Immigration Guide
New Zealand Immigration Guide
A practical, plain-English guide to planning your move, understanding the visa process and identifying the pathways that may be worth exploring.
Immigration outcomes depend on individual facts, evidence and the policy in force when you apply. Use this guide to understand the landscape, then obtain advice for your own circumstances.
This edition reflects the SMC rules in force on 9 October 2026. The three-pathway system started on 24 August 2026. Residence applications made before that date are generally assessed against the instructions in force when made. An earlier EOI or invitation is not itself a residence application: check the applicable rules and invitation deadline. The announced SMC-related AEWV extension is scheduled for 2027 and is not yet available.
Welcome to the journey
Moving permanently from one country to another is a major logistical, emotional and financial undertaking. The visa is important, but it is only one part of the move.
What this guide is for
It gives you a clear overview of the New Zealand immigration process, the main temporary and residence pathways, and the planning issues that tend to matter most.
It is designed to help you ask better questions and make better decisions before expectations, expenses and deadlines begin to build.
What it cannot do
It cannot confirm that you qualify. Every application is fact-specific, and apparently small details can change the answer: dates, occupation classification, pay, relationship evidence, health, character and the sequence of applications.
For a personal strategy, speak with a licensed immigration adviser.
Guide contents
About Turner Hopkins
Turner Hopkins Immigration Specialists is a boutique immigration consultancy working with private and commercial clients across temporary, residence, family, skilled and investment categories.
Clear assessment
We begin by identifying realistic options, key risks and the sequence that is most likely to work.
A practical road map
Clients receive a plan that connects job search, temporary visas, residence timing and evidence preparation.
Prompt, accurate advice
Our focus is clear communication, strong policy knowledge and helping clients understand what happens next.
Your immigration team
Paul Janssen
Paul advises across private and commercial immigration matters, with particular depth in skilled, partnership and investor pathways. His focus is practical strategy, clear communication and keeping complex cases moving.
Sejoo Han
Originally from Korea, Sejoo brings first-hand migration experience and advises across a broad range of visa categories. He speaks English, Korean and Tagalog.
Nadia
Nadia joined the team in 2026 and combines immigration expertise with first-hand experience of navigating the New Zealand system. Her approach is practical, careful and empathetic.
What makes a successful move?
Preparation does not remove every surprise, but it reduces avoidable ones. Use the cards below as a planning checklist. The ticks are for your use only and are not saved.
One useful rule
Plan for the end goal, but sequence the immediate steps. A residence strategy may start with a visitor visa, a job search, a temporary work visa, a partnership visa or an investment process. The order matters.
Visa terminology
Immigration language is not designed for casual reading. Search the glossary or browse the key terms below.
Permission to travel to, enter or remain in New Zealand subject to stated conditions. Most visas are issued electronically.
Immigration New Zealand, the government agency that processes visa applications and administers immigration instructions.
A visa granted for a limited period and usually for a defined purpose, such as visiting, studying or working.
A visa allowing the holder to live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely, subject to any conditions and travel conditions.
A residence-class visa with indefinite travel conditions. It is not a different form of citizenship.
The part of a resident visa that controls travel in and out of New Zealand. If you are in New Zealand when travel conditions expire, you can usually remain indefinitely. If you are outside New Zealand at expiry, the resident visa expires too.
Rules attached to a visa, such as employer, occupation, location, study provider or course.
An employer approved by INZ to employ workers under the Accredited Employer Work Visa system.
A formal immigration obligation applying only in specified categories. A job offer is not normally the same thing as sponsorship.
The main person assessed against a residence category. Eligible partners and dependent children may sometimes be included.
An initial submission used in some residence categories before INZ invites a full application.
INZ's invitation to submit the full residence application and supporting evidence after an EOI is accepted or selected.
A list of specified occupations with Straight to Residence or Work to Residence pathways, subject to role-specific requirements.
Occupation-classification systems used to assess job skill level and requirements. NOL is progressively replacing ANZSCO for some AEWV purposes, but ANZSCO remains relevant to residence settings.
