The New Zealand skill shortage list is the easiest way to immigrate to NZ on a work visa. Most people who seek to move to another country for work usually go about it wrongly, they scour the internet looking for companies currently hiring in different positions and hope for the best.
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This is a sure-fire recipe for disaster, applying blindly for open positions in companies in different countries for instance New Zealand is a mistake, because you don’t know for a fact whether those positions are experiencing skill shortage in that country.
When foreign nationals apply for advertised positions put out by companies in tier 1 countries, in this case New Zealand, these positions must be experiencing some level of skill shortage, if not the visa and immigration services for that country will deny work visa applications for these individuals.
In this article, we are going to breakdown the New Zealand skill shortage list put out by the immigration services for NZ, so that intending work visa applicants can narrow down the province and companies within the country that they can apply to for work.
The Green List For Applicants Looking To Access The New Zealand Skill Shortage List
For foreign nationals looking to access the New Zealand skill shortage list, it is worthy of note that the green list has replaced the former in conveying to tier 1 and tier 2 role applicants the prerequisite qualifications required to apply for positions in companies in the country as a professional.
This list also informs foreign nationals how to register, the experience needed as well as skill shortage professions that offer direct paths to New Zealand residency or work to resident visa pathways. All occupations covered by the green list are currently experiencing skilled shortage in New Zealand.
Normally applying for jobs covered under the skill shortage list makes beneficiaries eligible for an essential skill work visa, which is a temporary work visa to New Zealand. However, the green list makes it possible for successful applicants to get residency by securing a direct resident visa instead of the former.
Some occupations covered by the New Zealand skill shortage green list can be found in the table below;
| Occupation | ANZSCO Code | Residence Status | Industry | Pathway To Residence | Qualification, Registration & Experience Needed |
| Anaesthetic Technician
|
311211 | Tier 1 role eligible for work to residence | Health and social services | Professionals in this role can apply for residence in 2 years after commencing work in NZ | NZ registration with the Medical Sciences Council of New Zealand.
|
Anaesthetist
|
253211 | Tier 1 role eligible for work to residence | Health and social services | To be eligible, the candidate must be working for an accredited employer or have a job offer from one. Applicants can apply in New Zealand or come on a work visa and apply. You can also apply from outside New Zealand. | NZ provisional general, general, provisional vocational or vocational registration with the Medical Council of New Zealand (a letter of eligibility for one of these forms of registration issued by the Medical Council of New Zealand is acceptable).
|
Audiologist
|
252711 | Tier 2 role eligible for work to residence | Health and social services | If you are working in this role, and are eligible, you can apply for residence after 2 years working in New Zealand. The earliest you could apply would be September 2023. | An NZ membership with the New Zealand Audiological Society is mandatory.
|
Automotive Electrician
|
321111 | Tier 2 role eligible for work to residence | Trades | If you are working in this role, and are eligible, you can apply for residence after 2 years working in New Zealand. The earliest you could apply would be September 2023. | A certificate at NZQF Level 4, or a higher qualification, which includes the credit and knowledge requirements of one of the strands of the New Zealand Certificate in Automotive Electrical Engineering (NZQF Level 4). |
Cardiothoracic Surgeon
|
253512 | Tier 1 role eligible for straight to residence | Health and social services | To be eligible you must be working for an accredited employer or have a job offer from one. If you meet all the visa requirements you can apply for a Straight to Residence Visa now.
You can apply in New Zealand or come on a work visa and apply. You can also apply from outside New Zealand.
|
NZ provisional general, general, provisional vocational or vocational registration with the Medical Council of New Zealand (a letter of eligibility for one of these forms of registration issued by the Medical Council of New Zealand is acceptable). |
Chemical Engineer
|
233111 | Tier 1 role eligible for straight to residence | Engineering | To be eligible you must be working for an accredited employer or have a job offer from one. If you meet all the visa requirements you can apply for a Straight to Residence Visa now.
You can apply in New Zealand or come on a work visa and apply. You can also apply from outside New Zealand.
|
You must have one of these minimum qualifications, registration or experience:
A Washington Accord accredited (initial) engineering degree.
A Bachelor of Engineering with Honours (NZQF Level 8).
A qualification at NZQF Level 7 or higher, with a letter from Engineering New Zealand certifying that the degree and any further learning meet the benchmark requirements towards Chartered Professional Engineer professional status in New Zealand.
NZ registration as a Chartered Professional Engineer by Engineering New Zealand.
|
Chief Information Officer
|
135111 | Tier 1 role eligible for straight to residence | ICT, electronics and telecommunications roles | To be eligible you must be working for an accredited employer or have a job offer from one. If you meet all the visa requirements you can apply for a Straight to Residence Visa now.
