The passport holders and permanent citizens of other countries can migrate to New Zealand for employment purposes, this being one of the main pillars through which immigration is possible in this country. The New Zealand work visa is created based on two basic criteria, which refer to short-term employment and long-term employment.
Foreigners also have the possibility of applying for a New Zealand work visa for both visiting and working purposes, under the Holiday Work Visa program, addressed only to young persons with an age below 35 years old. The current legislation which regulates the visas used for employment purposes prescribes a wide range of visas foreigners can apply for and, in this case, we highly recommend you request extensive information from our immigration lawyer in New Zealand on the visas presented in this article.
A work visa that is available for those who want to immigrate from USA to New Zealand is the Holiday Work visa, as mentioned above. However, although the general age requirement is of 18-35 years old, for Americans the maximum age for participation is of 30 years old.
This visa grants the right to work in New Zealand for a period of maximum 12 months, out of which, 6 months can be used for participating in training and study classes.
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What is the process of obtaining a New Zealand work visa?
Regardless of the type of visa a person wants to use for immigration to New Zealand, the applicable law imposes a set of procedures, which are the same for all visa categories. It must be observed that all foreign citizens who want to work here need to apply for a New Zealand work visa suitable to their work experience, employment contract, and the category of work that the person will develop here. A work visa can offer the opportunity for permanent relocation and the New Zealand citizenship, but this depends on the type of visa obtained by the applicant.
As a general rule, a person can apply for a visa if he or she has received a job offer from a local employer, if the person’s spouse or partner already lives here, if there is a specific work program developed between New Zealand and the country where the person is a resident and other reasons that are prescribed by the local legislation.
Depending on the New Zealand work visa selected, one can also benefit from permanent residency (permanent residency can be obtained by having a New Zealand residence permit which shows that the person has spent several years in this country).
However, this option is opened only for specific types of visas, which are generally addressed to foreigners who have an extensive experience in their field or who will work under a qualification that is of high importance for an economic sector.
If you are on a visa that doesn’t grant the right to permanent residency in New Zealand and you are on a temporary visa, you are entitled to apply for an extension of the visa or a renewal, depending on the visa that you were issued with.
This right is granted under the regulations of the Immigration Act 2009, Section 79(1)c. It is necessary to do this, however, before the expiration date of the first visa.
As we mentioned earlier, there are numerous visas for employment and this is why we advise you to request professional assistance on this subject from our immigration lawyer in New Zealand, who can provide advice on the documents the applicant should submit, as well as on the fees applicable to a particular type of visa (and which are imposed by the Immigration Office). Some of the main aspects one should verify are the following:
• provide identity documents and information on the fact that the applicant meets the good character requirements;
• in some cases, one can migrate to New Zealand if he or she will pass a specific medical test;
• the applicant may also need to submit certified English translations of certain types of documents;
• the application can be done on the website of the Immigration Office, and, depending on the visa, one may need to create an account;
• considering that the foreigner applies for a New Zealand work visa, he or she should address to the Inland Revenue for the issuance of a tax number.
How many work visas were issued in 2018-2019?
The data on all the types of visas for employment is available at the Immigration Office, where one can see the number of visas issued throughout the years based on the visa category, as well as on the specific professions and qualifications that foreigners applied for. Below, we present the data for 2018-2019:
• the Talent (Accredited Employer) New Zealand work visa registered 8,744 applications (out of which 8,472 were approved);
• the United Kingdom Working Holiday Visa had 12,185 successful applications (out of 12,775 applications);
• the Working Holiday Visa for US citizens registered 4,637 approvals and 5,086 applications;
• there were 937 successful applications for visas which granted students the right to work here (from 990 applications);
• in 2018-2019, the total number of successful applications for New Zealand work visa was 242,366 (out of 257,124).
In the case in which a foreigner’s profession represents a job occupation that is on the skill shortage list, it is worth knowing that one can migrate to New Zealand under a visa that grants the right to permanent residency. However, this right is limited only to those who can obtain a job offer in New Zealand that offers a salary of at least NZ$ 45,000. You can request more information on the procedure of obtaining a New Zealand residence permit from our lawyer.
Foreign persons who want to obtain a job offer here and need assistance on the visa process are invited to contact our immigration lawyer in New Zealand for personalized advice. Our lawyer can help you prepare the visa application file and can guide throughout the entire procedure of obtaining a New Zealand work visa. Our lawyer can also assist you the steps of applying for New Zealand citizenship.