An assessment by NZQA of an overseas qualification. Some qualifications are exempt, but many require an IQA before points or pathway requirements can be confirmed.
A pay threshold linked to the immigration median wage and used in skilled-residence settings. The rate that applies can depend on when qualifying work started.
The visa process explained
There is no single migration sequence. The right path depends on whether your connection to New Zealand is work, family, study, investment or another specific purpose.
Assess
Identify occupation, age, qualifications, registration, pay requirements and the residence destination.
Find the right job
For most skilled routes, secure qualifying New Zealand employment or a qualifying offer.
Temporary visa
Use the appropriate work and family visas while any required New Zealand work period is completed.
Residence
Apply immediately where available, or once the required points and work experience have been accumulated.
A Tier 1 Green List role may allow the applicant to move directly to residence, removing some intermediate steps.
Identify the relationship
Partner, dependent child, parent residence or a long-term parent visitor option.
Check the supporting person
Confirm citizenship or residence, sponsorship history, income and location requirements.
Build the evidence
Relationship, living-together, financial, family, health and character evidence.
Sequence applications
Temporary and residence applications may need to be combined or filed in a particular order.
Choose the route
Active Investor Plus, Business Investor or Parent Retirement.
Trace the funds
Document ownership and the lawful source or acquisition of nominated funds.
Structure the investment
Complete due diligence and confirm the proposed investment meets the visa rules.
Transfer and maintain
Move funds through a lawful banking trail and comply with investment and presence conditions.
Age
Most skilled residence and the Business Investor route require the principal applicant to apply before turning 56. Temporary work visas generally do not use the same age limit.
Health
Health evidence depends on the visa, intended stay and personal history. Residence assessments are generally more demanding than temporary visa assessments.
Character
Police certificates and disclosure requirements vary. Any conviction, charge, deportation or immigration issue should be identified early.
English
English requirements differ across residence, work, partner and business categories. Test validity and acceptable evidence also vary.
The job search
For many skilled applicants, the job is the central link between a temporary visa and residence. The aim is not simply to secure any role, but to secure the right role on the right terms.
Make the first page do the work
- Keep the CV concise and lead with recent, relevant experience.
- Make contact details, qualifications and current role easy to locate.
- Use achievements and outcomes, not a wall of routine duties.
- Reorder and tailor the content for each position.
Cover letters
Address the employer, mirror the language of the role and explain why your experience solves the problem they are hiring for. A generic letter is easy to spot.
Prepare, but stay human
- Research the employer and the role.
- Prepare examples that demonstrate your skills.
- Arrive early, dress appropriately and check online technology in advance.
- Do not rush to fill every silence.
- Ask sensible questions of your own.
Expect more than one conversation
An initial culture and fit discussion may be followed by a technical interview, a practical task or a meeting with the wider team.
Job boards
Seek and Trade Me Jobs cover a large share of advertised roles. Use them both to apply and to identify employers in your sector.
Keep your profile current, research hiring managers and use professional networks rather than waiting for advertisements alone.
Direct contact
New Zealand is a small market. Industry associations, recruiters, former colleagues, friends and family can all open a useful conversation.
Check the visa facts, not only the salary
An employment agreement should clearly identify the parties, role, duties, work location, hours, pay, term and other employment conditions. For immigration purposes, also check employer accreditation, job-check status, occupation classification, required registration and whether the role meets the intended residence pathway.
A role can be commercially attractive but unsuitable for the visa strategy because of duties, hours, duration, location, pay structure or occupation classification.
Temporary visas
Temporary visas often create the bridge to work, study, family life or future residence. They are separate applications with their own requirements and conditions.
Visitor Visa
Visitor visas allow a temporary stay for tourism, family visits and other genuine visitor purposes. The applicant must have plans to leave, sufficient funds or sponsorship, and a credible reason for the visit.
You may look for employment while visiting, but you cannot work for a New Zealand employer without the appropriate work rights.
Remote work is different
Visitor visas applied for on or after 27 January 2025 generally allow remote work for an overseas employer or overseas clients. The work must not be for a New Zealand business or client.
