6. Residence and Work to Residence visas and permits

Once we can convince Immigration New Zealand that your application is valid, meets their criteria, and that you will settle successfully in New Zealand, you will be offered a residence visa or permit.

In some cases where no job offer is in place and Immigration New Zealand are not sure how well you will settle, you will receive a Work to Residence visa or permit. This visa or permit can be used to help obtain an offer of skilled employment in New Zealand for up to nine months. If you obtain skilled employment in this time your residence application will be approved at this stage. Please note: this is a different kind of "Work To Residence Visa" to that which you can apply for, also known as a "talent" visa. Details of this are provided separately.

All applicants with a skilled job offer in place are deemed to have shown that they will successfully settle and contribute to New Zealand. For this reason, even where a job offer is not strictly needed for points, it can be a determining factor in gaining residence outright.