How New Zealand immigration works

Last reviewed 2026-06-28

This lesson explains, in simple terms, how New Zealand's immigration system works, including which pathway can lead straight to residence without years of waiting. It uses information that Immigration New Zealand publishes. It is educational background, not advice about your own situation, and it does not tell you which pathway is right for you. Always check the current details at immigration.govt.nz.

The big picture

New Zealand’s immigration system groups visas into a few broad types:

• Visitor visas, for short stays.
• Work visas, for temporary employment (for example, employer-assisted work visas).
• Student visas, for study at approved providers.
• Residence visas, for living in New Zealand long term (for example, the Skilled Migrant Category and various work-to-residence pathways).

Each category has its own published rules, and those rules change over time. The published rules are the authoritative source; this course only summarises them.

The fastest published route: the Green List

Alongside those broad types, Immigration New Zealand publishes a “Green List” of specific roles it needs filled, split into two tiers. A Tier 1 role can lead straight to a residence visa once a qualifying job offer and requirements are in place, with no published wait. A Tier 2 role leads to residence after working in that role in New Zealand for a published period. Recent updates to the list have concentrated mostly on healthcare, engineering, information technology, education, skilled trades, construction and primary industries. The specific roles change as Immigration New Zealand updates the list, so the official Green List search tool and Skill Shortage List Checker are the only reliable places to check whether a specific job is currently listed, and at which tier.

How the published rules are usually structured

Most categories are described by Immigration New Zealand in three parts:

1. Who it is for (the purpose, and who can apply).
2. What you must show (documents and evidence).
3. How a decision is made (points, thresholds, or a case-by-case assessment).

When you read a category, it helps to look at these three parts separately. Our self-check tools mirror the published points and thresholds so you can add up your own attributes, but the result is your own total, not a decision about your eligibility.

What this course will not do

It will not assess your eligibility, recommend a visa for you, or predict an outcome. A Licensed Immigration Adviser can help with that, because they can look at your full, specific situation. Use the directory in this site to find one.