How the Green List Changes Over Time
The Green List has no fixed review cycle. Every change since December 2022 has been an ad-hoc ministerial announcement, at irregular intervals. No occupations were added or removed in 2025 after 18 August, or at any point in 2026. The most recent change of any kind was a single reworded requirement on 23 March 2026.
Quick Facts
| Item | Detail (as at August 2026) |
|---|---|
| Review cycle | None fixed. Changes are ministerial announcements, made when the government decides |
| Current version | Appendix 13, effective 23 March 2026 |
| Occupations now | 164 Tier 1 · 37 Tier 2 · 201 total |
| Last membership change | 18 August 2025 — ten trades occupations added to Tier 2 |
| Last change of any kind | 23 March 2026 — Corrections Officer requirement reworded |
| Changes in 2026 | Two: a wage recalibration (9 March) and one reworded requirement (23 March). No occupations added or removed |
| Occupations ever removed | Yes — six transport occupations, 7 April 2024 |
| Residence grants to date | 43,000+ through the Green List, to March 2026 |
| Where changes are announced | The Immigration New Zealand news centre, and then the Operational Manual |
Primary source: Appendix 13 — Green List, INZ Operational Manual, effective 23 March 2026, read on 20 August 2026.
There is no schedule
Start here, because a great deal of published advice assumes otherwise.
New Zealand does not review this list on a set timetable. There is no anniversary date, no consultation round with a published closing date, no quarterly cycle. Occupations are added and removed when a minister announces it, and the change then flows into Appendix 13 of the Operational Manual with an effective date attached.
That has two consequences for anyone planning around it.
You cannot wait for a scheduled update. If your occupation is not on the list today, there is no date on which to check whether that changed. The only signal is an announcement.
You cannot assume the list is stale. A version effective 23 March 2026 is not "overdue for review" — the concept does not apply. It is current until it is replaced.
Anyone telling you the Green List is reviewed every year, or updated each March, is describing a process that does not exist.
The dated record
Every change identified from primary sources, in order.
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 15 December 2022 | The Green List takes effect as part of the post-2021 immigration rebuild, with Tier 1 (Straight to Residence) and Tier 2 (Work to Residence) |
| March 2023 | Occupations added |
| 29 May 2023 | 32 health occupations added — the single largest expansion, and the reason Tier 1 is now three-quarters health |
| 29 September 2023 | Transport occupations added |
| 7 April 2024 | Six transport occupations removed. Legacy pay rates for bus and truck driver roles approved before this date remain in the Transport Work to Residence instruction |
| 8 April 2024 | Further changes |
| 18 August 2025 | Ten trades occupations added to Tier 2, announced 13 June 2025 |
| 9 March 2026 | Wage recalibration. The immigration median wage rose to NZ$35.00 an hour and every wage-linked threshold re-indexed. No occupation was added or removed |
| 23 March 2026 | One requirement reworded — Corrections Officer (442111). No occupation was added or removed |
Look at the gaps. Four changes in 2023 and 2024, one in 2025, and two in 2026 — neither of which touched membership. The intervals are 3 months, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 1 day, 16 months, 6 months, 2 weeks. That is not a cycle.
What was added on 18 August 2025
Ten trades occupations joined Tier 2, meaning they carry the 24-month New Zealand work requirement rather than a direct residence route:
- Metal Fabricator (322311)
- Metal Machinist (First Class) (323214)
- Fitter (General) (323211)
- Fitter and Turner (323212)
- Fitter-Welder (323213)
- Pressure Welder (322312)
- Welder (322313)
- Panel Beater (324111)
- Vehicle Painter (324311)
- Paving Plant Operator (721913)
The announcement was made on 13 June 2025 and took effect on 18 August 2025. At the time, Immigration New Zealand published minimum rates of NZ$43.63 an hour for the metal trades and NZ$38.59 for paving plant operators, panel beaters and vehicle painters. Those were 1.3× and 1.15× of the NZ$33.56 median wage then in force. Against the current NZ$35.00 median they resolve to NZ$45.50 and NZ$40.25 — see Green List pay thresholds.
This remains the most recent change to which occupations are on the list.
What was removed on 7 April 2024
Six transport occupations were taken off the list. This is the clearest evidence that membership is not one-directional, and it is the change most often left out of competitor coverage.
Its footprint is still visible in the current instructions. The Transport Work to Residence Visa carries legacy pay rates — NZ$28.00 an hour for bus driver roles and NZ$31.61 for truck driver roles — that apply only to roles approved before 7 April 2024. Time worked in those pre-April-2024 roles may still count toward the 24-month test. Detail is in Transport Work to Residence.
There is also a protection written into the Operational Manual for exactly this situation: where an occupation is removed from Tier 2 part-way through someone's accrual, work already done still counts, provided the person stays in the occupation and continues to meet the requirements as they were listed.
What actually changed in 2026
Two changes, neither of them a change of membership.
