Green List Tier 1: Straight to Residence in New Zealand
Tier 1 of New Zealand's Green List holds 164 occupations whose holders can apply for residence without working in New Zealand first. A job offer from an accredited employer is enough, and the application can be made from offshore. Tier 1 is dominated by health: 120 of the 164 occupations are Health and Social Services roles.
Quick Facts
| Item | Detail (as at August 2026) |
|---|---|
| Occupations on Tier 1 | 164 (from 142 table rows — three rows bundle several codes) |
| Visa it leads to | Straight to Residence Visa |
| New Zealand work required first | None |
| Can you apply from outside New Zealand? | Yes, on a qualifying job offer |
| Employer | Must be an accredited employer |
| Cost | NZ$6,450 — NZ$2,880 application fee + NZ$3,570 immigration levy |
| Governing instrument | Appendix 13 – Green List, effective 23 March 2026 |
| Occupations carrying a pay threshold | 33 of the 201 across both tiers; every Tier 1 ICT role is one of them |
| Review cycle | None fixed — changes are ministerial announcements |
| What it grants | Residence: the right to live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely |
Primary source: Appendix 13 – Green List, effective 23 March 2026. Read 20 August 2026.
What Tier 1 actually is
Tier 1 is the shorter of the Green List's two tables and by far the more valuable. An occupation on Tier 1 feeds the Straight to Residence Visa: residence applied for directly, on the strength of a job offer, with no requirement to have worked in New Zealand beforehand.
That is the whole difference. Tier 2 requires 24 months of full-time New Zealand work before residence can be granted. Tier 1 requires none. For a nurse in Manila or an anaesthetist in Johannesburg, that is the difference between applying now and applying in two years.
The trade-off is that Tier 1 is narrow, and it is narrow in a specific direction.
The shape of Tier 1 — read this before anything else
| Sector | Occupations | Share of Tier 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Health and Social Services | 120 | 73% |
| Engineering | 23 | 14% |
| ICT, Electronics and Telecommunications | 12 | 7% |
| Construction | 4 | 2% |
| Other (Primary Industries, Science) | 3 | 2% |
| Business Professionals | 2 | 1% |
Tier 1 is, in practice, a health list with an engineering annexe. Seventy-three per cent of the fastest residence route in New Zealand's immigration system is health and social services. Construction — a sector routinely described as being in crisis — gets four slots. Science gets three.
This is not a criticism of the instrument. It is the single most useful orientation fact in the whole Green List, because it tells most readers within thirty seconds whether the rest of the page applies to them.
Why 164 and not 142
Appendix 13's Tier 1 table has 142 rows. It has 164 occupations. Three rows bundle multiple ANZSCO codes under one shared requirement:
- the auditor row carries 2 occupations (External Auditor 221213, Internal Auditor 221214);
- the dental row carries 18;
- the teaching row carries 5.
142 + 1 + 17 + 4 = 164. The full counting explanation sets out where each hidden occupation sits, and why published figures around 205 do not match the instrument.
The four kinds of Tier 1 requirement
Every Tier 1 occupation is gated in one of four ways. Knowing which applies to you determines what you have to organise, and in what order.
| Gate | How it works | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Mandatory registration | You must hold, or be eligible for, registration with a named New Zealand body | Doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, teachers, social workers, veterinarians |
| Qualification | A named degree or an overseas qualification comparable to it | Engineers, quantity surveyors, food technologists, spatial scientists |
| Pay threshold | An absolute hourly rate written into the instrument | All 12 ICT roles; both auditors |
| Licence | A specific New Zealand licence | The three Aircraft Maintenance Engineer occupations (CAA licence) |
Registration is the most common gate
Across both tiers, 132 of the 201 Green List occupations carry a mandatory registration requirement. The overwhelming majority of those are Tier 1 health roles. The registering body is named in Appendix 13 itself, occupation by occupation — that mapping is the authoritative one, not a general list of New Zealand regulators. See occupational registration in New Zealand.
For registered occupations, the registration is not a formality you complete after arriving. It is part of the Green List requirement, and the timeline of the registering body governs the timeline of the whole application.
Qualification is the gate for engineering
For all 23 engineering occupations, a Washington Accord accredited degree, a Bachelor of Engineering with Honours at NZQCF Level 8, an Engineering New Zealand benchmark letter, or Chartered Professional Engineer registration each satisfy the requirement. They are alternatives joined by "or".
This is worth being blunt about, because a lot of migrant-facing content gets it backwards: an engineer does not have to register with Engineering New Zealand to use the Green List. An accredited degree is sufficient on its own. The same "or" structure applies to Construction Project Manager, Quantity Surveyor and Surveyor.
Pay thresholds gate the whole of ICT
Every one of the twelve Tier 1 ICT occupations carries an absolute hourly rate, and there is no qualification-only alternative.
| Occupation group | Rate | Contract-for-services variant |
|---|---|---|
| Nine roles including Software Engineer (261313), Analyst Programmer (261311), ICT Security Specialist (262112), Chief Information Officer (135111) | NZ$72.80/hr | NZ$109.20/hr + 10 years' relevant work |
| Database Administrator (262111), Systems Administrator (262113) | NZ$70.00/hr (NZ$145,600/yr at 40 hours) | NZ$87.50/hr + 10 years' relevant work |
| Multimedia Specialist (261211) | NZ$57.75/hr | NZ$86.45/hr + 10 years' relevant work |
External Auditor and Internal Auditor sit at NZ$45.50/hr, or NZ$94,640 a year at 40 hours a week.
