GlobeQuest

New Zealand visas and residency

Who can visit New Zealand without a visa, and the 6 long-stay routes that let you actually live there.

Short stay

Visiting New Zealand, by passport

How the 198 passports we track get in. A visitor entry is never permission to work, study or settle — that is what the routes further down are for.

United StatesTravel authorisationUnited KingdomTravel authorisationIndiaVisa requiredCanadaTravel authorisationAustraliaFree movementGermanyTravel authorisationFranceTravel authorisationNetherlandsTravel authorisationIrelandTravel authorisationSpainTravel authorisationItalyTravel authorisationPortugalTravel authorisationPolandTravel authorisationSwedenTravel authorisationSwitzerlandTravel authorisationSouth AfricaVisa required
No visa at all

Who can simply move to New Zealand

Trans-Tasman travel arrangement

Citizens covered by Trans-Tasman travel arrangement need none of the routes below

Australian citizens are granted a free resident visa on arrival in New Zealand, which lets them live there indefinitely and work for any employer.

The resident visa ends each time you leave New Zealand unless you get a variation of travel conditions first. After 24 months on it you can apply for permanent residence.

Verified November 2026:Immigration New Zealand — Australian Resident Visa
Long stay

How you actually move to New Zealand

Work / sponsoredHigh confidenceVerified July 2026

Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV)

The main employer-sponsored route. Australian citizens and permanent residents need none of this and can live and work in New Zealand indefinitely.

What you need
  • A job offer from an employer accredited by Immigration New Zealand, with a completed job check for the role
  • Pay at least the statutory minimum wage — NZD 23.95/hour from 1 April 2026 — and the New Zealand market rate for the role
  • At least 2 years of relevant work experience, or a relevant qualification
  • Health and character requirements, including medicals and police certificates depending on visa length
How long it lasts
Duration depends on the role's skill level; renewable.
Path to permanent residence
Not automatic. Residence runs through the Skilled Migrant Category or the Work to Residence pathways, which are separate applications with their own criteria.
Cost
Immigration New Zealand publishes AEWV fees plus a separate International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy, varying by visa type and where you apply from. The schedule has changed repeatedly since 2024 — use the official fees and levies calculator rather than a quoted figure.
Processing time
Varies with the employer's accreditation status and application quality.
Worth knowing
  • The median-wage requirement was abolished on 10 March 2025 and sector agreements were removed at the same time. Any guide still quoting a median-wage threshold describes a system that no longer exists.
  • What binds now is the New Zealand market rate for the role — migrants must be paid on par with their New Zealand counterparts, which is a comparability test rather than a fixed number.
  • Employer accreditation is the real bottleneck and it is not something you can fix. Ask about it in the first interview, because many smaller New Zealand employers have not gone through it and do not realise it blocks the hire.
  • The experience requirement dropped from 3 years to 2 on the same date.
Sources:Immigration NZ — changes to the AEWV and median wage
Work / sponsoredMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

Skilled Migrant Category resident visa

Skilled workers seeking permanent residence, usually after time in New Zealand on a work visa.

What you need
  • Points claimed against skilled employment, qualifications and experience
  • From 24 August 2026, alternatively: the Skilled Work Experience pathway — an ANZSCO skill level 1–3 occupation with 5+ years of directly relevant experience, of which 2 must be in New Zealand earning at least 1.1× the SMC median wage
  • Or the Trades and Technician pathway — a Level 4+ qualification with 4+ years of post-qualification experience including 1.5 years in New Zealand at the SMC median wage
  • Health and character requirements
How long it lasts
Residence, with a permanent resident visa available once travel-condition requirements are met.
Path to permanent residence
This is the permanent-residence route. New Zealand residence leads to citizenship after the statutory residence period.
Cost
Published by Immigration New Zealand; residence applications are substantially more expensive than work visas.
Processing time
Long — residence applications take considerably longer than work visas.
Worth knowing
  • The category changes on 24 August 2026, which is weeks away at the time of writing. Two new pathways arrive alongside Red and Amber occupation lists — check which ruleset your application will be assessed under before filing.
  • Red list occupations, such as retail manager and beauty therapist, are excluded from both new pathways. They must qualify under the existing points rules instead — in practice earning 1.5× the SMC median wage or holding a higher qualification.
  • Amber list occupations, such as chef and café manager, can use the Skilled Work Experience pathway but at 1.2× the SMC median wage for their 2 New Zealand years rather than 1.1×. Note the shape of the test: 5 years of relevant experience overall, of which 2 must be in New Zealand — not 5 years of New Zealand experience.
  • Your occupation's list placement is therefore the single most consequential fact about your application, and it is new information most advisers have not absorbed.
Sources:Immigration NZ — further Skilled Migrant Category changes
Digital nomadHigh confidenceVerified July 2026

Remote work on a visitor visa or NZeTA

Remote workers paid entirely by employers or clients outside New Zealand. This is not a digital nomad visa — New Zealand has no such thing — but since January 2025 it does the same job with less paperwork.

