New Zealand Work Visas - Working in New Zealand

Intrigued by the surreal landscapes of the "Lord of the Rings" films? Many people are, and because of this Hollywood blockbuster, people from all around the world are flocking to New Zealand. Some are just vacationing, but many are looking to make New Zealand their new home. Moving out of the country is filled with paper work and red tape, so doing as much research as you can is invaluable. One of the first steps to moving to any country is learning about its permits.

A work visa is one of the most popular types of visa in New Zealand. If you planning on moving to New Zealand to work you will need acquire a work visa. The most sought after work visa is the Work to Residence, or WTR, visa.

If you manage to obtain a Work to Residence visa, then gaining permanent residence in New Zealand is a fairly simple matter. All you need to do is work in New Zealand for two consecutive years.

There are only three ways for foreigners of New Zealand to get a Work to Residence visa. These are;

·WR1 Talent (Accredited Employers)

WR2 Talent (Arts, Culture and Sports)

WR3 Long Term Skill Shortage List.

All of the above visas allow you the same privileges. The work visas will let you work in New Zealand for a total of 30 months. The visas also allow multiple entries. This means you can enter and exit New Zealand as many times as you want.

New Zealand Work Visas - Talent Visas Explained

Upon reading the list of available work visas you may have noticed that the first two are called "Talent" visas. They are both fairly similar in nature.

The majority of people looking to move and work in New Zealand will want to attain a WR1. This type of work visa is used for most job employment opportunities.

Each type of talent visa has a few requirements. Both talent visas involve the applicant to be under the age of 56. (Any foreigner over the age of 56 is considered a retiree.) The WR1 and WR2 also require you to have found an employer or nationally recognized organization that wishes to hire you. This means that you will need to have proof of employment before you start on the work permit paperwork.

The WR2 talent permit has a few additional requirements. The major additional requirement is that you must be extraordinary if your talent. You will need to prove to the immigration service that you are worth letting into the country. The country of New Zealand wants to know that you will be an asset to the work force or your chosen community.

As mentioned above, a WR1 requires proof of employment from an accredited employer. New Zealand has over 200 accredited employers in its workforce, so finding one should not prove a problem. Something to consider when job hunting is that the job must be for two years (cannot be seasonal, contract work less than two years or temporary work), be a minimum of 30 hours per week, and provide a minimum of salary of $45,000 per year. You will, more than likely, need to prove all of this when applying for the work visa. However, most of this information will be provided by the employer.

New Zealand Work Visas - Long Term Skills Shortage Visa Explained

A long term skills shortage, or LTSS, visa is just what it sounds like. It is a work visa for a skill that is in demand in New Zealand due to a shortage of professionals in the field.

You can find a list of LTSS here.

There are little to no requirements for the LTSS work visa. The only major requirement is that your skill is on the list of shortages. Unlike the WR1 and WR2 there is not currently an age limit for these work visas. The LTSS does follow the same length to permanent residence though, two years.

The only other requirement is that you have proof of your qualification for the desired job. For example, you will need to provide proof of certifications, degrees, etc. The list of individual requirements for each job is listed in the job description on the LTSS list mentioned above.