These are salary floors, not typical salaries. They function as a seniority filter. A mid-level developer on a normal New Zealand tech salary does not clear NZ$72.80 an hour.
Step 1: Confirm your ANZSCO code appears on Tier 1
Match the code, not the job title. Appendix 13 records ANZSCO codes, and codes legitimately repeat across job titles — 251211 covers both Medical Imaging Technologist and MRI Technologist, for instance. Finding your ANZSCO code explains the method.
Step 2: Read the requirement cell in full
The cell contains the requirement and, for registered occupations, a "Qualifications required for registration" block naming the qualifications the body expects. Both parts matter.
Step 3: Deal with the qualification recognition question
Appendix 13's Note 1 is explicit: the qualifications listed are New Zealand qualifications on the NZQCF (New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework). An overseas qualification must be comparable to the standard of the New Zealand one. Unless it appears on INZ's List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment — Appendix 17 of the Operational Manual — an NZQA International Qualification Assessment stating the comparable NZQCF qualification is required.
Step 4: Secure the job offer with an accredited employer
Tier 1 does not remove the employer requirement. The offer must come from an employer accredited under the AEWV system. You can check an employer's accreditation before you commit to anything.
Step 5: Start registration where registration applies
For the 132 registration-gated occupations, the registering body's process runs on its own timetable and its own evidence rules. Nothing about the visa accelerates it.
What Tier 1 does not do
It does not remove the health, character, age or English requirements. Those sit in the residence instructions, not in Appendix 13.
It does not remove the need for an employer. The job offer is load-bearing.
It does not guarantee approval. Appendix 13 tells you what the occupation requires. It says nothing about whether a given applicant satisfies it, and neither does this page — assessing that is tailored immigration advice, which in New Zealand may only be given by a licensed adviser or a lawyer.
What changed, and what did not
The current instrument is effective 23 March 2026. Compared with the version effective 9 March 2026, the Tier 1 table is byte-identical — not one occupation, code or requirement moved. The only change in that fortnight was a single Tier 2 cell.
Further back, the last confirmed Tier 1 movement of any size predates 2025. The ten occupations added on 18 August 2025 all went to Tier 2, and the requirement relaxation of 23 March 2026 was also Tier 2.
There is no fixed review cycle. The Green List is not revised on a schedule; changes arrive as ministerial announcements, sometimes with a lead time of two months, sometimes less. Anyone who tells you the list is refreshed on a set date each year is describing a process that does not exist. Equally, anyone who tells you the list has never changed is wrong — see Green List changes.
Tier 1 and the wider system
Tier 1 is one of several ways an occupation reaches residence. It is the fastest, and the narrowest.
| Route | Occupation basis | New Zealand work first |
|---|---|---|
| Green List Tier 1 | ANZSCO, Appendix 13 | None |
| Green List Tier 2 | ANZSCO, Appendix 13 | 24 months |
| Skilled Migrant Category | ANZSCO skill levels | Not always |
| Care Workforce Work to Residence | Appendix 14 | 24 months |
| Transport Work to Residence | Named occupations | 24 months |
Note that all of these are classified using ANZSCO, while the Accredited Employer Work Visa that usually comes first has used the National Occupation List since 3 November 2025. One journey, two classifications. The overlap is explained in ANZSCO vs the National Occupation List.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply for a Green List Tier 1 resident visa from outside New Zealand?
Yes. Tier 1 feeds the Straight to Residence Visa, which requires no prior New Zealand work. A qualifying job offer from an accredited employer is the trigger, and the application may be made offshore.
Do I need an accredited employer for a Green List visa?
Yes. The job offer must come from an employer holding accreditation under the AEWV system. Accreditation status can be checked before you accept an offer.
Do I need occupational registration for Tier 1?
It depends entirely on the occupation. Across the Green List, 132 of 201 occupations name a mandatory registering body; the rest are satisfied by qualification, pay threshold or experience. Appendix 13 states which applies to each occupation.
Are software engineers on Green List Tier 1?
Software Engineer (261313) is on Tier 1, but with a pay threshold of NZ$72.80 an hour. The occupation is listed; the salary requirement is what most applications turn on.
How much does a Straight to Residence application cost?
NZ$6,450 — an application fee of NZ$2,880 plus an immigration levy of NZ$3,570. There has been no general New Zealand visa fee increase in 2025 or 2026; INZ's fee page still shows rates set on 1 October 2024. Confirm the current amount before you pay.
What is the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2?
Tier 1 requires no New Zealand work before residence. Tier 2 requires 24 months of full-time New Zealand work in the listed role, inside the 30 months before the residence application. Compare them side by side.
Is the Green List reviewed on a set date each year?
No. There is no fixed review cycle, and no scheduled update. Changes are announced by the responsible Minister when they are made.
My occupation is not on Tier 1. Is that the end of it?
No. The Skilled Migrant Category and the work-visa-to-residence routes remain open to occupations outside the Green List entirely. What exists for unlisted occupations sets out the alternatives without recommending one.
