What is New Zealand's Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV)?

The main employer-sponsored route. Australian citizens and permanent residents need none of this and can live and work in New Zealand indefinitely. It lasts duration depends on the role's skill level; renewable. Not automatic. Residence runs through the Skilled Migrant Category or the Work to Residence pathways, which are separate applications with their own criteria.

What is New Zealand's Skilled Migrant Category resident visa?

Skilled workers seeking permanent residence, usually after time in New Zealand on a work visa. It lasts residence, with a permanent resident visa available once travel-condition requirements are met. This is the permanent-residence route. New Zealand residence leads to citizenship after the statutory residence period.

What is New Zealand's Remote work on a visitor visa or NZeTA?

Remote workers paid entirely by employers or clients outside New Zealand. This is not a digital nomad visa — New Zealand has no such thing — but since January 2025 it does the same job with less paperwork. It lasts the length of the visitor visa or NZeTA. Visitor visas can often be extended, subject to the maximum continuous stay rules. None. This is visitor status and builds no residence entitlement whatsoever. If settling is the goal, the AEWV and then the Skilled Migrant Category is the path.

What is New Zealand's Active Investor Plus Visa?

Investors placing substantial capital into New Zealand businesses or funds, with unusually light physical presence requirements. It lasts residence, tied to maintaining the investment for the required term. It is a residence visa, so it leads to permanent residence and ultimately citizenship subject to the usual requirements.

GlobeQuest

Moving from Australia to New Zealand

What your passport gets you at the border — and what it takes to actually stay.

Australia

New ZealandShort stay

Visa-free

Australia passport holders can enter New Zealand without a visa.

This is short-stay visitor policy only. It does not let you work, study or settle in New Zealand — that needs a residence permit.

Passport Index · updated 17 February 2026New Zealand's official immigration service

Long stay

How you actually move to New Zealand

Work / sponsoredHigh confidenceVerified July 2026

Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV)

The main employer-sponsored route. Australian citizens and permanent residents need none of this and can live and work in New Zealand indefinitely.

What you need

A job offer from an employer accredited by Immigration New Zealand, with a completed job check for the role
Pay at least the statutory minimum wage — NZD 23.95/hour from 1 April 2026 — and the New Zealand market rate for the role
At least 2 years of relevant work experience, or a relevant qualification
Health and character requirements, including medicals and police certificates depending on visa length

How long it lasts: Duration depends on the role's skill level; renewable.
Path to permanent residence: Not automatic. Residence runs through the Skilled Migrant Category or the Work to Residence pathways, which are separate applications with their own criteria.
Cost: Immigration New Zealand publishes AEWV fees plus a separate International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy, varying by visa type and where you apply from. The schedule has changed repeatedly since 2024 — use the official fees and levies calculator rather than a quoted figure.
Processing time: Varies with the employer's accreditation status and application quality.

Worth knowing

The median-wage requirement was abolished on 10 March 2025 and sector agreements were removed at the same time. Any guide still quoting a median-wage threshold describes a system that no longer exists.
What binds now is the New Zealand market rate for the role — migrants must be paid on par with their New Zealand counterparts, which is a comparability test rather than a fixed number.
Employer accreditation is the real bottleneck and it is not something you can fix. Ask about it in the first interview, because many smaller New Zealand employers have not gone through it and do not realise it blocks the hire.
The experience requirement dropped from 3 years to 2 on the same date.

Sources:Immigration NZ — changes to the AEWV and median wage

Work / sponsoredMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

Skilled Migrant Category resident visa

Skilled workers seeking permanent residence, usually after time in New Zealand on a work visa.

What you need

Points claimed against skilled employment, qualifications and experience
From 24 August 2026, alternatively: the Skilled Work Experience pathway — an ANZSCO skill level 1–3 occupation with 5+ years of directly relevant experience, of which 2 must be in New Zealand earning at least 1.1× the SMC median wage
Or the Trades and Technician pathway — a Level 4+ qualification with 4+ years of post-qualification experience including 1.5 years in New Zealand at the SMC median wage
Health and character requirements

How long it lasts: Residence, with a permanent resident visa available once travel-condition requirements are met.
Path to permanent residence: This is the permanent-residence route. New Zealand residence leads to citizenship after the statutory residence period.
Cost: Published by Immigration New Zealand; residence applications are substantially more expensive than work visas.
Processing time: Long — residence applications take considerably longer than work visas.

Worth knowing

The category changes on 24 August 2026, which is weeks away at the time of writing. Two new pathways arrive alongside Red and Amber occupation lists — check which ruleset your application will be assessed under before filing.
Red list occupations, such as retail manager and beauty therapist, are excluded from both new pathways. They must qualify under the existing points rules instead — in practice earning 1.5× the SMC median wage or holding a higher qualification.
Amber list occupations, such as chef and café manager, can use the Skilled Work Experience pathway but at 1.2× the SMC median wage for their 2 New Zealand years rather than 1.1×. Note the shape of the test: 5 years of relevant experience overall, of which 2 must be in New Zealand — not 5 years of New Zealand experience.
Your occupation's list placement is therefore the single most consequential fact about your application, and it is new information most advisers have not absorbed.

Sources:Immigration NZ — further Skilled Migrant Category changes

Digital nomadHigh confidenceVerified July 2026

Remote work on a visitor visa or NZeTA

Remote workers paid entirely by employers or clients outside New Zealand. This is not a digital nomad visa — New Zealand has no such thing — but since January 2025 it does the same job with less paperwork.

