Work to Residence Visa
Apply for this visa if you currently have a job or job offer with an accredited employer, and have worked in New Zealand for 24 months in a Green List Tier 2 in-demand job.
Apply online-
Length of stay
Live, work and study
indefinitely
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Cost
From
NZD $6450
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Age range
55 years or younger
To apply you must:
- be aged 55 or younger when you apply
- be working for an accredited employer, or have a job offer from one
- be offered or have a job that is full-time, and permanent or fixed-term for at least 12 months
- have worked in New Zealand for 24 months in a Green List Tier 2 job
- speak and understand English
- meet the other requirements of this visa.
This visa lets you:
- live, work and study in New Zealand
- include your partner and dependent children aged 24 or younger in your visa application.
Applications are open
How long you can stay
A Work to Residence Visa lets you stay in New Zealand indefinitely.
After you have had this visa for 2 years in a row, you can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa that lets you travel in and out of New Zealand indefinitely.
Check the 'While you are in New Zealand' section for more information.
Who can apply
To apply for this visa, you must:
- be aged 55 or younger
- have a work visa for at least 24 months before you apply
- have been working in New Zealand for 24 months in a Green List Tier 2 job
- have an offer of, or be working in, a Green List Tier 2 in-demand job with an accredited employer
- be in good health
- be of good character
- have a genuine relationship with your partner and dependent children, if including them
- must speak and understand English.
Age
You must be aged 55 or younger when you apply.
We check your identity document to confirm your age.
Your current visa
For at least 24 months before you apply, you must have a work visa or a Critical Purpose Visitor Visa that allows you to work.
We check our records to confirm that, for the full 24 months before you apply, you had:
- 1 or more work visas
- a Critical Purpose Visitor Visa that allowed you to work, or
- an Interim Visa which we gave you when you applied for:
- another work visa, or
- a Critical Purpose Visitor Visa that allowed you to work.
Note
The Critical Purpose Visitor Visa is now closed.
Your current job or job offer
You must currently be working in, or have a job offer for, a job that is:
- full-time
- a Tier 2 job on the Green List
- paid at least the rate specified for your Green List Tier 2 job, or the current median wage if a pay rate is not specified for your job
- permanent or fixed-term for at least 12 months, and
- for an employer who is accredited under the Accredited Employer Work Visa policy.
Green List roles — jobs we need people for in New Zealand
Check if an employer is accredited
Your Green List job
The Green List is a list of jobs that we need people for in New Zealand. These jobs are separated into skill levels called tiers (Tier 1 and Tier 2):
- Tier 2 jobs allow you to apply for a Work to Residence Visa
- Tier 1 jobs allow you to apply for a Straight to Residence Visa.
All jobs on the Green List have requirements you need to meet to get the job and use the job to apply for a visa. This could include having a specific qualification, registration or needing to be paid above a certain amount.
You must meet any additional requirements listed for your Green List job.
You must provide documents proving you meet the current work requirements and Green List job requirements.
Search the Green List for your job:
Green List roles — jobs we need people for in New Zealand
How much you must earn
When you apply for this visa, you must be paid at least:
- the rate specified for your Green List Tier 2 job, or
- NZD $35.00 an hour (the 2025 median wage), if a wage rate is not specified for your Green List job.
You also must have been paid at or above a pay rate during your work experience. See the section 'Work experience requirements' for more information.
Wage rate requirements for work visas
Qualifications not gained in New Zealand
Some Green List jobs require you to have a qualification. If you did not gain this qualification in New Zealand, you may need an
If you need an IQA, you must apply for this through the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). You must include the results in your visa application.
Not all international qualifications need to be assessed. For example, the Washington or Sydney Accord qualifications.
Check if you need an International Qualification Assessment
Apply for an International Qualification Assessment — NZQA
Evidence of your current job or job offer
Documents you can provide include:
- an employment agreement
- a fixed-term contract
- a letter offering you a job and describing your job, hours of work, length of employment and what you will be paid.
Things an employment agreement must contain — Employment New Zealand
Note
If you provided these documents with your most recent work visa application only provide them again if you are working in a new job and your pay and conditions have changed since you applied for your work visa.
Work experience requirements
When you apply, we look back 30 months from the date you applied to see if you have met our skilled work requirements. You must have completed at least 24 months of full‑time work in a Green List Tier 2 job during that period.
You can complete the 24 months in several stretches within the 30-month period. For example, you could work for 2 lots of 12 months with a gap of 6 months in between.
You must provide documents proving you meet our work experience requirements.
