Work Visa Requirements (Essential Skills)
If you want to work in New Zealand, you will need a work visa. In your visa application you have to prove to Immigration New Zealand that all of the following requirements are met:
Skills and Experience
You have the necessary skills and experience to work in the position offered to you
Registration
You have NZ registration if it is required to work in your profession in New Zealand
Labour Market Test
Typically, your employer must try to recruit any suitable New Zealanders who are available to do the work, before offering you the job.
NZ Job Offer
You have a full-time job offer from a New Zealand employer
If any of these requirements are not fulfilled, your work visa application will be rejected by Immigration New Zealand.
For you this means that you cannot even lodge your work visa application, unless you have a job offer from a New Zealand employer. If you did so, your application would be rejected by Immigration New Zealand, before a visa officer would even assess your qualifications.
The Challenge: If you do not have a job offer in New Zealand you cannot apply for a work visa.