travel in and out of New Zealand, also known as ‘multiple-entry travel conditions’, while your visa is valid. You need to apply for entry permission each time you return to New Zealand.

Your visa may also have a ‘Expiry date travel’ listed – this is the last day you can enter New Zealand using this visa.

Visa expiry

You must leave New Zealand before your visa expires.

Staying longer

You can only apply for another India Skilled Work Visa if:

• your first India Skilled Work Visa was issued for less than 3 years, or
• you have spent at least 3 years outside New Zealand.

If you want to apply for another type of visa

The total time you spend on an India Skilled Work Visa also counts towards the time you can spend in New Zealand on:

• an Accredited Employer Work Visa
• a Peak Seasonal Visa
• an India Iconic Work Visa.

If you want to apply for one of these visas, you may need to spend time outside New Zealand first.

Time spent on an India Skilled Work Visa cannot be used as skilled work experience for these visas:

• Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa
• Work to Residence Visa
• Transport Work to Residence Visa
• Care Workforce Work to Residence Visa.

Use our ‘Find and choose a visa’ tool to check and compare different visas:

Find and choose a visa