New Zealand's Green List: Straight to Residence and Work to Residence

New Zealand's fastest route to residence is not a points system — it is a job offer in the right occupation. The Green List is the government's official list of hard-to-fill roles, and it splits into two tiers with two different clocks. Tier 1, "Straight to Residence", lets you apply for residence the moment you hold a qualifying job or offer from an accredited employer — even from overseas. Tier 2, "Work to Residence", asks you to work in the role for 24 months first. Around the list sits the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), the standard temporary visa that gets you on the plane. Here is how the pieces fit together, what each one demands, and where Hong Kong and Taiwan applicants realistically fit.

This guide is educational only — rules change, so treat the official sources linked below as the authority before you act.

The Green List: one list, two clocks

The list itself is published and searchable on Immigration New Zealand's Green List pages, and it is refreshed regularly — search it for your exact role rather than trusting a blog's copy. Health, engineering, ICT and the skilled trades dominate. Each role states its own requirements: registration (the real barrier for doctors and nurses, whose overseas qualifications need assessing), a recognised qualification, or simply proven experience.

Many roles also carry specific pay thresholds, set as multiples of the median wage. From 9 March 2026 the median is NZ$35.00/hour. In Tier 2, several trades sit at 115% to 150% of median (NZ$40.25 to NZ$52.50 an hour — welders, fitters and crane operators are in this band); in Tier 1, some professions carry much higher floors, with ICT roles such as database and systems administrators at NZ$70.00 and other ICT professionals at NZ$72.80. The full tables live on the official wage-rates page.

The AEWV: the employer is the gatekeeper

Almost everyone arrives on the Accredited Employer Work Visa — the standard temporary work visa, through which accredited employers can hire migrants for up to five years. Only accredited employers can hire on it, which makes the employer's accreditation the single most important fact in your application. The wage rules attached to the AEWV have been adjusted repeatedly — the old median-wage tie was dropped in the March 2025 overhaul, and what an employer must now pay depends on the role and sector, with extra advertising and Work and Income checks for lower-paid jobs. Check the current employer accreditation rules rather than any figure quoted second-hand.

And check the employer, not just the job. Accreditation lapses, gets suspended, and gets revoked — the same quiet failure that sinks UK sponsorship applications. Read why visa applications fail for the pattern, then verify your employer's accreditation before you resign anything.

Not on the list? The Skilled Migrant Category

If your occupation is not on the Green List, the general route is the Skilled Migrant Category resident visa: a simplified system built around 6 points, claimed through a combination of New Zealand occupational registration, qualifications (bachelor's level and up — overseas degrees count), or income at multiples of the median wage — plus a skilled job or genuine job offer. You must be 55 or younger, with English, health and character requirements on top. The details are on the official SMC page.

Who this fits from Hong Kong and Taiwan

The honest New Zealand pitch: English-speaking, employer-driven, and far less crowded than Australia. There is no points auction — either your role is on the list with a live job offer, or it is not. That makes the Green List one of the fastest residence-from-offshore routes anywhere for people in health, engineering, ICT and the trades: registered nurses, civil engineers, electricians and welders can plan around a defined clock instead of a draw. ICT professionals should read the pay floor carefully — NZ$72.80 an hour is a senior salary, and the Skilled Migrant Category is often the more realistic door. For the points-based alternative next door, see Australia's skilled migration points system.

Family and the honest costs

Your partner and dependent children can generally be included in the residence application, which is part of the route's appeal for families — see moving with family for the school-age planning that follows. The trade-offs are real too: New Zealand is not cheap. Rent, groceries and insurance in Auckland and Wellington bite harder than most newcomers expect, and salaries outside the top professions are moderate. Build the real numbers before you commit — your first-year moving budget is the place to start.

The three routes at a glance

Related reading

• Australia's skilled migration points system — the points-auction alternative next door, compared honestly
• Canada's pathways for HK and Taiwan applicants — employer-driven routes on the other side of the Pacific
• How to choose your emigration route — the five-door framework if you are still comparing countries