The English language requirement for New Zealand: who must take a test, which score, and what your family pays

Yes, for most routes to New Zealand you must show that you speak and understand English, and as a Dutch national you are not exempt. For a skilled residence visa, such as the Skilled Migrant Category or the Green List routes, the principal applicant needs an overall IELTS 6.5 or an equivalent score, taken at a test centre and no more than two years old when you apply. The finding at the source concerns your family: your partner and children aged 16 or over have a lower threshold, and if they do not reach it, you may prepay English lessons in New Zealand instead.

Who must take a test?

Situation	Language requirement
Principal applicant, skilled residence visa	IELTS 6.5, or exemption through citizenship or a degree from an English-speaking country
Partner and children aged 16 or over, skilled residence visa	IELTS 5, or exemption, or prepaid English lessons
Children under 16	no requirement
Accredited Employer Work Visa, role at skill level 3 to 5	IELTS 4
Accredited Employer Work Visa, role at skill level 1 or 2	no requirement
Partner and children of an AEWV holder	no requirement

You can meet the requirement without a test if you are a citizen of Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States and have worked or studied for at least five years there, or in Australia or New Zealand. That does not help a Dutch national. What can help: a qualification at the level of a New Zealand bachelor's degree, gained in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States, where you lived for at least two years during that study. For a master's degree or higher, one year of living there is enough. If you did your master's in England, check whether this applies to you.

Which test counts, and which score do you need?

Unlike in Canada, New Zealand accepts both the General and the Academic module of IELTS, and also the IELTS One Skill Retake. You take the test at a test centre; an at-home test is not accepted.

Test	Principal applicant skilled residence	Partner or child aged 16 or over	AEWV level 3–5
IELTS (General or Academic)	6.5	5	4
TOEFL iBT	79	35	31
PTE Academic	58	36	29
B2 First (also for Schools)	176	154	142
OET, for health professions	C+ in all four skills	C in all four	D in all four

Two years, counted to the day you apply. Your result may not be more than two years old when you submit. In New Zealand the residence application often only comes after a job, and sometimes after a period on a work visa. A test you took for your work visa may then have expired for your residence application, and the threshold is higher there too: from IELTS 4 to 6.5. So take the test at the level of the application still to come.

What if my partner does not reach the score?

Then, for a skilled residence visa, you can prepay English lessons for your partner and children aged 16 or over. You choose this option when you apply and pay only if the visa is approved; they take the lessons after arrival. The amount depends on the test score: the higher it is, the fewer lessons and the lower the bill.

IELTS score of your partner or child	Total per person
4.5 to 5.0	NZD 1,735
4.0 to 4.5	NZD 3,420
3.5 to 4.0	NZD 5,100
below 3.5, or no test	NZD 6,795

So it pays to have your partner take a test too, even if they stay below 5: without a test you pay the highest rate. The principal applicant cannot use this route.

Which residence route suits you is in the four routes to New Zealand; the order of job, test and application is at /nieuw-zeeland.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.3: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to New Zealand or go straight to step 2.3 in the open plan.