Well qualified and experienced professionals are needed in New Zealand. The occupations on the Essential Skills in Demand Lists recognise the need for overseas professionals in different industries and areas of New Zealand.
- The Long Term Skill Shortages List
- The Regional Skill Shortages List
- The Construction and Infrastructure Skill Shortages List
Many industries in New Zealand experience ongoing shortages of skilled professionals, and as a result businesses are unable to fill key positions and thrive to their full potential.
To enable New Zealand's economy to grow, New Zealand's Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) identifies these skill shortages based on feedback from key industries and publishes their findings in three Skill Shortages Lists.
The Skill Shortages Lists are reviewed regularly, with updated contributions from various industry groups.
The lists are relevant for your visa application and also play an essential role for your job search in New Zealand.
Find out if your skills are listed in one of the Skill Shortages Lists.
If you can find your occupation on one of the Skill Shortages Lists, you will have a decisive advantage for your visa application and potentially for your job search as well.
If your skills are on the Long Term Skill Shortage List, they are considered to be "in an area of absolute skill shortage" and as a result you will be able to claim bonus points for your Expression of Interest.
You will be eligible for:
If your occupation is listed on the Skill Shortage Lists, your New Zealand employer will not have to prove that no New Zealander can be found to fill the role offered to you.
This will obviously be a great advantage, as labour market testing is a highly complex and bureaucratic process. Your employer will be quite relieved if they do not have to go through this process in order to employ you.
Before granting a work visa under the skilled migrant category, New Zealand Immigration must conduct the 'labour market test' in which local employers must show that no suitable New Zealanders can fill the role first, and demonstrate the need for an overseas work visa.
Occupations included in the Skill Shortage Lists are exempt from this test, so having skills in these areas will provide application benefits as a work visa can be granted without evidence of New Zealand local recruitment attempts, which speeds up visa processing.
If you have held a work visa that was granted under the Long Term Skill Shortage List policy, you may be able to apply for a resident visa.
To be eligible for a resident visa under this policy, you must:
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