NZ Immigration Advice For Migrants

There are a range of work visa options for skilled migrants ranging from an Accredited Employer Work Visa to a Post Study Work Visa

New Zealand Immigration offers a range of temporary work visa to allow individuals to undertake work and supplement the labour force while staying in the country. Selecting the right type of work visa is important as it can influence future immigration decisions.

New Zealand work visas can be ‘employer-assisted’ (restricted to a specific employer, location and a job) or ‘open’ (allowing work for any employer and in any role). Due to the flexibility offered by open work visas, they are a popular choice but only granted in specific circumstances; such as after study completion or as a result of partnerships with New Zealanders or other work visa holders. ‘Employer-assisted’ work visas are more common and require support from employers.

Here are some key points that are relevant to all New Zealand work visas:

‘Work’ has a specific definition in immigration - it means any activity undertaken for gain or reward and that can be valued in terms of money, i.e. a payment, reward or benefit.

Breach of visa conditions is a common problem for ‘employer-assisted’ work visas due to their restricted work requirements.

Full-time employment is considered to be at least 30 hours of work per week.

Family members apply for their visas separately.

Becoming a resident in New Zealand is a goal for many, and in order to achieve residency, a person must hold one of these specific NZ resident visas.

Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) reopens from 9 November, 2022

Parent Resident Visa Category restarts on 12 October, 2022

Green List Straight to Residence Visa Launched 5 September, 2022

To learn more about each visa and discover what option is the best for you get in touch with the MyImmigration NZ team.

New Zealand is the premier choice for thousands of migrants each year to wish to study abroad.

There are different kinds of student visas available to study in New Zealand, most common are dependent student visas and international fee-paying student visas.

International Full Fee Paying Student Visa

International Full Fee Paying Student Visa include both first-time offshore students and onshore returning students. Only education providers that are signatories to the Education (Pastoral Care of International Students) Code can offer places to international students. In most cases the International Full Fee Paying Student Visa allows the holder to study full-time and the opportunity to work part-time. For these applications, a person’s bona fide (genuine intentions) and funds are very closely assessed. Immigration officers want to know why a particular course has been chosen, how this aligns to a person’s profile and that there is a genuine intent to study the course. Funds must be from a genuine source and are genuinely available to the student.

Dependent Student Visas

Dependent Student Visa are available to dependent children of certain kinds of work and student visa holders, who wish to attend school while their parents work in New Zealand. Holders of a Dependent Student Visa are treated as domestic students and are not required to pay international tuition fees.

These NZ visas can include visitor visas, work visas, or residence visas, for partners, children, parents, or grandparents.

There are different family visas available - visitor, work, residence - which are granted based on one's dependency on either a temporary work visa holder or a New Zealand resident/citizen. This range of visas is for dependent children, partners and parents to join their family in NZ.

Dependent relationships have specific rules around them, and credible evidence must be provided to meet them. A very large number of a visitor visas or work visas for partners of a worker/student visa holder or New Zealander

Dependent children visitor or student visa for worker/student visa holder or New Zealander

Parent/grandparent visitor visas

Parent resident visa

Parent retirement resident visa

To get a visitor visa approved, you will need to demonstrate you have enough funds to support yourself and everyone included in the application, and that you are a bona fide visitor with genuine intentions.

The type of visitor visa for New Zealand you may apply for depends on your purpose for staying in New Zealand.

Business Visa And Investment Visas can be your options if you want to invest or start a business in New Zealand.

Entrepreneur Work Visas

If you have a desire to start your own business or buy an existing business in New Zealand, the Entrepreneur Work Visa and Residence Visa may be the right fit for you. This three-year work visa gives you the ability to setup a new business while you reside in New Zeland, providing you meet the application criteria.

Investor Category

There are a range of visas that allow you to start a business or invest in New Zealand. If you wish to invest substantial capital into New Zealand’s economy, you may be eligible for migration under the NZ Investor Visa category - Investor 1(or Investor Plus) or Investor 2. Eligibility is based on minimum investment, as well as other factors such as the source of funds. You can only invest in acceptable investments.

If you become unlawful in New Zealand or have found yourself in an unusual or tricky situation, we may be able to help you apply to remain in New Zealand. Section 61 requests are different from other visa applications, Immigration New Zealand is under no obligation to consider these requests and they do not need to provide a reason for their decision to grant or decline the application. It is therefore very important that the application is well-structured, contains as much relevant information as possible, and is presented in a professional and convincing manner.