Accredited Employer Work Visa
The AEWV is the main employer-linked work visa. The applicant needs a full-time offer of at least 30 hours a week from an accredited employer with an approved job check.
No general median-wage gate
The general AEWV median-wage requirement was removed in March 2025. The job must still meet the relevant market rate, minimum wage and any visa-specific threshold.
Skills still matter
Qualification, experience, occupational registration and English requirements depend on the role and skill level.
Family rights vary
Partners and children apply separately. Support eligibility and work or study rights depend on the worker's role, skill level and pay.
INZ has announced an AEWV extension for migrants needing up to 12 more months of skilled work experience for SMC. It is not available as at 9 October 2026; do not assume it will bridge an expiring visa.
International students
An international student usually needs an offer of place, tuition funding, living-cost evidence and a genuine study plan. Work rights depend on the programme and visa conditions.
Dependent children
Some dependent children of eligible work-visa holders can study at state schools as domestic students. Eligibility is not automatic and depends on the supporting parent's visa and role.
Partner work visa
May provide open work rights where the supporting person's visa and the relationship meet the relevant requirements.
Partner visitor visa
Can allow a partner to live together in New Zealand where work rights are unavailable or not needed.
Child visas
Dependent children may need visitor or student visas. School-fee status depends on the supporting parent's visa.
Parent Boost Visitor Visa
This long-term multiple-entry visitor visa can allow eligible parents of New Zealand citizens or residents to visit for up to five years, with the possibility of a second visa.
It is not a residence pathway. Sponsorship, health, insurance and financial requirements apply, and applicants must be outside New Zealand when applying.
Useful where residence is not immediate
For some families, Parent Boost offers meaningful time together while the Parent Resident queue-and-ballot process or another longer-term plan is considered.
Specific Purpose Work Visa
For a defined project, event, secondment or specialist purpose.
Post-study Work Visa
For eligible graduates who complete qualifying New Zealand study.
Working Holiday
Available to eligible citizens of participating countries, with age and duration limits.
Resident visas
The main residence streams are skilled migration, family and investment or business. Select a stream to see the principal routes.
Choose the Points-based, Skilled Work Experience, or Trades and Technician pathway. Green List residence is separate. SMC principal applicants must be 55 or younger and meet health, character and English requirements. Employment normally needs an accredited employer, at least 30 guaranteed hours weekly, and a permanent job or a term of at least 12 months. It must be genuine, available and ongoing, with a genuine need to be based in New Zealand. Contract-for-services cases have separate requirements.
Green List pathways
Straight to Residence
For a qualifying job or offer in a Tier 1 Green List occupation. Role-specific registration, qualification and pay requirements must be met.
Work to Residence
For a qualifying Tier 2 role after 24 months of acceptable New Zealand work, completed within the 30 months immediately before applying. Meet the role-specific qualification, registration and wage requirements.
Care and transport
These routes require 24 months of qualifying work within the preceding 30 months. Care roles have a sector wage threshold. Transport covers specified maritime roles; former bus and truck roles require eligibility under the pre-7 April 2024 transition rules.
Skilled Migrant Category
Submit an EOI for the pathway you qualify for, then apply under the pathway in your invitation. The residence application must be submitted and paid for within four months of the invitation. Obtain any required IQA before the EOI.
You need six points and a qualifying skilled New Zealand job or offer. Use one skill category: registration, qualification or income, with qualifying NZ work if needed. Do not combine skill categories. ANZSCO 1-3 jobs need the SMC wage threshold; ANZSCO 4-5 or unclassified jobs need 1.5 times it. Red List roles may use this pathway if eligible.
Occupational registration
Only registrations on INZ's eligible list earn points. NZ experience claimed with registration must follow registration. CPA Australia members authorised to work as Qualified Statutory Accountants are now included.
Income
Three points at 1.5 times the SMC wage threshold, four at 2 times, six at 3 times. At the $35.00 reference rate, these are $52.50, $70.00 and $105.00 hourly. Qualifying NZ work must meet the same income multiplier.