You can apply in New Zealand or come on a work visa and apply. You can also apply from outside New Zealand.
|
Remuneration for the employment must be $57.69 per hour or above, or the equivalent annual salary.
For Straight to Residence only, where the employment or offer of employment is based on a contract for services the remuneration must be $86.54 per hour or the equivalent annual salary and a minimum of 10 years’ work in a relevant role is required.
|
Click here to access the full green list.
Long Term New Zealand Skill Shortage List
Foreign nationals interested in moving to New Zealand for work are advised to go through the long term skill shortage list (LTSSL), which helps identify occupations where there are sustained and ongoing shortage of highly skilled workers worldwide as well as in New Zealand.
This list can be used to assess both long term skill shortage and essential skills work visa applications. Visa categories like the essential skills work visa grants applicants permission to work in New Zealand on a temporary basis.
It is worthy of note that both the long term skill shortage work visa and the essential skills work visa both closed to new applicants on the 31 October 2021 and 4 July 2022. They both were replaced by the Accredited employer work visa.
Individuals who still have a long term skill shortage work visa might need to refer to the New Zealand skill shortage list particularly if they plan on applying for another long term skill shortage work visa or long term skill shortage resident visa.
Foreigners on an essential skills work visa who plan on applying for a change in condition of their visa are required to refer to the long term skill shortage list to see how this will affect their chosen work. This list might be needed by people interested in applying for a skilled migrant visa category.
Some professions and their conditions which can be found on the New Zealand skill shortage list can be seen below:
Quantity Surveyor
This is a skill shortage profession on the construction occupation category, which through a point-based system has the capacity to offer potential beneficiaries a pathway to residency in New Zealand. There are specific criteria for eligibility that can be found below.
Criteria For Eligibility
Applicants for a New Zealand work visa are required to meet at least one of the criteria listed below;
- A bachelor’s degree at NZQF Level 7, or a higher qualification with the minimum equivalent of 360 credits, which includes the requirements of a New Zealand major in quantity surveying or construction economics
- Student or Affiliate Membership, or MNZIQS, of the New Zealand Institute of Quantity Surveyors (with an overseas degree approved by NZIQS)
- A minimum of three years’ relevant post-qualification work experience
Procurement Manager
Procurement manager is a skill shortage profession under the finance & business category, which through a point-based system has the capacity to offer potential beneficiaries a pathway to residency in New Zealand. There are specific criteria for eligibility that can be found below.
Criteria For Eligibility
Foreign nationals interested in moving to New Zealand on a work visa are required to meet at least one of these criteria, which have to had been awarded by the United Kingdom Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS);
- CIPS Level 6 Graduate Diploma in Purchasing and Supply (Professional Stage)
- CIPS Level 6 Graduate Diploma in Purchasing and Supply
- CIPS Level 6 Professional Diploma in Procurement and Supply
- A minimum of five years’ relevant work experience
Medical Laboratory Scientist
Medical laboratory Scientist, this skill shortage profession under the health and social services category, which also covers occupations such as cytotechnologist and cytoscientist also uses a point-based system to offer potential beneficiaries a pathway to residency in New Zealand. Although there are specific criteria for eligibility that can be found below.
Criteria For Eligibility
Individuals interested in moving to New Zealand as professionals under this job category are required to meet a key criterion;
NZ registration in the scope of practice as a Medical Laboratory Scientist by the Medical Sciences Council of New Zealand. A qualification in this area of absolute skill shortage is Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science (New Zealand Qualification Framework – NZQF Level 7).
Register Nurse (Aged Care)
Registered nurse is a skill shortage profession under the health and social services category, which again through a point-based system has the capacity to offer potential recipients a pathway to residency in New Zealand. There are always specific criteria for eligibility that can be found below.
Criteria For Eligibility
People interested in moving to New Zealand as professionals under this job category are required to meet some criteria;
NZ Registration in the scope of practice as a Registered Nurse with the Nursing Council of New Zealand and a minimum of three years’ work experience in adult hospital care.
Diesel Motor Mechanic
Diesel motor mechanic is a skill shortage profession under the trades category, which also covers occupations such as heavy vehicle inspector which also uses a point-based system to offer applicants a pathway to residency in New Zealand. There are specific criteria for eligibility that can be found below.
Criteria For Eligibility
Citizens of other countries interested in moving to New Zealand as professionals under this job category are required to meet certain criteria;
A certificate at NZQF Level 4, or a higher qualification, which includes the credit and knowledge requirements of the New Zealand Certificate in Heavy Automotive Engineering (NZQF Level 4) and a minimum of three years’ relevant post Trades Electrician (General) (341111) qualification work experience.
