Arno Nothnagel, our NZ Immigration Director, provides an outline of the recent important announcement from Immigration New Zealand regarding the three new Residence pathways for New Zealand.
These pathways are for people working in roles on the Tier 1 and Tier 2 Green Lists, and those earning at least twice the median wage:
- Straight to Residence
- Work to Residence
- Highly Paid
Important points to take into consideration:
- Applications can be made for the Straight to Residence pathway from 5 September 2022.
- Applications for the Work to Residence and High Paid pathways can be made from 29 September 2023.
- Acceptable work in New Zealand can be counted towards a Highly Paid Residence Visa if you hold or held:
- an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV)
- another work visa or a Critical Purpose Visitor Visa (with work conditions) that was held or applied before 4 July 2022.
- Acceptable work in New Zealand can be counted from 29 September 2021.
- You can combine acceptable work in an occupation on the Tier 2 Green List and also work earning 2 times the median wage
Most important is that your employer must also be accredited when you apply for any of the above residence pathways.
Green List occupations
If you want to hire a migrant on the Accredited Employer Work Visa and the role is on the Green List, list you do not need to advertise for the job check.
If the role is on the Green List employers can complete job checks without proof of advertising as long as the minimum requirements for the role at least match the minimum requirements on this list.
The Green List occupations also provide straight to residence and work to residence pathways.
All qualifications listed as requirements are based on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF) unless stated otherwise.
For the full list of occupations and roles on the Green List, click here.
Get in touch with Arno and the team to find out how we can help: Arno.Nothnagel@absoluteimmigration.com