NZ work top-up
One year in the previous two years earns one point; 18 months in three years earns two; two years in four years earns three. Count backwards from the residence application date.
Qualification points in force from 24 August 2026
| Qualification | Points | Key condition |
|---|---|---|
| Doctoral degree | 6 | No supporting bachelor's required |
| NZ master's - at least 30 weeks full-time study in NZ | 6 | Bachelor's degree required |
| NZ master's - other eligible cases | 5 | No supporting bachelor's required for the 5-point claim |
| Overseas master's | 5 | Bachelor's degree required |
| NZ honours degree, PGDip or PGCert | 5 | Bachelor's degree required |
| NZ bachelor's degree | 5 | Recognised NZ qualification |
| Overseas honours degree, PGDip or PGCert | 4 | Bachelor's degree required |
| Overseas bachelor's degree | 4 | IQA or exemption normally required |
Provide qualification evidence and any required supporting bachelor's certificate and transcript. Overseas qualifications used for points require an IQA unless listed as exempt; a supporting bachelor's alone does not need an IQA. An IQA confirming only a level, without a listed qualification type, can yield fewer points. Combined degrees have specific evidence rules.
English tests normally must be no more than two years old. A person holding full occupational registration eligible for SMC points can use results up to five years old, even under another SMC pathway; the exception applies to that person.
This is a separate residence pathway based on a strong work history rather than points.
- A current job or offer in an ANZSCO skill level 1 to 3 occupation.
- Pay of at least 1.1 times the applicable SMC wage threshold ($38.50 hourly at the $35.00 reference rate); Amber List roles need 1.2 times ($42.00).
- Three years of directly relevant, full-time ANZSCO 1-3 work within the preceding ten years, gained in any country unless the Amber List rules apply.
- Two additional years of directly relevant skilled work in New Zealand within the preceding four years, paid at the required multiplier: at least five years total, without double-counting periods.
- Red List and ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5 occupations cannot use this route.
Amber List roles require three years of relevant work in New Zealand plus two additional years of skilled NZ work at 1.2 times the SMC threshold: five years in NZ in total. Relevant self-employment cannot count. Check the official Red and Amber Lists against the actual occupation, not only the job title.
- Employment or an offer in an occupation on the eligible Trades and Technician list.
- Pay of at least the SMC wage threshold.
- A relevant NZQCF level 4 or higher qualification.
- 2.5 years of directly relevant, full-time ANZSCO 1-3 work in the preceding ten years, from any country.
- 18 additional months of directly relevant skilled NZ work in the preceding three years, paid at the applicable SMC threshold. All four years must follow the qualification; periods cannot be counted twice.
NZ qualifications must total at least 120 credits, including eligible NZ prerequisite qualifications where needed; recognition-of-prior-learning credits do not count. Overseas qualifications require an IQA confirming level 4 or above, with no separate 120-credit requirement. Relevant self-employment cannot count. Use INZ's eligible occupation list.
Which wage rate applies?
The reference SMC threshold is NZD $35.00 hourly, effective 9 March 2026. With qualifying NZ experience, the rate generally dates from when that experience began. Starting within five months of a work visa grant can allow the grant-date rate. Keep meeting the applicable rate and pathway multiplier through residence; earlier rates may apply.
Without a work-experience requirement, use the rate at invitation. Six-point contract-for-services applicants have separate experience and wage tests. INZ's wage tool helps establish the applicable date.
Since 24 August 2026, Green List, Care Workforce and Transport Work to Residence have aligned wage-timing rules, including a five-month grace period. They still require 24 months of acceptable work in the preceding 30 months, at the relevant occupation's wage rate.
Do not choose the pathway by name alone
The occupation, duties, pay history, qualification, dates and age runway all need to line up. An early assessment can identify the shortest credible route and the employment conditions that must be protected.
Official references: Skilled residence pathways · Current SMC pathways
Partner of a New Zealander
Residence generally requires at least 12 months of living together in a genuine and stable relationship with an eligible New Zealand citizen or resident partner.
