New health and driving roles added to the preferential residence schemes

Monday 22 May, 2023

In a response to growing demands from employers, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has added additional roles in the health and transport sectors to the two newest residence visa schemes.

Thirty-Two health roles have been added to the Green List, offering a straight to residency pathway for migrant health professionals in these roles.

Migrants who meet the green list criteria can apply for a Straight to Residence (STR) visa from 29 April 2023. It is available for migrant applicants based overseas and in New Zealand. The STR scheme is also a priority stream for INZ, which means applications for STR visas are likely to get a decision within a couple of months.

In December 2022 a sector agreement for Bus Drivers and Truck Drivers was established.  People under this sector agreement have a pathway to residency after working in New Zealand for two years. These changes were finally implemented on 26 April 2023. From 29 September 2023, people who have completed two years working in an occupation covered by the sector agreement will be able to apply for residence.

Under this scheme accredited employers can recruit bus drivers under the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme at a minimum of $28 an hour. Additional roles have also been added to this sector including ship’s masters and deckhands.

This is welcome news for industries that have been under a significant labour shortage since before the COVID-19 pandemic closed New Zealand’s borders.  It will give employers a greater chance of securing new staff from offshore in the highly competitive labour market. Tompkins Wake can assist accredited employers throughout this process to ensure that all documentation (immigration and employment related) relevant to these applications are compliant with applicable immigration and employment laws to ensure the application process runs smoothly.

For further advice reach out to one of our team members today.