In-Demand Jobs and the Green List Explained

We didn’t come through New Zealand’s Green List ourselves. It didn’t exist when we moved from the UK in 2014; it launched in 2022, years after we’d already found our feet. So we want to be upfront: everything in this guide is carefully researched from Immigration New Zealand’s own pages, not lived experience of applying under it. What we can bring is ten years of watching how the New Zealand job market actually treats skills shortages, plus Isaac’s own experience running a business here and employing a small team, which turns out to be relevant to one of the newest rules below.

If you’ve read anything about moving to New Zealand for work, you’ve probably seen the phrase “Green List job” thrown around as shorthand for an easy visa. It isn’t quite that simple, but it is one of the fastest legitimate routes to residence New Zealand currently offers, provided your occupation, qualifications and pay line up. Here’s how it actually works, as of July 2026.

In this article we discuss:

• What the Green List actually is
• Tier 1 versus Tier 2, and what separates them
• Representative in-demand roles across health, engineering, trades and ICT
• The qualification, registration and pay bar you need to clear
• How the Green List connects to the AEWV and the Skilled Migrant Category
• What’s changing in the Skilled Migrant Category from 24 August 2026
• Why you must always check the live list yourself
• Your questions answered

What the Green List actually is

The Green List is Immigration New Zealand’s list of occupations the country is short of workers for. If your job is on it, and you meet the specific requirements attached to that role, you can use it as a fast track towards New Zealand residence rather than working through the general points-based system everyone else uses.

It isn’t one flat list. Every occupation on it sits in one of two tiers, and which tier your job falls into determines which visa you’re aiming for, how long it takes, and what you need to prove along the way. Immigration New Zealand is explicit that Tier 1 is “the highest skill level,” and that framing matters: the Green List isn’t really about which jobs are interesting or well paid, it’s about which jobs New Zealand’s economy is currently unable to fill locally.

Crucially, being on the list doesn’t hand you a visa. You still need a genuine job offer from an accredited employer, you still need to meet the pay rate and any qualification or registration requirement attached to your specific role, and you still need to clear the standard health, character and English language bar every resident visa applicant faces. The Green List shortens the path. It doesn’t remove the gate.

Tier 1 versus Tier 2: the two-speed system

This is the part people most often get muddled, so it’s worth being precise about it.

Tier 1 occupations lead to the Straight to Residence Visa. If you have, or are working in, a Tier 1 job that meets the pay and qualification bar, you can apply for residence immediately. You don’t need to spend any time in New Zealand on a temporary visa first. You can apply from overseas, or come over on a work visa and lodge your residence application once you’re settled.

Tier 2 occupations lead to the Work to Residence Visa, and this route takes patience. You first need 24 months of full-time work experience in an eligible Tier 2 role in New Zealand, on an acceptable visa such as an Accredited Employer Work Visa, before you can apply. Immigration New Zealand looks back over a 30-month window when you apply, so the 24 months doesn’t have to be one unbroken stretch, but it does have to be genuine, paid at the required rate throughout, and in a role that qualifies.

	Tier 1	Tier 2
Leads to	Straight to Residence Visa	Work to Residence Visa
When you can apply	Immediately, with a qualifying job offer	After 24 months of qualifying full-time NZ work experience (within a 30-month window)
Visa fee	From NZD $6,450 (roughly £2,796 / US$3,741)	From NZD $6,450 (roughly £2,796 / US$3,741)
Age limit	55 or younger at application	55 or younger at application
Pay requirement	The rate set for your specific role, or the current median wage (NZD $35.00/hour) if none is specified	Same rate, maintained throughout the 24 months and at application
Processing (Straight to Residence)	80% within 4 months	Not published in the same way; depends on the 24-month clock plus processing time
Typical roles	Registered nurses and midwives, specialist doctors, senior engineers, some ICT specialists	Trades such as electricians, plumbers, builders and diesel mechanics
Leads to	Permanent Resident Visa after 2 years on the resident visa	Permanent Resident Visa after 2 years on the resident visa

Both routes end in the same place: full residence, then a Permanent Resident Visa after 2 years, then potential citizenship after 5 years as a resident. The difference is entirely about how much New Zealand work experience you need to bank before you can apply. Tier 1 says “we trust this qualification and job offer enough to skip that.” Tier 2 says “prove yourself here first.”

