Wondering whether you can move to New Zealand to work on a long-term basis? This guide for expats outlines the key things you need to know about the Straight to Residence pathway and whether you could be eligible.
Many people choose to move to New Zealand for its stunning landscapes, welcoming culture and excellent healthcare systems – but it can be a difficult pathway for expats.
The ease with which you can move to New Zealand on a long-term or permanent basis depends on your personal circumstances, and there are three main immigration routes:
We spoke to one of our experts, Nicola Crome, about the skilled pathway to New Zealand residency – specifically, the Straight to Residence visa via Green List roles.
The Green List is a list of ‘in-demand’ roles created by the New Zealand government. There are currently over 160 roles on the Green List, which is split into two tiers:
If you’re working in an occupation on the Tier 1 Straight to Residence pathway, you will have the fastest route to residence of all the New Zealand Resident visas.
For example, if you are a GP in the UK and get a job offer in New Zealand, provided your job offer meets the criteria for the visa and you meet the requirements for the Green List, you will be able to follow the Straight to Residence pathway.
You will need to get occupational registration for many Tier 1 roles. Using the GP example again, this would mean registering with the Medical Council of New Zealand. Alternatively, you might have to meet specific requirements in terms of your qualifications, work experience or salary.
The average Straight to Residence visa processing time is very quick, on average around two months and sometimes as quickly as two weeks.
To be eligible for the Work to Residence pathway, you must have a job offer for a Tier 2 occupation and meet the requirements specified in the Green List under Tier 2.
On this pathway, you need to apply for a New Zealand work visa first, which will allow you to enter the country and begin working. After you have worked for two years in that role, you can apply for a Work to Residence visa.
If you have a Straight to Residence visa, you can take your partner and dependent children with you.
For your partner to be able to move to New Zealand with you, the rules are:
Dependent children up to the age of 24 can also be included in your application for residence. The exact criteria for being considered dependent varies by age. For example, if you have an older dependent child (aged 21 to 24), they will need to be single, cannot have children of their own, and need to be substantially financially dependent on you to be able to move to New Zealand with you.
When your partner and dependent children move to New Zealand with you on a Straight to Residence visa, they will have the same rights as a resident. For example, your partner can work or study in New Zealand, and your children can go to school or university where they'll be treated as domestic students.
The Straight to Residence visa is a Resident Visa rather than a Permanent Resident Visa. It comes with travel conditions that allow you to travel to and from New Zealand for two years.
After two years, you can apply for permanent residence as long as you've shown commitment to New Zealand, such as by being present in the country for at least 50% of the time in each of those two years. Once you are granted a Permanent Resident Visa, all travel conditions are lifted.
In addition to having a job offer for a Tier 1 Green List role, there are a number of requirements you will need to meet for a Straight to Residence visa:
Additionally, your Tier 1 job offer must meet certain requirements:
This is not an exhaustive list, and additional criteria may be specified that you will need to be able to demonstrate in your application.
To apply for your Straight to Residence visa, you'll need identity documents, such as your passport and birth certificates. You'll also need to provide:
*As mentioned earlier, if your partner is moving to New Zealand with you, you will need to provide significant documentation about your relationship to prove it's a genuine relationship and that you have been living together for the required amount of time.
The Straight to Residence visa is a streamlined route to residence in New Zealand. It's been designed to get the people New Zealand needs over there in the quickest possible time, so speed is one of the main advantages. The entire visa process can take as little as two weeks in some cases, though it averages around two months and may take longer depending on the specifics of your application.
As well as being fast, the Straight to Residence pathway means you skip the process of having to apply for temporary visas for yourself and your family – which saves a lot of time and money. You can apply for residence directly from overseas, and you don't have to work in New Zealand for a number of years before you become a resident.
It also gives you security. Many people are reluctant to leave their home country and uproot their family if they don't know whether the move is going to be permanent. With the Straight to Residence visa, you can be assured you've got resident visas for the whole family before you even leave your home country.
The average processing time is currently two months (as of May 2025), but it can be as little as two weeks or up to four months.
Uprooting your life and moving to New Zealand is a huge commitment for anyone, particularly if you're taking family with you – and it’s something you really don’t want to get wrong.
If you've got a job offer and an employer waiting for you to start, you want to be able to move out there in the fastest possible time. You don’t want to risk losing that job offer because of delays with your visa application and processing.
As a first step, an immigration advisor will check that your job offer actually meets the requirements of the Green List, and also that your skills, work experience and registration comply with the requirements for this pathway.
An advisor will also be able to thoroughly assess your eligibility and highlight any potential stumbling blocks you might encounter along the way, whether due to your health, your character, your relationship, or anything else. If they identify any issues, they will work out a plan to navigate this in order to ensure a smooth application. They will also work with you to pull together all required documents for you and your family, providing a comprehensive checklist of everything you need to obtain and where to find it all.
Once you've pulled everything together, they can also write an application and cover letter on your behalf, detailing your case for a visa to Immigration New Zealand (INZ). They will also be able to liaise with INZ for you, saving you time and stress – so you can start your new life in New Zealand as quickly as possible.
