Country guide · New Zealand

Getting a job in New Zealand, 2026

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One number runs almost everything: the median wage at NZD $35.00 an hour. It stopped being a pay requirement in 2025 but still sets the Green List floors, the five year stay, the advertising exemptions and the residence points. The three steps of the work visa and why two are not yours, the Green List in both tiers, the residence rebuild of 24 August 2026, and the trial period clause that should not be in your contract.

Country guidePublished 20 September 2026·Every figure checked 20 September 2026·18 min read

$35.00

Median wage an hour since 9 March 2026, the index behind everything

Immigration New Zealand, 18 Feb 2026

2 of 3

Steps of the work visa that belong to the employer, not to you

INZ accreditation and job check pages

0 months

New Zealand work needed before residence on Green List Tier 1

Operational Manual Appendix 13, 9 Mar 2026

No trial

90 day trial periods cannot be used on a work visa holder

INZ, effective 29 Oct 2023

Read this before the visa section

Step one is not the visa. Step one is the interview call.

Everything in this guide about permits, thresholds and documents only comes into play after an employer in New Zealand has chosen you. Nobody applies for a work permit without an offer letter, and nobody gets an offer letter without an interview. The order is fixed:

Step 1 · what EDZER does
A strong résumé, a strong LinkedIn, and a job search strategy
Step 2
Interview calls from employers in New Zealand
Step 3
An offer, and the eligibility checks that come with it
Step 4
Only now: the visa, the permit and the documents below

The median wage of NZD 35.00 an hour indexes almost every visa threshold, and Green List roles get residence without New Zealand work first, so employers in those roles see strong international competition. Step one is the whole game, and it is the part almost everyone under-invests in.

How a résumé is expected to look in New Zealand

NZ convention follows Australia: no photograph, two to three pages, a summary at the top.

Where people actually apply

LinkedIn · SEEK NZ · Trade Me Jobs · Indeed NZ

What EDZER does for step one

Your résumé, rewritten for the country. In the format its recruiters expect, by a human writer, with a 90 to 100 ATS score guaranteed
Your LinkedIn profile, rebuilt. Every section written so recruiters searching there find you and read on
Profiles on that country's job portals. Set up and optimised to match, so every application reads the same
A job search strategy document. Which roles, which employers, which portals, in what order, for your profile
An interview prep kit. For the roles you are targeting, so the calls turn into offers
Guidance on where and how to apply for jobs. From our team, so you are not guessing which door to knock on

What EDZER does not do

Visa or work permit applications, or immigration advice of any kind
Document attestation or credential evaluation
Placing you in a job or promising an offer: the recruiter decides selection, on your profile

Our job is to make sure you are presented in the strongest way possible, so that the interview calls come. What happens in the interview is yours.

59,000+ clients across 24+ countries 90 to 100 ATS score guaranteed Delivered in 4 to 6 working days 48-hour review window for changes

Start step one for New ZealandRésumé, LinkedIn and the interview kit is the Premium plan. With the job portals, Premium Plus. Pick a plan and pay on the next page; the writer starts the same day.

Have a question first? Ask on WhatsApp. For starting the work, the button above is faster.

Section 01

The work visa, the median wage, and the Green List

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One number runs almost everything in New Zealand immigration: the median wage, currently NZD $35.00 an hour since 9 March 2026. It is no longer a pay requirement for the main work visa, but it still sets the Green List floors, the five year stay threshold, the advertising exemptions, the residence points and the partner thresholds.

The Accredited Employer Work Visa, in three steps

Two of the three steps belong to the employer, and they happen before you exist in the system. Sources: Immigration New Zealand, employer accreditation and job check process pages; May 2026 Fees Guide. Checked 20 September 2026.

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The employer accredits, the employer runs the job check, and only then do you apply with a token they issue. The advertising in step two runs at least 14 days for skill levels 1 to 3 and at least 21 days for levels 4 and 5, and must state the job title, location, key duties, the minimum and maximum pay, the type of work with minimum guaranteed hours, and the minimum skills required. The employer must apply within 90 days of the advertisement closing, and an approved job check is valid for six months.

Advertising is skipped where the role is on the Green List and meets its criteria, where it pays at least NZD $70.00 an hour, where it is on the seasonal jobs list, or where it follows a business sale or restructure.

The median wage requirement was removed, and this is widely misreported

Since 10 March 2025 employers recruiting on this visa are no longer required to pay the median wage. What applies instead is the New Zealand minimum wage, which is NZD $23.95 an hour from 1 April 2026, and the market rate for that occupation, assessed at job check. The sector agreements that used to give median wage exemptions were removed at the same time, having become pointless.

But wage still buys you things. $52.50 an hour, which is 1.5 times the median, unlocks a five year maximum stay in a skill level 4 or 5 role. $70.00 an hour, twice the median, exempts the job from advertising and from the minimum skills requirement. Immigration New Zealand, 20 Feb 2025

Your side of it: a full time offer of at least 30 hours a week, and either two or more years of relevant work experience or a qualification at level 4 or higher. The experience requirement was cut from three years to two on 10 March 2025.
How long you can stay: five years at skill levels 1 to 3, on the Green List, or at $52.50 an hour or more. Otherwise three years at levels 4 and 5. After the maximum you must leave New Zealand for 12 months before another standard visa.
The visa is tied to the named employer, role and location.

Section 02

Residence, the August 2026 rebuild, and what it costs

Free

This section is free as well. It opens the moment you are signed in.Open it, free

Section 03

Regulated professions, pay, KiwiSaver and the CV

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This section is free as well. It opens the moment you are signed in.Open it, free

Free ATS check for New Zealand

Not ready to start yet? Get your résumé scored free, and we will tell you exactly what New Zealand recruiters would change.

Takes a minute. Your score comes back on this page. A writer from EDZER reviews the file and follows up on WhatsApp about the résumé and LinkedIn work, nothing else.

Your name

WhatsApp number

Where you live now

Where you want to work (up to 5)

Target role or roles

Experience

Highest qualification

Current designation and employer (if working)

When do you plan to apply?

Your current résumé

Used to score your résumé and for our writers to contact you about the résumé and LinkedIn work for New Zealand. We do not handle visas or immigration. Never sold or shared. Privacy.

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