General Electrician
General electrician is a skill shortage profession under the trades category, which like the above jobs follows a point-based system and has the capacity to offer potential beneficiaries a pathway to residency in New Zealand. There are specific criteria for eligibility that can be found below.
Criteria For Eligibility
Citizens of other countries interested in moving to New Zealand as professionals under this job category are required to meet a criterion;
NZ registration as an electrician or a limited certificate as an electrician from the Electrical Workers Registration Board
Click here to access the full list of long skill shortage occupations for New Zealand.
New Zealand Skill Shortage List Per Region
There is a list that shows occupations experiencing massive skill shortage per region in New Zealand, this regional skill shortage list (RSSL) shows that there are no locals or citizens of the country available to take these positions. This is why they are being opened to the international community.
Usually in applying for the right jobs as a professional whose occupation is highlighted on the regional skill shortage list, puts the individual in good stead to be granted an essential skill worker visa when an application is submitted.
For applicants who seek to apply for an essential skill worker visa after 4 July 2022, they have to be mindful that it has since been replaced by the accredited employer work visa.
To find out which region in New Zealand has skill shortage, a comprehensive list can be accessed by clicking here.
Construction And Infrastructure Skill Shortage List
For foreign nationals who seek to immigrate to NZ to take up construction and infrastructural jobs, they are advised to first review the New Zealand skill shortage list for the construction and infrastructural sector to know if their chosen fields are experiencing any form of skill shortage.
The construction sector across New Zealand itemizes its critical skill shortages on the construction and infrastructure skill shortage list (CISSL). In the past this list was used to apply for essential skill work visa by individuals coming into the country for temporary work.
Infrastructural engineers and construction workers interested in coming into New Zealand to take up jobs experiencing some form of shortage need to access the construction and infrastructure skill shortage list by clicking here.
How Are Skill Levels On A New Zealand Skill Shortage List Classified?
Both the amount of pay offered by a job and the Australian and New Zealand standard classification of occupation (ANZSCO) version 2 are used by the immigration services to determine if a job can be classed as skilled or not. This could lead to situations were some selected jobs are treated as exceptions.
Professionals from other countries interested in taking advantage of the different levels of New Zealand skill shortage lists in other to be classed as a skilled migrant category beneficiary will have to meet the standard for both hourly, monthly and yearly earnings.
To be eligible for a New Zealand work visa under the skill shortage program an applicant must either be;
ANZSCO level 1-3, receiving pay which is at or above $25.50 an hour ($53,040/year/40-hour work week) or ANZSCO level 4-5 receiving pay which is at or above an $38.25 an hour ($79,560/year/40-hour work week) or be a recipient of a job on the list of occupational exceptions recognized by ANZSCO.
Foreign applicants are advised to ensure that they are earning at least or above $25.00 an hour ($53,040/year/40-hour work week.
Individuals who are able to apply for positions defined as skilled, could be eligible for a resident visa, however this has to be done under the skilled migrant category which itself is a point-based visa subcategory which considers things such as;
- Age
- Work experience
- Qualification
- Offer of skilled employment
There is an age restriction for foreign nationals interested in applying under the skilled migrant category. They have to be at least 55 years and under. Interested applicants must also meet the skill level for their occupation, meet the right level of English proficiency, health and character requirement.
What To Do After Analyzing The New Zealand Skill Shortage List?
The New Zealand skill shortage list does not show companies or employers in NZ that are currently hiring, it just highlights skilled shortages in different industries and fields making things clearer for an applicant in terms of what occupation is experiencing a shortage of skilled workers together the eligibility criteria for these roles.
Most people are advised to use the skill shortage list in other to find the right companies hiring globally to fill up open positions in organizations. Before applying, foreign nationals should ensure that at least one of the criteria for eligibility for the occupation undergoing shortage is met.
Conclusion
Moving to New Zealand is now easier than ever, all interested foreign nationals have to do is analyze a New Zealand skill shortage list to find out whether their chosen occupation is experiencing any form of skill shortage.
This is usually very easy to find as all jobs and openings are listed on the skill shortage list together with their Australia and New Zealand standard of occupation code and criteria for eligibility. Some occupations experiencing skill shortage offer residency in the New Zealand.
This means that instead of the regular essential skill work visa, these occupations grant applicants a resident visa and a pathway to permanent residency in just 2 years. The New Zealand skill shortage list is the easiest way to move from any country around the world to New Zealand. The beautiful part is whatever an applicant was doing in his/her country, that labor can be transferred to an employer in NZ as long as it meets the requirement of skill shortage highlighted in all 3 sheets that make up the New Zealand skill shortage list.
Did you find your job on the New Zealand skill shortage list? Was this list helpful?
