Apply for this visa if you currently work, or you have a job offer, from an accredited employer, and your role is on Tier 1 of the Green List in-demand.
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Provide your country to make the experience more relevant to you.Check if you are eligible to apply for this visa and what supporting documents and information you need to provide.
You must provide proof of your identity
Prove your identity by providing:
After you apply, we let you know if we need to see your original passport.
If you cannot provide a copy of your birth certificate, we can accept your identity card as proof of your identity, as long as you did not provide your birth certificate because of the cost or how long it would take to get.
Also provide a copy of your Identity card.
You must be of good character
If you, or anyone else included in your application, are aged 17 or older you must provide a police certificate from:
Police certificates must be less than 6 months old at the time you apply.
If you provide a police certificate that is not in English, you must provide an English translation.
This includes police certificates that record no convictions.
You must be in good health
You, and your partner if they are included in your application, need to show us you have an acceptable standard of health.
This means you, and anyone else included in your application, must complete a chest X-ray and medical examination.
If you have provided medical certificates to us before, you may not need to provide them again.
The panel physician will prepare a medical certificate detailing the results of the examination and send it to us. It must be no more than 3 months old when you apply for your visa.
Dependent children aged 24 or younger included in your application must get a full general medical examination, but if they are:
You must be aged 55 or younger at the time you apply
We check your identity documents — for example, your passport — to confirm your age.
If you include your partner and children in your application, you must have a genuine relationship with them
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.
You must speak and understand English
There are 2 ways to show us you speak and understand English – through:
The results of your English language test must:
Find out about the citizenship requirements, the evidence needed for study and qualifications, or the test results required:
When we assess your application, we may ask for more evidence of your ability to speak and understand English. If we do, you may have to sit a test and send us the results.
Your partner and children 16 and over must speak English or pay for classes to learn English in New Zealand
There are 3 ways your partner or dependent children aged 16 or older can show us they speak English – through:
The results of their English language test must:
Find out about the requirements around citizenship, study and qualifications, the test results required, and how to buy English language lessons:
We may ask for more proof of your family's ability to speak English to support your application. If we do, they may have to sit a test and send us the results.
You must meet your role's requirement in the Green List
Search for your role in the Green List. For the Straight to Residence Visa you must:
You may need an International Qualification Assessment (IQA) for your overseas qualification. If you need an IQA, you must apply and include the results in your visa application.
Not all international qualifications need to be assessed, such as the Washington or Sydney Accord qualifications.
You must meet the criteria for acceptable employment in New Zealand
Acceptable employment is when:
Wage requirements for visas — for the current median wage rate
Evidence of acceptable employment are your:
When you are a contractor using contracts as acceptable employment evidence, check if your Green List role has a wage threshold skill requirement. If it does, you need evidence showing:
Your wage threshold is 50% more than applicants with permanent or fixed-term employment.
The information below will help you understand the process, timeframes and costs involved in applying for this visa, so you can plan ahead and have the best chance of submitting a complete application.
We cannot display any process or costs information until you have provided your country details. Enter your country details in the panel above to view information relevant to your situation.