Immigration New Zealand have opened a new Straight to Residence application pathway which allows migrants with a job or job offer in specific approved occupations to make a direct application for residence from overseas, assuming the job offer is for a minimum of 12 months, for at least 30 hours per week and that you are 55 years of age or under.
“The Straight to Residence pathway provides an incentive for migrants who have skills in hard-to-fill, nationally significant roles that New Zealand needs to speed up our economic growth,” Michael Wood, NZ’s Immigration Minister said. “This new pathway offers potential migrants, like health practitioners, engineers, construction and infrastructure workers, and IT professionals more certainty. The streamlined process makes it easier for employers to attract and hire people that will help address shortages in these highly skilled areas.”
This new pathway provides a direct route to residence prior to arrival in New Zealand for General Practitioners, Resident Medical Officers (Registrars) and a number of medical Specialists that have been granted eligibility for registration with the Medical Council of New Zealand in either a Provisional General or Provisional Vocational scope of practice. You can include your partner and dependent children aged 24 and under in your residence application.
You can review INZ’s Green List and the Tier 1 occupations that have access to this new application pathway here: Green List roles | Immigration New Zealand
This is one of three new residence pathways introduced as part of the NZ Government’s immigration rebalance and two further pathways to residence will open to application from Sep 2023. For those ineligible to make an application under the Straight to Residence pathway, there will be opportunities to make an application for residence after 2 years working in New Zealand in the approved occupation on an Accredited Employer Work visa.
You can find more information on the Straight to Residence pathway here: Information about : Straight to Residence Visa | Immigration New Zealand
You can also get in touch with our inhouse licensed immigration adviser, Gemma Evans (gemma@headmedical.com), who would be happy to review your eligibility for professional registration with the MCNZ and the Straight to Residence visa and discuss how we might be able to assist you in securing a suitable offer of employment in New Zealand.