One detail worth knowing if you’re already partway through your 24 months: if your occupation gets removed from the Green List while you’re working towards it, the time you’ve already accrued still counts. The clock doesn’t reset because a policy review moved your job off the list.

Representative in-demand roles

The Green List runs across four broad clusters that come up again and again in reader questions: health, engineering and construction, trades, and ICT. What follows is a representative sample, not the full list, and roles shift between tiers as workforce shortages change, so treat this as orientation rather than gospel.

Health

Health has consistently been the largest and most stable part of the Green List, and almost all of it sits in Tier 1. Registered nurses and midwives are the roles readers ask us about most, alongside specialist and hospital-based roles such as anaesthetic technicians, radiologists, paediatricians and speech language therapists. Registration with the relevant New Zealand body, the Nursing Council or the Medical Council depending on your profession, is non-negotiable before you can use these roles for a visa application.

Engineering and construction

Civil engineers, structural engineers, construction project managers and quantity surveyors have featured on Tier 1 for several years, reflecting New Zealand’s ongoing infrastructure and housing build programme. Chartered membership or an equivalent professional registration with Engineering New Zealand (or the recognised body for your discipline) typically forms part of the requirement.

Trades

Trades occupy more of the Tier 2 space, which makes sense given the 24-month “prove it here” logic behind that tier. Electricians and plumbers working in general practice, project builders and diesel mechanics are the kind of roles that have appeared here, generally requiring a recognised trade qualification and, in some cases, New Zealand-specific registration or a licence to practise before you can be paid at the required rate for the role.

ICT

Software engineers, developer programmers, ICT project managers, ICT security specialists and systems administrators have all featured on the ICT side of the list, reflecting New Zealand’s ongoing digital skills shortage. Worth flagging separately: some customer-facing and support-level ICT roles, such as ICT support technicians and web administrators, sit on entirely different lists used for the Skilled Migrant Category changes below, not the Green List itself, and it’s easy to conflate the two if you’re skim-reading multiple sources.

If your occupation isn’t in one of these four clusters, don’t assume it’s excluded. The Green List also covers other specific shortages, and the only reliable way to check is Immigration New Zealand’s own Green List roles search tool, where you can filter by occupation and see the exact tier, pay rate and registration requirement attached to your specific job title.

The qualification, registration and pay bar

This is where a lot of otherwise-eligible applicants trip up, because “my job is on the list” and “I qualify for the visa” are not the same statement.

Every Green List occupation carries its own combination of requirements, and you need to clear all of them, not just one. Typically that means:

• A specific qualification, usually described against the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF) rather than your home country’s system. If you didn’t study in New Zealand, you may need an International Qualification Assessment (IQA) through NZQA to confirm your overseas qualification is equivalent, unless it’s on the exempt list (Washington Accord and Sydney Accord engineering qualifications, for example, generally don’t need one).
• Occupational registration, where your profession requires it. Nurses register with the Nursing Council, doctors with the Medical Council, engineers with the relevant chartered body, and so on. You need this registration in place before it can support a visa application, not promised for later.
• A minimum pay rate, either a rate specific to your role or, if none is set, the current median wage of NZD $35.00 an hour (roughly £15.05 or US$20.30, mid-July 2026 rates). This has to be genuinely paid, not just written into an offer letter with wriggle room.
• A genuine, accredited employer. The job must come from an employer Immigration New Zealand has accredited, be full-time, and be permanent or fixed-term for at least 12 months (or a contract structure of at least 6 months without breaks).