What you need
  • A visitor visa or NZeTA applied for on or after 27 January 2025
  • Work performed for a company, employer or client that is not in New Zealand
  • Holiday or visiting must remain the primary purpose of your travel
  • Meeting the ordinary visitor visa funds and character requirements
How long it lasts
The length of the visitor visa or NZeTA. Visitor visas can often be extended, subject to the maximum continuous stay rules.
Path to permanent residence
None. This is visitor status and builds no residence entitlement whatsoever. If settling is the goal, the AEWV and then the Skilled Migrant Category is the path.
Cost
Ordinary visitor visa or NZeTA fee plus the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy.
Processing time
NZeTA is issued quickly; visitor visas take longer.
Worth knowing
  • There is no stated cap on how much remote work you may do — the condition is about who pays you, not how many hours you work.
  • You must not work for a New Zealand employer or supply goods or services to people or businesses in New Zealand. Taking on a single local client breaches the condition.
  • The remote work must stay incidental to the purpose of the visit. A stay structured entirely around working is not what the condition contemplates.
  • Tax is the separate trap: spending more than 183 days in a 12-month period makes you a New Zealand tax resident. The four-year transitional resident exemption shelters most foreign-source income, but it carves out foreign EMPLOYMENT and personal services income — which is precisely what a remote worker earns. The exemption is worth a great deal to someone living on foreign rents and dividends and very little to someone on a foreign salary.
Sources:Immigration NZ — working remotely on a visitor visa
InvestmentHigh confidenceVerified July 2026

Active Investor Plus Visa

Investors placing substantial capital into New Zealand businesses or funds, with unusually light physical presence requirements.

What you need
  • Growth category: a minimum NZD 5 million invested over a 36-month term in higher-risk investments — direct investment in New Zealand businesses and managed funds
  • Balanced category: a minimum NZD 10 million over a 60-month term across mixed investments, which since April 2025 may include listed equities, bonds and property developments
  • Presence in New Zealand of 21 days over the investment term (Growth) or 105 days (Balanced)
  • Health and character requirements
How long it lasts
Residence, tied to maintaining the investment for the required term.
Path to permanent residence
It is a residence visa, so it leads to permanent residence and ultimately citizenship subject to the usual requirements.
Cost
The investment itself plus Immigration New Zealand's published application fees.
Processing time
Case-by-case rather than queued; Immigration New Zealand publishes current volumes and does not give a service standard for this category.
Worth knowing
  • The thresholds were cut sharply on 1 April 2025 — from NZD 15 million or a weighted equivalent, down to NZD 5 million (Growth) and NZD 10 million (Balanced). Anything quoting NZD 15 million is out of date.
  • The presence requirements are remarkably light: 21 days across three years for Growth. This is a residence route that does not require you to live here.
  • Growth category demands higher-risk investment — direct business investment and managed funds — but since 1 June 2026 up to 20% of the total may be allocated to qualifying philanthropy. If you want bonds, listed equities and property developments you pay double and stay longer under Balanced.
  • New Zealand has no separate retirement visa of comparable standing, so this route absorbs much of the demand that would otherwise go there.
Sources:Immigration NZ — Active Investor Plus VisaImmigration NZ — 2025 changes to the Active Investor Plus Visa
Work / sponsoredMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

Working Holiday Visa

Young people from countries holding a working holiday agreement with New Zealand — one of the most-used routes into the country.

What you need
  • Citizenship of a country with a working holiday agreement with New Zealand
  • Aged 18 to 30, or 18 to 35 for a select few countries
  • Holiday must be the main purpose; work is intended to be secondary
  • Funds, health and character requirements
How long it lasts
Normally up to 12 months. Some schemes run longer — the UK scheme was extended from 2 years to 3.
Path to permanent residence
None directly, but it is a common first step: many people convert to an AEWV during the working holiday and then pursue residence from there.
Cost
Published per scheme by Immigration New Zealand, plus the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy.
Processing time
Generally fast for uncapped schemes.
Worth knowing
  • Some schemes are capped and open on announced dates each year, selling out quickly. Immigration New Zealand publishes the opening dates in advance — diary them.
  • The age limit is by nationality: 30 for most, 35 for a few. Check yours specifically rather than assuming the common figure.
  • It is once per lifetime for most nationalities, so spending it casually forecloses using it later as a bridge into skilled work.
Sources:Immigration NZ — who can apply for a working holiday visa
StudentMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

Student visa

Students enrolled at a New Zealand education provider.

What you need
  • An offer of place from an approved education provider
  • Evidence of funds for tuition and living costs
  • Health and character requirements, including medical insurance
How long it lasts
The length of the course, renewable as study continues.
Path to permanent residence
Not direct, but post-study work rights exist for qualifying qualifications and feed into the AEWV and then the Skilled Migrant Category.
Cost
Immigration New Zealand's published student visa fee plus tuition, which for international students is substantial.
Processing time
Varies by provider and time of year; apply well before semester start.
Worth knowing
  • Post-study work rights depend on the level and field of the qualification — not every course confers them, and this is the whole return on the investment for many students.
  • Work rights while studying are limited by hours and by course type.
  • From 24 August 2026 the Skilled Migrant Category's Red and Amber occupation lists apply downstream, so a qualification leading into a Red list occupation is a materially weaker residence bet than it was.
Sources:Immigration NZ — visas for studying in New ZealandImmigration NZ — further Skilled Migrant Category changes
On the ground

Where you'd land in New Zealand

Auckland

No digital nomad visa — because the visitor visa quietly became one. Volcanoes, black sand and four tax-free years on foreign income.

Full Auckland guide
Christchurch

Rebuilt after 2011, flat enough to cycle everywhere, and the world's main gateway to Antarctica.

Full Christchurch guide
Wellington

New Zealand's capital and its entire public service, packed between a harbour and a fault line — where you ask a building's seismic rating before you ask the rent.

Full Wellington guide

New Zealand at a glance

Capital
Wellington
Population
5.3M
Languages
English, Maori, NZ Sign Language
Currency
NZD