Green List Occupations NZ: Roles, Requirements, and Residence Pathways

The New Zealand Green List identifies jobs that Immigration New Zealand considers important for the country’s labor market. Green List Occupations NZ cover a range of skilled roles where qualified professionals may have clearer pathways to employment and residence. If your role appears among the Green List Occupations NZ and you meet the listed qualification, registration, pay, and experience requirements, you may have a clearer route to work in New Zealand and eventually obtain residence in New Zealand. Some Green List Occupations NZ support residence immediately, while others require qualifying New Zealand work experience first.

The list is divided into Tier 1 Green List and Tier 2 Green List roles. Tier 1 jobs may support a Straight to Residence Visa. Tier 2 jobs may support a Work to Residence Visa after the applicant completes the required period of skilled employment in New Zealand. The Green List is not a general guarantee of a New Zealand work visa, a New Zealand residence visa, or New Zealand residency. The exact occupation code, job duties, employer, wage, qualification, occupational registration, and supporting evidence must match the current instructions.

This guide explains how to read the Green List, how the two residence routes differ, which types of Green List jobs are commonly included, and how applicants can prepare for a New Zealand skilled worker visa or residence category visa. Immigration settings can change, so check the live Immigration New Zealand pages before making a visa application.

What the New Zealand Green List Means for Migrants

The Green List is a labor-market tool, not simply a ranking of prestigious professions. It identifies jobs we need people for and separates those jobs into tiers based on the policy route available to the worker. A person whose occupation is listed still needs to prove that the actual job is the listed role and that every Green List requirement is met.

Green List Jobs and the Two Tiers

Tier 1 Green List roles are generally the most direct immigration pathway among Green List Occupations NZ. A person with a Tier 1 job may apply for a Straight to Residence Visa if their role is included in the eligible Green List Occupations NZ, they have a job or job offer from an accredited employer, and they meet the required pay, qualification, registration, English, health, character, and other conditions. For many applicants exploring Green List Occupations NZ, Tier 1 can provide a more direct route to residence. The applicant can apply from inside or outside New Zealand when eligible.

Tier 2 Green List roles follow a work-and-residence pathway. The worker normally needs to complete 24 months of qualifying full-time employment in New Zealand before applying for a Work to Residence Visa. The job must remain eligible, the applicant must hold an acceptable visa, and the work must be paid at or above the applicable wage rate .

The tiers should not be confused with a general skill ranking for every immigration purpose. Tier 1 is associated with Straight to Residence and Tier 2 with Work to Residence. A role’s tier can affect the applicant’s residence pathway even when the job is highly skilled and in demand.

Why the Exact Role and Code Matter

The Green List uses occupation names and, in many cases, ANZSCO occupation codes. Immigration officers look beyond a job title. They may examine the employment agreement, job description, work responsibilities, qualifications, pay, employer, and evidence that the job is genuinely being performed.

For example, an employer may advertise a “project manager” position, but the actual duties may not match the Green List occupation or its required qualification. Likewise, a worker with an engineering degree may not qualify under an engineering role if the job duties are primarily administrative. The eligible Green List role must correspond with the real work.

Applicants should identify the occupation code before accepting a job offer. They should also check whether the role requires occupational registration, a particular qualification, a wage rate, or relevant work experience. Using a similar title from an old list can lead to the wrong immigration pathway or a declined application.

Tier 1 Green List and Straight to Residence

A Tier 1 role can provide one of the more direct skilled migration New Zealand routes within Green List Occupations NZ. For applicants researching Green List Occupations NZ, it is important to understand that Tier 1 status does not eliminate ordinary immigration requirements. Instead, eligible workers in qualifying Green List Occupations NZ may apply for a residence visa without first completing the 24-month Tier 2 work period.

Straight to Residence Visa Eligibility

The Straight to Residence Visa is available to an applicant aged 55 or younger who is working in, or has a job offer for, a Tier 1 Green List job with an accredited employer. The job must meet the Green List requirements and generally must be permanent or fixed-term for at least 12 months, or be based on contracts that meet the required duration .

The worker must be paid at least the rate specified for the role. If the Green List does not specify a role-specific rate, the current applicable median wage may apply. The applicant must also meet the listed qualification requirements, registration requirements, and any job-specific conditions. A skilled job alone is not enough if the qualification or registration evidence is missing.

The visa can allow the applicant to live, work, and study in New Zealand indefinitely. A partner and dependent children aged 24 or younger may generally be included, subject to relationship, health, character, and other requirements. After holding the resident visa for the required period and meeting the relevant conditions, the applicant may later apply for a Permanent Resident Visa.

Tier 1 Roles and Evidence

Tier 1 Green List roles include occupations across areas such as healthcare, engineering, construction, education, information technology, science, and other professional fields. The full list changes over time, and not every occupation in a broad industry is included. Some roles have detailed requirements covering professional registration, a specific degree, a salary, or an approved qualification pathway.