Contractors get an extra hurdle on some Tier 1 roles: if your work is contract-for-services rather than direct employment, you may need to show 10 years of relevant experience on top of meeting a higher wage threshold. It’s a sensible reminder that “in-demand job” doesn’t mean “no scrutiny.”

How the Green List fits with the AEWV and the Skilled Migrant Category

The Green List doesn’t operate in isolation. It sits alongside two other pieces of the system, and understanding how they connect saves a lot of confusion.

The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) is the general work visa most skilled migrants arrive on. It’s the vehicle, not the destination: you can be on an AEWV in a Green List Tier 2 role, using that time to build towards your 24 months, or you can move straight from an AEWV to a Straight to Residence Visa if your role is Tier 1 and you already meet the requirements. We’ve covered the AEWV and the wider visa landscape in our New Zealand visas explained guide, which is worth reading alongside this one if you haven’t settled on a visa route yet.

The Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) Resident Visa is the other main door to residence, a points-based system for skilled workers whose occupation isn’t on the Green List, or who prefer that route. Immigration New Zealand has confirmed a significant set of changes to the SMC taking effect from 24 August 2026, and they’re worth knowing even if you’re aiming for the Green List, because the two systems share some settings.

The headline change is a single wage threshold. Currently, SMC applicants can be asked to meet one pay rate while gaining their qualifying work experience and a higher rate when they actually apply for residence. From 24 August 2026, you’ll only need to meet the threshold that was in place when you started your skilled work experience, and maintain it, rather than clearing a second, higher bar later. A grace period also applies: if you start work within 5 months of your visa being granted, the threshold in place on the day your visa was issued applies, even if it’s risen since.

Two brand new SMC pathways launch on the same date: a general Skilled Work Experience pathway, and a Trades and Technician pathway aimed specifically at skill level 1 to 3 trades and technician roles, for people with a relevant Level 4 or higher qualification and at least 4 years of directly relevant experience, including 1.5 years in New Zealand at the SMC median wage.

Here’s the detail that matters most to us personally: self-employment will not count as directly relevant work experience under either of these two new pathways. Immigration New Zealand’s stated reasoning is about evidence quality: tax records show income, but they don’t reliably show the skill level or day-to-day content of self-employed work in a way a caseworker can independently verify. Isaac ran his own marketing business throughout our ten years in New Zealand, first as 3WhiteHats NZ, now rebranded to 3WH, employing a small team along the way, so this isn’t an abstract rule to us. Self-employment income is entirely real. We paid tax on it, built a genuine business around it, and know exactly how much skilled work goes into running one. But we can also see why an immigration system built on verifiable evidence would draw the line where it has, given how easy self-employment claims are to overstate. If self-employment is part of your work history and you’re relying on the SMC’s new pathways rather than the Green List, budget time to understand exactly what will and won’t count.

The August 2026 changes also introduce red and amber occupation lists that specifically restrict which roles can use the two new SMC pathways, covering occupations like café and restaurant managers, hairdressers, beauty therapists and some ICT support roles, where Immigration New Zealand has flagged a history of role inflation or immigration risk. These lists sit apart from the Green List’s own tiers, and it’s genuinely easy to confuse the two if you’re reading around this topic, so double check which list any advice you’re reading is actually talking about.

Why you must always check the live list yourself

We want to be straightforward about something: occupation lists like this change. Roles move between tiers, get added, get removed, or have their pay and qualification requirements adjusted, sometimes with only a few months’ notice, in response to shifting labour market data. Everything in the “representative roles” section above reflects the picture as we researched it in July 2026, cross-checked against Immigration New Zealand’s own framework and current third-party occupation trackers, but it is not a substitute for checking your specific job title on Immigration New Zealand’s own Green List roles search tool before you make any decisions, book flights, or hand in notice on a job back home.

This matters more if you’re coming from the UK or the USA, where the instinct is often to research once, thoroughly, and then act. New Zealand immigration policy doesn’t reward that approach. If you’re weighing this up from the UK, our guide to moving to New Zealand from the UK covers the wider practical picture; the equivalent for Americans is our moving to New Zealand from the USA guide. Both are worth reading alongside this one, because the Green List is only ever one piece of a much bigger decision.

