Pathways to bring skilled
workers into New Zealand

2 August 2022

New Zealand has finally fully opened its borders for the first time since the abrupt closures implemented in March 2020 to keep COVID-19 out. The final stage of the phased re-opening was completed on Sunday night, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern describing the nation as “open for business”.

With the last COVID-19 restrictions now lifted, visitors from all over the world will once again be allowed into New Zealand. The re-opening is part of a range of immigration reforms New Zealand has implemented to help attract skilled workers back into the country and move away from its reliance on low-wage, low-skill migrant labour.

With this in mind, the government of New Zealand has recently announced a number of immigration updates which employers should be aware of. We set out the changes below, and look at the various pathways available for employers bringing skilled workers into New Zealand.

Fee increases

From 31 July 2022, Immigration fees and levies will increase for most visa applications. The average increase in the price of affected immigration services (excluding the eTA, Electronic Travel Authority) is around $81 (43%), with the largest increases for residence class visas.

Most visitor visas and some Pacific-focused visas will remain at current prices. The full table of fees, showing the increases, is available here.

New residence categories

The government of New Zealand has announced details of three new residence categories that will make it easier for employers to hire and attract migrants for specified high skilled, hard-to-fill occupations.

The three new residence categories are:

‘Straight to Residence’
‘Work to Residence’
‘Highly Paid’.

The Straight to Residence and Work to Residence relate to the respective Green List occupations, which allow employers to complete a Job Check for the Accredited Employer Work Visa without proof of advertising as long as the minimum requirements for the role at least match the minimum requirements. The new Highly Paid resident visa is for those earning twice the median wage.

The Straight to Residence pathway will be ready for people to apply for from 5 September 2022.

The Work to Residence and Highly Paid pathways require people to have worked for 24 months and will be available for people to apply for from 29 September 2023.

This work in New Zealand can be counted two years from 29 September 2021, which aligns with the 2021 Resident Visa eligibility date and ensures that the small number of people who do not qualify for the 2021 Resident Visa can still have some work in New Zealand recognised through these two new pathways.

These new visas are intended to complement the Skilled Migrant Category with the same health, age and character requirements but a different, more straightforward application process. The Skilled Migrant Category is currently suspended while the Government works through advice as part of the Immigration Rebalance.

All principal applicants must show that

They are aged 55 years or younger
They meet the English Language requirements under the Skilled Migrant Category (overall score of 6.5 IELTS or equivalent)
They meet health and character requirements
They have an offer of employment from, or are employed by, an accredited employer
They are employed full-time (at least 30 hours weekly)
The employment is full-time or fixed term for at least 12 months
The employment is genuine and not offered as a result of the employee paying the employer.

Dependent children and partners will also need to meet requirements including health, character and English requirements (where applicable). Pre-Purchase of ESOL tuition is available for secondary applicants who do not meet the English test requirements.

All STR, WTR and HP residence applications will be prioritised over other skilled residence applications, including 2021 Resident Visa (2021RV) applications.

Independent contractors can also utilise the STR, WTR and HP pathways if they meet the requirements linked below.