What counts as work experience
Work experience only counts for any jobs you worked:
- that were full-time, and
- that were Tier 2 on the Green List, or in a job paid twice the median wage, and
- where you earned at or above the required pay rate.
See the section 'How to calculate 24 months of work experience' for more information.
Wage rate requirements for work visas
Any leave you get while working in these jobs is counted as part of your work experience. This includes annual, bereavement or other leave you are legally entitled to, such as parental leave.
If your job is removed from the Green List after you start working, your time in that job still counts towards your 24 months.
If you applied for your work visa before 29 September 2023
You only need to be paid the median wage at the time you apply for your residence visa, if:
- you applied for your work visa or Critical Purpose Visitor Visa before 29 September 2023, and
- an hourly rate was not specified for your job.
How to calculate 24 months of work experience
You can start counting your 24 months of work any time on and after 29 September 2021.
When your work experience starts being counted
Work experience can start being counted towards your 24 months when:
- you have an eligible visa
- you are in a job that meets our requirements, and
- your pay is at or above the required pay rate.
When your work experience stops being counted
Work experience stops being counted if:
- your work visa ends, or
- you are no longer in a job that meets our requirements, or
- you change jobs and you are now paid less than the required pay rate in place when you change jobs, or
- your pay decreases and drops below the required pay rate.
The required pay rate to count work experience
The required pay rate is:
- the hourly rate specified for your job, or
- the median wage in place at that time, if an hourly rate was not specified.
If the median wage goes up later, your work experience still counts as long as:
- your pay does not drop, and
- you stay in the same job.
If you changed jobs during your 24 months of work experience
If you changed jobs, you can continue to count time in that job towards your 24 months of work experience if you are paid either:
- the hourly rate specified for that job when you changed jobs, or
- the median wage in place when you changed jobs, if there was no hourly rate specified.
If you are paid below the hourly rate or median wage in place when you changed jobs, you cannot count this time towards your 24 months of work experience.
If you start being paid the hourly rate or median wage later on, you can start counting the time again from when you were paid it.
If your work experience stops being counted
If your work experience stops being counted, you keep the time you have already got. You must meet the rules again for your work experience to start counting again.
- in your current job with the same employer, or
- in a new job that pays at least NZD $35.00 an hour.
- your work experience between 27 February 2024 and 16 June 2024 (before the median wage increased) is outside the 30-month window immediately before your application date, and
- from 17 June 2024 onward, your pay rate of NZD $29.66 was below the required median wage of NZD $31.61.
- 12 months completed between 9 December 2023 and 9 December 2024, and
- 12 months completed between 9 June 2025 and 9 June 2026.
You started work as a Slaughterer on 17 August 2024. You were paid NZD $31.61 an hour, the median wage at that time. You started counting your skilled work experience from then.
You stay in the same job for 24 months. You continue working for the same employer in the same job, at the same pay rate. Your employment conditions did not change during this time.
On 17 August 2026, you applied for residence while you are still being paid $31.61. By this time, the median wage increased to NZD $35.00 an hour. To meet residence requirements, you must be paid at least NZD $35.00 an hour either:
So although you stayed in the same job for 24 months at the required pay rate, you do not meet the acceptable employment requirements when you applied for residence. This is because you were still being paid NZD $31.61 an hour when you applied, which is below the median wage.
You started work as a Corrections Officer on 27 February 2024. You were paid NZD $29.66 an hour, the median wage at that time. You starting counting work experience from then. You stayed in the same job with the same employer.
On 17 June 2024, the median wage increased to NZD $31.61 an hour. Although your pay rate is still NZD $29.66, you can continue to count your work experience because you are doing the same job with the same employer.
You applied for a Work to Residence Visa on 17 December 2026. This means only work completed in the 30 months immediately before your application date can be counted. This is your work experience from 17 June 2024 to 17 December 2026.
Although you have more than 24 months of work experience, it cannot be counted because:
You started work as a Loader Operator on 20 February 2024. At that time, the required pay rate for your job was NZD $34.11 an hour. You started counting your skilled work experience from 20 February 2024.
On 25 February 2025, you applied for a Variation of Conditions to change employer. By then, the required pay rate had increased to NZD $36.35 an hour. To continue counting your skilled work experience when you changed employer, you must have been paid at least NZD $36.35 an hour.
You applied for residence on 20 February 2026, which is 24 months after you started counting skilled work experience. At that time, the required pay rate is NZD $40.25 an hour. To meet our requirements when you apply for residence, you must be paid at least NZD $40.25 an hour, or have a job offer that pays this amount.
You started work as a special needs teacher on 9 December 2023. You were paid NZD $27.76 an hour — the median wage at that time. This means you could count your skilled work experience from that date.
