The Green List: the difference between immediate residence and two years of waiting

The Green List is New Zealand's answer to the question "which people do we need". It is a list of occupations, divided into two tiers, and which tier your role sits in determines whether a job offer gets you residence straight away or whether you first have to work for it for two years.

That is a big difference, and it is a difference you can steer. Hence this article.

Tier 1: Straight to Residence

If your occupation is on tier 1 and you have a job offer from an accredited employer that meets the requirements for that occupation, you apply for the Straight to Residence Visa right away. You don't have to work for it first.

What that gets you:

• residence from the moment the visa is granted, with no end date
• after two consecutive years you can apply for permanent residence, which lets you travel in and out without restriction
• the application starts at NZ$ 6,450, and 80% are decided within three months

Tier 1 generally holds the most highly qualified and scarcest occupations: medical specialists, certain engineering disciplines, senior-level IT roles, and a series of regulated professions. The list moves: occupations are added and shifted, so read it at the moment you apply and not a year earlier.

Tier 2: Work to Residence

On tier 2 the outcome is the same but the pace is different. You first work 24 months full-time in that occupation in New Zealand, within a period of 30 months, on a suitable work visa — and after that you apply for the Work to Residence Visa. That one also starts at NZ$ 6,450.

Those 24 months are no formality. They have to be in the named occupation, with an accredited employer, and at the wage that belongs to that occupation. If you switch halfway to a role that is not on the list, the clock starts again.

In 2025 ten technical occupations were added to the Work to Residence pathway. That too is a reason to look at the list again if you read it a while ago.

Your job title doesn't count — your ANZSCO code does

This is the trap most people fall into. The Green List works with ANZSCO codes: the Australian and New Zealand classification of occupations. What counts is the code that belongs to the work you actually do, not the title on your contract.

An employer who calls you "manager" while in practice you do hands-on work therefore doesn't help you — Immigration New Zealand looks at tasks, responsibilities and the level of education the role requires. The other way round it can also work in your favour: a role with a dull title may well fall under a code that is on the list.

So look up your ANZSCO code before you sign a contract, and discuss with your future employer what the job description looks like. That is a ten-minute conversation that can save two years.

What else comes with each occupation

The Green List doesn't just say "this occupation is allowed" but also under which conditions. For each occupation there are requirements for:

• qualification — which degree or which level is needed
• registration — whether you have to register with a New Zealand professional body before you may work
• experience — how many years in the profession
• pay — what hourly rate must be paid as a minimum

That registration is often the long track: it takes months and it goes through the professional body itself, not through Immigration New Zealand. So start on it early. A pleasant side benefit: a recognised professional registration earns three to six points in the points pathway, and from 24 August 2026 your language test is valid for five years instead of two if you hold such a registration.

And if you're nowhere on the list?

Then the Skilled Migrant Category is the route. Six points from education, professional registration, income or New Zealand work experience, plus a suitable job with an accredited employer. That is slower if you still have to earn the points with work experience on the spot, but it is a real road — and unlike the Canadian ranking, you know in advance exactly what is needed.