For instance, engineering roles may require a Washington Accord or Sydney Accord accredited degree, a New Zealand Qualifications Framework qualification, a letter from Engineering New Zealand, or New Zealand registration as a Chartered Professional Engineer or Engineering Technologist. Construction roles may require a relevant bachelor’s degree, graduate diploma, diploma, or professional membership. These examples show why applicants must read the occupation row rather than rely on the industry label .

Evidence can include an employment contract, signed job offer, employer letter, job description, qualification certificate, academic transcript, registration certificate, professional membership record, and proof of pay. Overseas documents may need an International Qualification Assessment or other verification. The evidence should be consistent across the work visa and residence application.

Tier 2 Green List and Work to Residence

Tier 2 roles can provide a valuable work and residence pathway for skilled workers who need time to build New Zealand work experience. The route is not immediate residence. It requires the applicant to complete a qualifying employment period and retain evidence that every month counted meets the rules.

The 24-Month Work Requirement

To apply for a Work to Residence Visa, the applicant generally must have worked in New Zealand in a Tier 2 Green List job for at least 24 months during the 30 months immediately before applying. The work must be full-time and performed on an acceptable work visa or another permitted status. The current job or job offer must be full-time, Tier 2, held with an accredited employer, and permanent or fixed-term for at least 12 months .

The 24 months may be completed in separate periods. For example, two periods of 12 months may count if each period meets the requirements and falls within the relevant 30-month window. If the applicant changes employers, the new job must also satisfy the Green List and wage rules. This is especially important to review alongside the latest Immigration Policy Changes NZ 2026. If the role is removed from the Green List after qualifying work begins, the time may still count under the applicable instructions, but applicants should verify the current rule before relying on it.

The work experience must be paid at or above the wage rate that applied when the applicant started counting the experience. A later increase in the median wage does not necessarily invalidate earlier qualifying work if the applicant continues to meet the applicable rate. If pay falls below the relevant rate or the visa ends, the period may stop counting .

Tier 2 Qualifications and Registration

Tier 2 applicants must meet the job-specific qualification, registration, and wage conditions listed for their occupation. The Green List may require a relevant Level 4, Level 6, Level 7, or higher qualification, a professional registration, or a particular amount of work experience. A qualification that is useful for employment may not be the relevant qualification for immigration purposes.

Applicants with overseas education may need an International Qualification Assessment from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. Some qualifications are exempt, including qualifications on the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment and certain Washington Accord or Sydney Accord engineering qualifications . Applicants should obtain the IQA early because processing and document verification can affect a residence application timeline.

Occupational registration is separate from qualification recognition. In New Zealand, some jobs cannot legally be performed unless the worker is registered with the correct authority. Nurses, teachers, engineers, electricians, plumbers, surveyors, and other regulated professionals may need registration before applying for a work visa or relying on the role for residence. Immigration New Zealand advises applicants to contact the relevant registration authority because registration requirements can change .

Green List Occupations and Common Skilled Fields

The Green List contains roles across several sectors. It is designed for skilled workers New Zealand employers need, including people in skilled occupations and selected eligible occupations with clearly defined occupational requirements. The list is not a complete list of all in-demand jobs New Zealand has, and an occupation’s presence does not remove the need to satisfy the detailed conditions. Still, the categories can help skilled professionals understand where eligible roles are often found.

Healthcare, Education, Engineering, and Construction

Healthcare roles may include doctors, nurses, midwives, medical specialists, and other health professionals, depending on the current list and registration rules. These applicants often need New Zealand occupational registration, evidence of qualifications, and proof that the job is at the correct level. A foreign-trained professional may need registration assessment before applying for a New Zealand work visa.

Education roles can include certain teachers and specialist education professionals. Some teaching roles have additional conditions about experience and pay. The Straight to Residence route is not intended to treat every newly graduated teacher as immediately eligible; experienced teachers may need to meet the role’s wage and registration requirements.

Engineering and construction roles may include civil, structural, electrical, mechanical, chemical, environmental, and other engineers, along with construction project managers, quantity surveyors, surveyors, engineering technicians, and related occupations. Requirements can specify a bachelor’s degree, a diploma, professional membership, Chartered Professional Engineer status, or an Engineering New Zealand assessment.

Construction applicants should check whether their role is actually a Green List occupation rather than assuming that every construction job is eligible. A skilled occupation may instead fit the Skilled Migrant Category, Trades and Technician pathway, or another immigration pathway if it does not meet the Green List requirements.

Information Technology, Science, and Other Skilled Roles

Green List roles may also appear in information technology, science, telecommunications, and technical occupations. A job in software, data, networks, or cybersecurity must still match the relevant occupation definition and any qualification or salary requirement. Employers should ensure that the job description reflects the actual skilled work and that the offer is for a genuine position based in New Zealand.