What you need

A visitor visa or NZeTA applied for on or after 27 January 2025
Work performed for a company, employer or client that is not in New Zealand
Holiday or visiting must remain the primary purpose of your travel
Meeting the ordinary visitor visa funds and character requirements

How long it lasts: The length of the visitor visa or NZeTA. Visitor visas can often be extended, subject to the maximum continuous stay rules.
Path to permanent residence: None. This is visitor status and builds no residence entitlement whatsoever. If settling is the goal, the AEWV and then the Skilled Migrant Category is the path.
Cost: Ordinary visitor visa or NZeTA fee plus the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy.
Processing time: NZeTA is issued quickly; visitor visas take longer.

Worth knowing

There is no stated cap on how much remote work you may do — the condition is about who pays you, not how many hours you work.
You must not work for a New Zealand employer or supply goods or services to people or businesses in New Zealand. Taking on a single local client breaches the condition.
The remote work must stay incidental to the purpose of the visit. A stay structured entirely around working is not what the condition contemplates.
Tax is the separate trap: spending more than 183 days in a 12-month period makes you a New Zealand tax resident. The four-year transitional resident exemption shelters most foreign-source income, but it carves out foreign EMPLOYMENT and personal services income — which is precisely what a remote worker earns. The exemption is worth a great deal to someone living on foreign rents and dividends and very little to someone on a foreign salary.

Sources:Immigration NZ — working remotely on a visitor visa

InvestmentHigh confidenceVerified July 2026

Active Investor Plus Visa

Investors placing substantial capital into New Zealand businesses or funds, with unusually light physical presence requirements.

What you need

Growth category: a minimum NZD 5 million invested over a 36-month term in higher-risk investments — direct investment in New Zealand businesses and managed funds
Balanced category: a minimum NZD 10 million over a 60-month term across mixed investments, which since April 2025 may include listed equities, bonds and property developments
Presence in New Zealand of 21 days over the investment term (Growth) or 105 days (Balanced)
Health and character requirements

How long it lasts: Residence, tied to maintaining the investment for the required term.
Path to permanent residence: It is a residence visa, so it leads to permanent residence and ultimately citizenship subject to the usual requirements.
Cost: The investment itself plus Immigration New Zealand's published application fees.
Processing time: Case-by-case rather than queued; Immigration New Zealand publishes current volumes and does not give a service standard for this category.

Worth knowing

The thresholds were cut sharply on 1 April 2025 — from NZD 15 million or a weighted equivalent, down to NZD 5 million (Growth) and NZD 10 million (Balanced). Anything quoting NZD 15 million is out of date.
The presence requirements are remarkably light: 21 days across three years for Growth. This is a residence route that does not require you to live here.
Growth category demands higher-risk investment — direct business investment and managed funds — but since 1 June 2026 up to 20% of the total may be allocated to qualifying philanthropy. If you want bonds, listed equities and property developments you pay double and stay longer under Balanced.
New Zealand has no separate retirement visa of comparable standing, so this route absorbs much of the demand that would otherwise go there.

Sources:Immigration NZ — Active Investor Plus Visa Immigration NZ — 2025 changes to the Active Investor Plus Visa

Work / sponsoredMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

Working Holiday Visa

Young people from countries holding a working holiday agreement with New Zealand — one of the most-used routes into the country.

What you need

Citizenship of a country with a working holiday agreement with New Zealand
Aged 18 to 30, or 18 to 35 for a select few countries
Holiday must be the main purpose; work is intended to be secondary
Funds, health and character requirements

How long it lasts: Normally up to 12 months. Some schemes run longer — the UK scheme was extended from 2 years to 3.
Path to permanent residence: None directly, but it is a common first step: many people convert to an AEWV during the working holiday and then pursue residence from there.
Cost: Published per scheme by Immigration New Zealand, plus the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy.
Processing time: Generally fast for uncapped schemes.

Worth knowing

Some schemes are capped and open on announced dates each year, selling out quickly. Immigration New Zealand publishes the opening dates in advance — diary them.
The age limit is by nationality: 30 for most, 35 for a few. Check yours specifically rather than assuming the common figure.
It is once per lifetime for most nationalities, so spending it casually forecloses using it later as a bridge into skilled work.

Sources:Immigration NZ — who can apply for a working holiday visa

StudentMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

Student visa

Students enrolled at a New Zealand education provider.

What you need

An offer of place from an approved education provider
Evidence of funds for tuition and living costs
Health and character requirements, including medical insurance

How long it lasts: The length of the course, renewable as study continues.
Path to permanent residence: Not direct, but post-study work rights exist for qualifying qualifications and feed into the AEWV and then the Skilled Migrant Category.
Cost: Immigration New Zealand's published student visa fee plus tuition, which for international students is substantial.
Processing time: Varies by provider and time of year; apply well before semester start.

Worth knowing

Post-study work rights depend on the level and field of the qualification — not every course confers them, and this is the whole return on the investment for many students.
Work rights while studying are limited by hours and by course type.
From 24 August 2026 the Skilled Migrant Category's Red and Amber occupation lists apply downstream, so a qualification leading into a Red list occupation is a materially weaker residence bet than it was.

Sources:Immigration NZ — visas for studying in New Zealand Immigration NZ — further Skilled Migrant Category changes

On the ground