Work in New Zealand
A small market, but an unusually clear ladder: an accredited employer gets you in, the Green List can lead straight to residence, and the Skilled Migrant Category needs only 6 points.
More about New Zealand
Two catches for SA passports: no working-holiday scheme, and no English-test exemption.
See the 5 visa routesCompare countries
Degrees that travel best
18 of 23 fields rated 4 or 5
- 5 EngineeringOpen door · shortage or priority list
- 5 Quantity SurveyingOpen door · shortage or priority list
- 5 Veterinary ScienceOpen door · shortage or priority list
- 5 PhysiotherapyOpen door · shortage or priority list
- 5 Occupational TherapyOpen door · shortage or priority list
- 5 Computer Science & ITOpen door · shortage or priority list
- 5 PsychologyRecognised, paperwork only · shortage or priority list
- 5 Chartered AccountancyRecognised, paperwork only · shortage or priority list
Show all 23 fields
- 5 TeachingRecognised, paperwork only · shortage or priority list
- 5 Social WorkRecognised, paperwork only · shortage or priority list
- 4 Finance & EconomicsOpen door
- 4 Data Science & StatisticsOpen door
- 4 Natural SciencesOpen door
- 4 Agricultural ScienceOpen door
- 4 DentistryExams or bridging · shortage or priority list
- 4 NursingExams or bridging · shortage or priority list
- 4 MedicineMajor requalification · shortage or priority list
- 4 PharmacyMajor requalification · shortage or priority list
- 3 Business ManagementOpen door
- 3 Humanities (BA)Open door
- 3 Actuarial ScienceRecognised, paperwork only
- 3 ArchitectureExams or bridging
- 3 LawExams or bridging
Good to know
- Working language
- English.
- For South African passport holders
- South Africa is NOT on New Zealand's 60-country visa-waiver list, so South Africans cannot use an NZeTA and need a visitor visa in advance.
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There is no working holiday scheme with SA. SA is also not on INZ's English-exemption lists (Australia, Canada, Ireland, NZ, UK, USA only), so a test such as IELTS is needed.
- Shortage list
- The Green List (Tier 1 Straight to Residence, Tier 2 Work to Residence)
New Zealand's in-demand occupation list, split into two residence tiers.More
Fields covered include health and social services, engineering, ICT and telecommunications, construction and trades, agriculture and primary industries, science, business professionals and protective services.
- Studying there instead
- Bachelor's degrees cost roughly NZD 35,000-55,000 a year, more for medicine and veterinary science; postgraduate degrees roughly NZD 20,000-45,000 (Education New Zealand, updated March 2025).
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Student visa applicants must show at least NZD 20,000 for the first year. Post-study work right is the PSWV.
General information about published rules, not immigration advice; for an individual application use a licensed adviser in New Zealand. Researched 2026-10-07.