Temporary partner visas may be available before the 12-month residence threshold is reached.
Parent Resident Visa
The hybrid EOI system took effect on 5 October 2026: approximately 90% selected in date order and 10% by ballot. Its first selection is scheduled for 10 November 2026. The annual visa cap remains 2,500. Sponsors still need the required residence history and income in two of the three relevant tax years. Current EOIs transferred automatically; continued inclusion requires confirmation every two years within INZ's timeframe.
Parent Retirement
Requires an adult child who is a New Zealand citizen or resident living in New Zealand, no dependent children, NZD $1 million invested for four years, NZD $500,000 settlement funds and annual income of at least NZD $60,000.
Dependent Child
Residence may be available to an eligible dependent child of a New Zealand citizen or resident. Age, relationship and actual dependency require careful evidence.
Invest in and operate a business
The Business Investor Work Visa is for experienced business people purchasing and actively operating an established New Zealand business.
- NZD $1 million: standard pathway, eligible to apply for residence after three years of running the business.
- NZD $2 million: fast-track residence application after 12 months, with conditions requiring three years of operation across both visas.
- At least NZD $500,000 reserve funds.
- Age 55 or younger, at least three years of acceptable business experience, English, health, character and fit-and-proper-person requirements.
Invest in New Zealand assets
Designed for investors rather than owner-operators.
- Growth: at least NZD $5 million for three years; at least 21 days in New Zealand.
- Balanced: at least NZD $10 million for five years; normally 105 days in New Zealand, with qualifying extra-investment reductions.
- Acceptable New Zealand investments and a documented lawful source of funds.
- Different investment periods, asset classes and New Zealand presence requirements apply.
Source of funds is not an afterthought
Investor cases often turn on whether ownership, accumulation and transfer of funds can be demonstrated through a complete documentary trail. Investment advice and immigration advice should be coordinated early.
Other visa terms you will hear
Some common labels are informal, incomplete or used incorrectly. Here is what they usually mean.
Tourist visa
Usually means a general Visitor Visa. The formal visa and its conditions matter more than the casual label.
Open work visa
An informal description for a work visa not tied to one employer. Partnership, post-study and working-holiday visas can have open work conditions.
Specific Purpose Work Visa
A visa for a defined project, event, secondment or specialist reason rather than general employment.
Guardian Visitor Visa
May allow a parent or legal guardian to accompany and care for an international student child.
NZeTA
A travel authority, not a visa. It is used by eligible visa-waiver travellers and some transit passengers.
Dependent visa
Not one visa category. It is a shorthand description for partner or child visas linked to a supporting person.
Final thoughts
A migration plan has many moving parts. The smaller practical tasks matter because they reduce pressure when a visa, job or travel deadline arrives.
Prepare the practicalities
- Pet import planning
- Employment, rental and credit references
- Banking and New Zealand phone access
- Medication and supporting letters
Protect your evidence
- Keep colour scans of important documents
- Store them securely online
- Keep copies of every visa submission
- Have a trusted contact who can obtain documents at home
Leave room to adapt
Rules change, jobs change and family circumstances change. A good strategy has a clear direction without assuming every step will happen exactly as first planned.
How we view the process
Good immigration work is not simply form filling. It is the combination of policy analysis, evidence, timing, clear communication and a plan that remains workable when circumstances change.
View our introduction videos
Your next steps
The best sequence is simple to describe, even where the underlying policy is not.
Assessment
Confirm the credible visa options, the obstacles and the evidence or work experience still required.
Research and plan
Turn the visa advice into a practical plan covering job search, family visas, costs, documents, relocation and timing.
Take the leap
Once the route is viable and the preparation is done, move decisively through each application stage.
Ready to turn the guide into a personal strategy?
Complete the Turner Hopkins assessment questionnaire. One of our advisers can review your circumstances and identify the pathway and sequence that deserve closer attention.
Policy references
Official sources used for the policy updates in this edition. Requirements and thresholds can change, so check the current pages before relying on a figure.