Once you’ve been in New Zealand for two years on a Work to Residence visa you may be eligible for residence status under the Residence from Work Category

This category is a great way to ‘upgrade’ from a temporary work visa to a residence visa. As a resident you’ll be able to stay in New Zealand indefinitely and access most publicly funded services

To be eligible you’ll need to:

• Have been in New Zealand on a Work to Residence visa for two years
• Meet health and character requirements

You’ll also need to satisfy the requirements of one of the following two pathways:

From an Accredited Employer work visa

If you were granted a temporary work visa to allow you to work for an accredited employer in New Zealand, you can apply for a residence class visa under Residence from Work (Accredited Employers) Category. These visas are known as Talent (Accredited Employer) visas.

To be eligible you’ll need to:

• Have held a Talent (Accredited Employer) Work visa for at least 24 months
• Have been employed full time for that period by an accredited employer
• Be currently employed and have a base salary of at least NZ$55,000 per year
• Hold full or provisional registration to practice in your occupation in New Zealand (if applicable)

From a Long Term Skill Shortage List work visa

If you were granted a temporary work visa to allow you to work for an employer in New Zealand in an occupation on the Long Term Skill Shortage List, you can apply for residence under Long Term Skill Shortage List Category.

To be eligible you’ll need to:

• Have held a Long Term Skill Shortage List Work visa for at least 24 months
• Have been employed full time for that period in an occupation on the Long Term Skill Shortage List.
• Be currently employed and have a base salary of at least NZ$45,000 per year
• Be aged 55 years or younger
• Hold full or provisional registration to practice in your occupation in New Zealand (if applicable).

Entry Permission Conditions

You must apply for entry permission when you arrive in New Zealand. You can do this by completing an arrival card, which you are given on the way to New Zealand.
You can be refused entry permission if:

• you don’t meet our character requirements
• your circumstances have changed since you were granted a visa
• you refuse to let us to take your photo, or provide us with your fingerprints or an iris scan, if we ask you for them.

Travel Conditions

After your visa is granted, you have 3 months to arrive in New Zealand.
After your arrival, you can travel in and out of New Zealand for up to 30 months.

Work Conditions

You have to work in the specific occupation from the Long Term Skill Shortage List, for the specific employer, and in the specific location detailed in the job offer that was the basis of your work visa application.

To manage the number of people who can apply for this visa, we usually only select a certain number of expressions of interest.

Study Conditions

You can study for up to 3 months in any 12-month period

Keep your visa in a valid passport

If you want to travel, your visa must be in a valid passport.
If your passport expires, you must apply to transfer your visa to a new passport before you can travel.
To transfer your visa, you must:

• send us your old and new passports
• complete an ‘Application for Transfer or Confirmation of a Visa
• pay a transfer fee.

Work Conditions

Once granted a resident visa, you can work for anyone you like, in any occupation you like.

Study Conditions

Once granted a resident visa, you can do any study you like.

Travel Conditions

You can travel in and out of New Zealand as often as you like until your travel conditions expire.
To travel after that, you’ll need to apply for and be granted either:

• A Permanent Resident Visa
• A variation of your travel conditions, which would allow you to return to New Zealand at a later date.

Your travel conditions will expire 2 years from the date you first arrive in New Zealand as a resident
If you’re outside of New Zealand when your travel conditions expire, your visa will expire as well.

Keep your visa in a valid passport

If you want to travel, your visa must be in a valid passport.
If your passport expires, you must apply to transfer your visa to a new passport before you can travel.

To transfer your visa, you must:

• Send us your old and new passports
• Complete an ‘Application for Transfer or Confirmation of a Visa’
• Pay a transfer fee