New Zealand is notable for career development, providing job security and ensuring an optimum work-life balance. The island country offers a vast range of opportunities to foreign nationals (such as Indians), bringing skills and experience and utilising this in New Zealand’s growth.
As an Indian, if you are willing to be a part of New Zealand’s growth and ensure a perfect work-life balance, you must obtain a New Zealand work visa first.
The following sections discuss the availability of various types of New Zealand work visa for Indians, the eligibility and application process and many more.
A New Zealand work visa is an official document that allows foreign nationals, such as Indians, to work in New Zealand.
New Zealand offers a diverse range of work visas. Though all of them are temporary, some work visas can help foreign nationals secure a residence permit.
Foreign nationals can apply for Essential Skills work visa if they have the specialist skills that the country is looking for. However, they must fulfil certain conditions, such as:
Please note that the visa durations and conditions depend on the term of the job offer and labour market conditions. In addition, salary also plays a crucial role in deciding the visa duration and conditions.
With Essential Skills work visas, two cases can happen. First, the applicant’s occupation is on a skill shortage list and vice versa. Read on to learn about this in detail.
When foreign nationals have a full-time job offer and the occupation that is on one of the skill shortage lists, then they can apply for an Essential Skills work visa. Foreign nationals must fulfil the criteria regarding qualifications and experience as specified.
Here, employers need not provide proof that they tried to recruit New Zealanders as INZ checks the skill shortage lists regularly.
If foreign nationals have a full-time job offer and the occupation is not listed on a skill shortage list, they still have the chance of applying for an Essential Skills work visa. This is applicable if there is an absence of suitable New Zealanders.
However, an employer must prove the following things,
As stated earlier, individuals who have an Essential Skills work visa can secure enough points and get a residence visa under the Skilled Migrant Category.
Work to Residence visa permits foreign nationals to work in New Zealand temporarily and apply for Residence from this Work Visa.
To apply for a Work to Residence visa, foreign nationals need to have a minimum of 24 months in a job.
There are two sub-types of Work to Residence visas. These are as follows:
Work to Residence Visa: Long Term Skill Shortage Work Visa
Foreign nationals can apply for this kind of visa under the following conditions:
Work to Residence Visa: Talent (Accredited Employer) Work Visa
Foreign nationals can apply for a Talent (Accredited Employer) work visa under the following conditions:
Apart from this, there is an Entrepreneur Work Visa. Read the following section to learn about this in detail.
Note: The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV, a new temporary work visa) will replace the Long Term Skill Shortage List Work Visa and the Talent (Accredited Employer). It will come into effect on 4th July 2022.
This visa is available for individuals who want to establish their own business in New Zealand.
For this, entrepreneurs need to submit a detailed business plan and invest a minimum of NZ $100,000 in their business. They must be able to claim 120 points on the points scale.
If individuals obtain an Entrepreneur Work Visa, they can purchase or establish a business without living in New Zealand permanently.
In addition, they can include their partner and dependent children (aged 19 and or below) in their visa application.
Before applying for an Entrepreneur Work Visa, foreign nationals need to consider certain things. These are as follows:
The requirements for a New Zealand work visa for Indian citizens are as follows:
Online Process
Step 1: Individuals can apply for New Zealand work visa online at the official website of New Zealand Immigration.
Step 2: Here, individuals can apply for a particular work visa type and upload supporting documents. Next, individuals will be issued an e-Visa.
Step 3: The website features a guide option where individuals can get complete guidance on the visa application. New Zealand works visa applicants must read this guide for further assistance.
Currently, the majority of applications are on hold due to the global pandemic situation.
Offline Process
Step 1: Download the application form from the official website.
Step 2: Select the visa type, in this case, work visa.
Step 3: Now, fill in the visa application form.
Step 4: Submit it along with appropriate documents to the relevant authority. Moreover, pay the visa fee as well.
Following is a list of documents that New Zealand works visa applicants must submit:
50%, 75%, and 90% of Essentials Skills work visa applications take 38 days, 74 days and 5 months, respectively, to process.
The processing time of an Entrepreneur Work Visa is 12 to 16 months.
In general, the visa application can take 3 months to 7 months depending on the type of work visa, embassy rules, applicant profile etc.
Refer to the table mentioned below to know the New Zealand work visa fees in Indian rupees.
|
Types of Work Visa |
Fees for Visa |
|
Essential Skills Work Visas |
$440 + Immigration Cost -$55 |
|
Entrepreneur Work Visa |
NZ$ 3,340+ Immigration cost - NZ$38 |
Various reasons can result in New Zealand work visa rejection. These are as follows:
Now that we know how to apply for New Zealand work visas for Indians, its crucial to keep in mind the eligibility parameters, changes in rules, and limitations in the issuance.
Please try one more time!
Disclaimer -
Your policy is subjected to terms and conditions mentioned in your policy schedule and policy wording. Please go through the documents carefully.
The information mentioned here about the countries, visa fees and others is taken from different sources. Digit Insurance is not promoting or recommending anything here. Please verify the same before you book your tickets, apply for a visa, buy a travel policy or make any other decision.