On 9 December 2024, you stopped working and took a break for 6 months.
On 9 June 2025, you returned to work as a special needs teacher for a new employer. You were paid NZD $31.61 an hour, which met the required pay rate at that time. You stayed in this job at the same pay rate for 12 months.
You can apply for residence on 9 June 2026, because by then you have worked in jobs for 24 months that meet our work experience and pay rate requirements:
At the time you apply, the median wage is NZD $35.00 an hour. This means that when you apply for residence, you must be paid at least NZD $35.00 an hour.
In April 2024 you started working at a Green List Tier 2 job and were paid the hourly rate specified for the job. Your 24 months started from April 2024.
In October 2024 your pay rate at this job decreased and you were then paid less than the required pay rate for your job. This means your work experience stopped being counted from then.
In January 2025 your pay increased again to the hourly pay rate specified for the job. This means your work experience started to count again from then.
Health
You, and anyone else included in your application, must be in good health.
You, and anyone else included aged 15 or older, must complete a chest X-ray and medical examination.
Dependent children included in your application and aged:
- 10 or younger, must get a medical examination, but do not need a chest X-ray unless we or your
ask for one - 11 to 14, must get a medical examination and a chest X-ray, but only need a blood test if we or your panel physician ask for one.
If you have provided medical certificates to us before and those certificates were issued within the last 3 years, you may not need to provide them again.
Note
Evidence of a chest X-ray or medical examination must be less than 3 months old when we receive it.
Character
You, and anyone else included in your application, must be of good character.
If you, or anyone else included, are aged 17 or older, you must provide police certificates that are less than 6 months old when you apply.
If you have a criminal conviction, or are a security risk to New Zealand, we might not give you a visa.
You must get police certificates from:
- countries you are a citizen of, and
- countries where you have spent 12 months or more in over the last 10 years — even if those 12 months were not all in one stay.
Police certificates must show any criminal records you have had at any time in any of these countries — not only in the last 10 years.
If we ask for a new police certificate when processing your application, you will need to send us a new one.
Partner and dependent children
If you include your partner and dependent children in your application, you must have a genuine relationship with them.
You need to provide documents — like marriage and birth certificates — that prove your relationship to your partner and dependent children aged 24 or younger.
If your partner or dependent children already have, or are applying for, a work, student or visitor visa based on their relationship to you, you must include them in your residence application.
English language
You must speak and understand English.
There are 2 ways to show us you speak and understand English – through:
- your citizenship, where you studied and the qualifications you gained
- English language tests.
The results of your English language test must:
- meet the minimum score we set
- be no more than 2 years old when you apply.
English language for family
Your partner and dependent children aged 16 or older must speak English or pay for classes to learn English in New Zealand.
There are 3 ways your partner and dependent children aged 16 or older can show us they speak English – through:
- their citizenship, where they studied and the qualifications they gained
- English language tests
- paying for English language lessons.
The results of their English language test must:
- meet the minimum score we set
- be no more than 2 years old when you apply.
Find out about the requirements around citizenship, study and qualifications, the test results required, and how to buy English language lessons:
English language requirements for skilled residence visas
Note
When we assess your application, we may ask for more proof of your and your family's ability to speak English. If we do, you and your family may have to sit tests and send us the results.
Documents you need
When you apply
When you apply, you will need to provide:
- a copy of your passport or
- 1 acceptable photo
- evidence of a chest X-ray
- evidence of a medical examination
- police certificates
- evidence that you can speak and understand English
- documents that show that you have been working for 24 months and what you have been paid during that 24 months
- evidence you have a job offer or already work in a Green List Tier 2 in-demand job with an accredited employer
- documents that show you meet your Green List job's requirements
- translated versions of all your documents if they are not in English.
If you are including your partner and dependent children, provide:
- documents to show your relationship with them
- proof of their identity and acceptable photos
- police certificates, if required
- evidence of chest X-rays and medical examinations, if required
- evidence they can speak English or have paid for English language lessons.
You must also provide a copy of your identity card.
If you are a citizen of Thailand and unable to provide a copy of your birth certificate, we will accept your identity card as proof of your identity.
We do not accept delays or expense as reasons for not providing a birth certificate.
After you apply
After you apply, we may contact you and ask for:
- your original passport
- more evidence such as bank statements or pay slips showing your salary payments
- more evidence of your ability to speak and understand English.
How to apply
Follow these steps to complete your application online.
Note
To help prevent delays with processing, make sure your application contains all the required documents.
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Step 1: Gather your documents
The section 'Who can apply' explains the requirements for this visa and what you will need as proof.
