New Zealand’s Green List covers selected jobs in healthcare, education, engineering, technology, construction and trades. Tier 1 can allow you to apply for residence with a qualifying job or job offer. Tier 2 generally requires 24 months of qualifying work in New Zealand first. The table below groups examples by type of work; a similar job title alone does not establish eligibility.
Selected examples, not the complete occupation list. Checked on 6 September 2026 against Immigration New Zealand’s Appendix 13, effective 9 March 2026. Every row also depends on the relevant visa’s employment and pay rules.
| Type of work · examples | Tier | Key occupation requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing and midwifery: registered nurses, nurse practitioners, midwives | Tier 1 | New Zealand professional registration. |
| Medicine and allied health: general practitioners, specialist doctors, physiotherapists, occupational therapists | Tier 1 | The listed registration or eligibility evidence for the exact occupation. |
| School teaching: primary, intermediate and secondary teachers | Tier 1 | Teaching Council registration and a provisional or full practising certificate. |
| Engineering: civil, structural, electrical and mechanical engineers; listed engineering technicians | Tier 1 | An accepted qualification, professional recognition or registration route. |
| Construction: construction project managers, project builders, quantity surveyors, surveyors | Tier 1 | Match the exact occupation and its qualification or professional requirements. |
| Technology: software engineers, developer programmers, software testers, information and communications technology (ICT) security specialists | Tier 1 | Occupation-specific pay thresholds; contractor rules can differ. |
| Business: external auditors and internal auditors | Tier 1 | The specified auditor pay threshold. |
| Science and animal health: food technologists, environmental research scientists, veterinarians | Tier 1 | Relevant qualifications for scientists; New Zealand registration for veterinarians. |
| Education: registered early childhood teachers, school principals, special needs teachers | Tier 2 | Teaching Council registration and a provisional or full practising certificate. |
| Electrical and plumbing trades: general electricians, plumbers, drainlayers, gasfitters | Tier 2 | The occupation’s New Zealand registration or licensing conditions. |
| Vehicle maintenance: automotive electricians, diesel motor mechanics, general motor mechanics | Tier 2 | Specified trade qualifications or an expressly accepted alternative. |
| Metal trades: metal fabricators, welders, fitters, fitter-turners, metal machinists (first class) | Tier 2 | Higher occupation-specific pay during the qualifying work period. |
| Vehicle body work: panel beaters and vehicle painters | Tier 2 | Higher occupation-specific pay during the qualifying work period. |
| Construction operations: building associates, crane operators, excavator operators | Tier 2 | Role-specific pay; crane operators also need the specified crane qualification. |
| Telecommunications: telecommunications technicians | Tier 2 | The listed qualification or higher-pay alternative. |
| Dairy farming: dairy farm managers, assistant managers and herd managers | Tier 2 | At least 3 years of relevant commercial-farm experience. |
Use the official occupation entry to check the exact duties, occupation code and all requirements. A Green List entry is not a live vacancy or a guarantee that employers will recruit from overseas.
Older Green List summaries can be misleading. Secondary school teachers moved to Straight to Residence on 1 May 2024; primary and intermediate teachers followed on 26 March 2025. Registered early childhood teachers remain in Tier 2, as do the listed special education roles and school principals. “Teacher” is therefore too broad a category to determine a route.
Ten trades joined Work to Residence on 18 August 2025, including welding, fitting, metal fabrication and vehicle body work. These additions have occupation-specific pay conditions. A trade appearing on the list does not mean every offer in that trade will qualify.
For applicants trained in China, check professional recognition before assuming your qualification fits. A Chinese nursing or teaching credential does not itself establish New Zealand registration. An overseas qualification may need an International Qualification Assessment (IQA) from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority; exemptions and occupation-specific alternatives must be checked.
Match your actual duties to the official occupation entry, then compare your evidence with its qualification, registration, experience and pay conditions. For example, a telecommunications engineer is a Tier 1 occupation, while a telecommunications technician is Tier 2.
For Straight to Residence, the qualifying job must be with an accredited employer and normally provide at least 30 hours a week, with permanent employment or a fixed term of at least 12 months. Some contracts for services can qualify under separate conditions. Meet the rate specified for the occupation, or the applicable median-wage requirement where no rate is listed.
For Work to Residence, check both your current job or offer and the full qualifying work period. Time starts counting only when the visa, job and pay conditions are met. Keep employment agreements, job descriptions and pay records; changes of job or pay can affect which months count. Both pathways lead to a resident visa; a Permanent Resident Visa is a separate later application.
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