Where to go from here

If you’ve found your occupation on the Green List, or you think you might qualify under Tier 1 or Tier 2, the next sensible step is lining up an actual job offer, because none of this works without one. Our guide to finding a job in New Zealand covers how the local job market actually works, from where Kiwi employers advertise to how CVs and interviews differ from what you’re used to. And if the Green List doesn’t apply to your occupation, or you’re still at the very start of working out whether New Zealand is realistic for your family, our full guide to moving to New Zealand is the best place to see the whole picture before you narrow in on visas.

We’re also putting together a new, fully updated edition of our paid moving guide, going deeper on exactly this kind of scenario planning, matching your occupation and circumstances to the fastest realistic visa route. It isn’t ready yet, but keep an eye out. In the meantime, if you’ve got a specific situation you’re trying to untangle, especially anything unusual like a contractor role or a qualification gained outside the UK or US, get in touch through our contact page. We read everything, though we always point complex cases towards a licensed immigration adviser rather than guessing.

Your questions answered

Does a Green List job offer guarantee me a resident visa? No. It gets you onto the fast-track pathway, but you still need to meet the standard health, character, English language and relationship requirements every resident visa applicant faces, and your employer must be genuinely accredited. A job offer on the list is the start of the process, not the end of it.

Can I bring my partner and children with me on a Green List residence visa? Yes. Both the Straight to Residence Visa and the Work to Residence Visa let you include a partner and dependent children aged 24 or younger in the same application, provided you can show a genuine relationship with appropriate documentation.

Can I apply for a Tier 1 Green List visa from outside New Zealand? Yes. Because Tier 1 doesn’t require any prior New Zealand work experience, you can apply for the Straight to Residence Visa from overseas once you have a qualifying job offer, or come over on a work visa first and apply once you’ve arrived. It’s your choice.

Do contractors and self-employed people qualify for the Green List pathway? Contractors on a genuine contract-for-services basis can potentially use certain Tier 1 roles, but expect a higher bar: typically 10 years of relevant experience plus a higher wage threshold than an equivalent employee would need. Straightforward self-employment, running your own business rather than contracting to one employer, generally doesn’t fit the Green List’s employer-based structure at all, and from August 2026 it’s explicitly excluded as qualifying work experience under the Skilled Migrant Category’s two new pathways too.

What if my qualification wasn’t gained in New Zealand? You’ll likely need an International Qualification Assessment (IQA) through the New Zealand Qualifications Authority to confirm it’s recognised at the right level, unless your qualification is on the exempt list, which currently includes Washington Accord and Sydney Accord engineering qualifications. Build several weeks into your planning for this step; it isn’t instant.

Is every teaching role on Tier 1, or only some? Only some. Immigration New Zealand has specifically noted that Tier 1 teaching roles under the Straight to Residence pathway are aimed at experienced teachers earning at least the median wage, not newly qualified graduates early in their careers. If that’s you, the AEWV or a Post Study Work Visa is the more realistic starting point while you build experience.

How is the Green List different from the Skilled Migrant Category? The Green List is a specific, named occupation list with its own fast-track visas (Straight to Residence and Work to Residence). The Skilled Migrant Category is a broader, points-based residence pathway for skilled workers whose occupation isn’t necessarily on the Green List at all. Some people could theoretically qualify for both and should compare processing times, fees and requirements for their specific situation before choosing.

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This article is general information based on our own research of Immigration New Zealand’s published rules in July 2026. We are not immigration advisers, and nothing here is immigration or legal advice. Visa policy, occupation lists and wage thresholds change, sometimes quickly, so always confirm the current position directly on immigration.govt.nz before making decisions, and speak to a licensed immigration adviser if your situation is anything other than straightforward. Questions about your own circumstances? Get in touch with us here.