The list can include professional and technical occupations with different requirements. Some occupations may rely mainly on a recognized qualification, while others may require registration, Employer Accreditation, a salary above the median wage, or specific work experience. A person should not assume that a general computer science degree automatically satisfies every information technology role.

The most reliable process is to search the official Green List by job title and then compare the occupation code, tier, qualification, registration, pay, and experience conditions. If the job is not listed, the applicant may still qualify through the Skilled Migrant Category, an Accredited Employer Work Visa, a care or transport sector pathway, or another New Zealand immigration route.

Green List Eligibility, Qualifications, and Employer Rules

The Green List requirements combine personal evidence with employer and job conditions. Applicants should treat the pathway as a complete package rather than focusing on one qualification or a favorable job title.

Qualification, Registration, and Work Experience Requirements

The relevant qualification must be the qualification specified for the role or one that Immigration New Zealand accepts as comparable. The New Zealand Qualifications Framework, commonly called the NZQF, is used for many qualification requirements. The Green List page states that listed qualifications are based on the NZQF unless the occupation row says otherwise .

Applicants may need to provide a qualification certificate, academic transcript, IQA, registration decision, professional membership, or evidence of relevant work experience. Relevant qualifications should connect to the occupation. Relevant work experience should match the duties and skill level of the job. General experience in the same industry may not be enough.

For regulated occupations, occupational registration may be a legal requirement before the worker can practice. The registration authority may assess education, supervised practice, English, exams, competence, and professional history. An immigration officer may require proof that the registration is current and applies to the offered role.

The applicant must also satisfy the general New Zealand immigration requirements for health, character, identity, English, and genuine employment. A residence visa may be refused even when the occupation is on the Green List if the application contains false information, missing evidence, or an employment arrangement that is not genuine.

Accredited Employers, Pay, and Genuine Employment

The employer must generally be accredited under the Accredited Employer Work Visa policy. The job offer should identify the position, duties, location, hours, duration, and pay. Immigration New Zealand may check whether the job is genuine, available, ongoing, and genuinely needed in New Zealand.

The applicant must be paid at the rate specified for the Green List role or the applicable median wage when no specific rate is listed. Pay should be shown in the employment agreement and supported by payslips, bank statements, tax documents, and employer records. This is also important for applicants comparing Green List pathways with a seasonal work visa, as different visa categories can have different employment and wage conditions. Unpaid work, unclear deductions, or a salary that exists only on paper can create problems.

Applicants should be cautious about job offer scams. An employer or agent who asks a migrant to pay for a job, promises residence without checking the Green List conditions, or offers a role that does not match the actual duties may expose the worker to immigration fraud concerns. The New Zealand skilled worker visa process depends on genuine skilled employment, not only a signed offer.

Applying for a Green List Residence Pathway

A careful application begins before the visa form is submitted. The applicant should identify the role, tier, employer, qualification, registration, wage, and experience requirements. The file should then be built around those requirements with clear and consistent documents.

A Practical Green List Application Checklist

First, confirm that the job is listed and identify the correct ANZSCO code. Second, determine whether it is Tier 1 or Tier 2. Third, check whether the employer is accredited. Fourth, compare the offered wage with the role-specific rate or applicable median wage. Fifth, confirm the qualification requirements and begin an IQA or registration process if necessary.

For a Tier 1 application, confirm that the Straight to Residence Visa requirements are met at the time of application. For a Tier 2 application, record the date qualifying work begins, the visa held, the employer, the hours, the wage, and any periods when the job or pay did not meet the requirements. Keep copies of every employment agreement, payslip, tax record, roster, leave record, job description, and employer letter.

The applicant should prepare identity documents, health evidence, police certificates, English evidence, qualification records, registration records, relationship evidence, and dependent-child documents when relevant. A partner and dependent children may have their own health, character, English, and relationship requirements.

Green List Pathway Limits and Long-Term Planning

The Green List is a residence pathway, not an automatic approval system. A job can be removed from the list, a wage rate can change, an employer can lose accreditation, or the applicant’s duties can change. Applicants should check the current list and immigration instructions before changing jobs or submitting an application.

A Green List residence visa can be a pathway to New Zealand residency and later a Permanent Resident Visa, but applicants must follow the conditions of the visa. Residence is also different from citizenship. Physical presence, character, and other citizenship rules apply separately. A worker who intends to stay long term should plan for registration renewal, qualification evidence, tax obligations, travel conditions, family needs, and future residence requirements.

The Green List remains one of the clearest immigration pathways for eligible skilled professionals. Tier 1 may provide a direct route through the Straight to Residence Visa. Tier 2 may provide a work-to-residence route after 24 months of qualifying employment. In both cases, success depends on the exact role, genuine skilled employment, accredited employer, pay, qualifications, registration, and evidence.