Get documents translated
For your application you must provide:
- certified English translations of any documents that are not in English
- copies of the original documents.
Note
Documents must be translated by someone who meets our requirements for providing English translations.
File formats for uploading documents and photos
Organise proof of identity, citizenship and age
If you, or your family if they are included, need a new passport, allow enough time to get it.
When you apply, make sure you enter your identity details exactly as they appear on your passport or certificate of identity.
Alert
If there are any mistakes in your identity details, your application will be delayed. We may also decline your application or refuse you entry to New Zealand.
Make sure your photos are acceptable for a New Zealand visa.
Organise proof for your partner and dependent children, if required
If you are including your partner and dependent children in your application, get documents that show your relationship with them and proof of their identity.
Book medical appointments, if required
If you have determined you, and your family if included, need chest X-rays or medical examinations, you will need to book appointments.
To complete your application, you will need to provide the:
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reference code from the clinic submitting your health information - name of the clinic submitting your health information, if there is no eMedical reference code, or
- medical certificate, chest X-ray certificate, or both if the clinic gave these to you.
Note
Evidence of a chest X-ray or medical examination must be less than 3 months old when we receive it. Allow yourself enough time to get these.
Apply for police certificates, if required
Check what you will need to include for a residence visa.
If you have determined you need police certificates, you must provide them with your application.
Use the tool to find out how to get police certificates from different countries.
Note
Your police certificates must be less than 6 months old when you submit your application. Allow yourself enough time to get these certificates.
Organise evidence of English language ability
Organise evidence of citizenship, study and qualifications, or English language test results.
Organise evidence of a Green List job
Organise evidence that shows you have been working in, or have a job offer of, a Green List job, and that you meet the requirements of the Green List job. This can be copies of:
- New Zealand qualifications
- a letter offering you a job that describes your job, hours of work, length of employment and what you will be paid
- an employment agreement and job description (previous and current) stating the length of employment, position and remuneration.
Organise evidence of 24 months of work
Organise evidence that you have worked in New Zealand for at least 24 months in a Tier 2 job on our Green List of in-demand jobs.
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
- a summary of earnings from Inland Revenue confirming a period of at least 24 months of work.
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Step 2: Submit your application and pay the fee
To apply online, log in to your account or set up an account if you do not have one already.
You can then fill in your application, upload your documents and pay the applicable fees.
Check the 'How to pay and submit' section for fees.
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Step 3: Wait for our decision
We will let you know if we need more information to process your application.
Check the 'How to pay and submit' section for timeframes.
Note
If you are already in New Zealand, you must have a valid visa. If you think your current visa may expire while you are waiting for our decision on your resident visa application, you should also apply for a new temporary visa to work, study or visit.
When you apply for a temporary visa, we may give you an Interim Visa if your current visa expires while your application is being processed. This will let you stay in New Zealand lawfully.
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Step 4: Check your application status
Log in to your account to check the status of your application.
Check your visa application status
We will email you when we make a decision.
If we approve your application, we will give you an eVisa and send you a copy.
Check the 'While you are in New Zealand' section to find out what you can and cannot do on this visa.
How to pay and submit
We cannot display any process or costs information until you have provided your country details.
Enter your details so we can show information that is relevant to you.
While you are in New Zealand
Your visa conditions are recorded in your eVisa.
Travel
You can travel in and out of New Zealand as many times as you like until your travel conditions expire.
Your travel conditions expire 2 years from:
- the date you first arrive in New Zealand as a resident, or
- the date your visa is given, if you are already in New Zealand.
To travel after that, you need to:
- get a Permanent Resident Visa, or
- extend your travel conditions, which would let you return to New Zealand at a later date.
Check or change your resident visa conditions
With a Permanent Resident Visa, you can travel in and out of New Zealand indefinitely, as long as you keep your visa in a valid passport.
If your passport expires, you must apply to transfer your visa to a new passport before you can travel.
Transferring a visa to a new passport
Alert
If you are outside of New Zealand when your travel conditions expire, your visa will expire as well.
Work
You can work in any job for any employer in New Zealand.
Study
You can study anywhere in New Zealand for any length of time.
Staying longer
Getting a Permanent Resident Visa
After you have had a Work to Resident Visa for 2 years in a row, you can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa.
With a Permanent Resident Visa, you can travel in and out of New Zealand indefinitely, as long as you keep your visa in a valid passport.
Becoming a permanent resident of New Zealand
Getting citizenship
For most people, after 5 years of living in New Zealand as a resident, you may be able to get New Zealand citizenship. You do not need a Permanent Resident Visa first.