9 March 2026 — the wage recalibration
The immigration median wage rose from NZ$33.56 to NZ$35.00 an hour, based on Statistics New Zealand's June 2025 median hourly earnings. Every wage-linked Green List threshold moved with it:
| Multiple | Before 9 Mar 2026 | From 9 Mar 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0× | $33.56 | $35.00 |
| 1.15× | $38.59 | $40.25 |
| 1.3× | $43.63 | $45.50 |
| 1.5× | $50.34 | $52.50 |
This is a recalibration, not a change to the list. The same 201 occupations were on it on 10 March 2026 as on 8 March 2026. The numbers attached to some of them moved.
23 March 2026 — one entry reworded
Between the 9 March and 23 March versions of Appendix 13, the Tier 1 table was unchanged. Tier 2 had exactly one edit, to Corrections Officer (442111):
- Before: required completion of the Corrections Officer Development Pathway and a New Zealand Certificate at Level 3 or higher including the requirements of the New Zealand Certificate in Offender Management Level 3.
- After: the Corrections Officer Development Pathway requirement is removed, and the qualification is broadened to a New Zealand Certificate at Level 3 or higher including the requirements of the New Zealand Certificate in Prisoner Management Level 3 or the New Zealand Certificate in Offender Management Level 3.
Entry requirements were relaxed rather than tightened. Governments do not usually lower the bar for occupations they have enough of.
How to read the direction of travel
Policy movement is the most reliable signal available about where New Zealand thinks its shortages are, because it is revealed preference rather than commentary.
- Health is the settled shortage. 32 health occupations were added in one go in May 2023, and health now accounts for 120 of the 164 Tier 1 occupations.
- Metal and vehicle trades tightened in 2025. Ten trades occupations were opened to residence, all at Tier 2 with pay multiples attached.
- Transport narrowed in 2024, then got its own visa. Six occupations were removed from the list, while the Transport Work to Residence Visa continues to cover Ship's Master and Deck Hand.
- Care work sits outside the list entirely. Nine care occupations have a dedicated residence visa rather than Green List membership — see Care Workforce Work to Residence.
- Corrections Officer requirements were relaxed in March 2026.
What the record does not support is any prediction about what comes next. No occupation should be described as "likely to be added". There is no consultation document, no shortlist and no timetable that would justify it.
How the Green List has performed
More than 43,000 residence grants have been made through the Green List to March 2026. It is not a marginal instrument — it is one of the two main skilled residence routes into New Zealand, alongside the Skilled Migrant Category.
That volume is also part of why membership has been stable. A list generating tens of thousands of grants is not casually reopened.
Step 1: Check the effective date on the version you are reading
Appendix 13 carries an effective date at the top. Immigration New Zealand archives superseded versions and banners them as archived — but archived pages still rank in search and still look authoritative. The date is the check.
Step 2: Watch the announcement, not the calendar
Changes appear in the Immigration New Zealand news centre before they appear in the Operational Manual. That is the only reliable early signal, because there is no scheduled date to monitor.
Step 3: Re-check before you act, not before you plan
Because there is no cycle, the useful moment to re-verify is immediately before you commit money — a qualification assessment, a registration application, a relocation — rather than at some fixed interval.
What is coming on 24 August 2026
Not a change to the list, but a change to how its wage rules are applied.
From 24 August 2026, applicants for work-to-residence visas need to meet the wage rate in force when they began accumulating qualifying work experience, rather than the rate at the date of application. A five-month grace period applies where the threshold rose between a work visa being granted and the person starting work. The change reaches the Work to Residence Visa, the Transport and Care Workforce pathways, and the Skilled Migrant Category.
The Skilled Migrant Category is separately restructured on the same date into three pathways, with new red and amber occupation lists. That is a much larger change than anything the Green List has seen recently — see Skilled Migrant Category changes.
This page was verified on 20 August 2026, four days before both changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Green List reviewed every year?
No. There is no fixed review cycle. Changes have been made by ministerial announcement at irregular intervals since December 2022, and no occupation was added or removed in 2025 after 18 August, or at all in 2026.
When was the Green List last updated?
Appendix 13 is currently effective 23 March 2026. That version made one change — a reworded Corrections Officer requirement. The last change to which occupations are on the list was 18 August 2025.
What new roles were added to the Green List in 2026?
None. The two changes in 2026 were a wage recalibration on 9 March, when the median wage rose to NZ$35.00 an hour, and a single reworded requirement on 23 March.
Can occupations be removed from the Green List?
Yes. Six transport occupations were removed on 7 April 2024. Where that happens, work already accrued toward a Tier 2 residence application still counts, provided the person remains in the occupation and continues to meet the requirements as they were listed.
How do I find out when the Green List changes?
Immigration New Zealand announces changes through its news centre, and the change then appears in Appendix 13 with an effective date. There is no scheduled date to check, so an announcement is the only signal.
Will my occupation be added to the Green List?
That cannot be answered from published material. There is no consultation list, no shortlist and no timetable, so any site predicting future additions is guessing. The dated record shows only what has already happened.
Does the Green List change when the median wage changes?
The pay thresholds do; the membership does not. On 9 March 2026 every wage-linked threshold re-indexed to the new NZ$35.00 median, but the same 201 occupations remained on the list.
How many people have got residence through the Green List?
More than 43,000 residence grants to March 2026, on Immigration New Zealand's published figure.
