The Residence from Work Category, Explained
The Residence from Work Category has no working page on Immigration New Zealand's website — every URL tried returned a 404. But it still carries a live fee line in INZ's May 2026 fees guide, at NZ$2,920 plus a NZ$3,570 immigration levy, and that line reconciles exactly to a visa currently being granted. It should not be described as closed.
Quick Facts
| Item | Detail (as at August 2026) |
|---|---|
| Status | Unclear. Not closed, not documented on a live INZ page |
| Fee line | NZ$2,920 application (Band A) + NZ$3,570 immigration levy = NZ$6,490 |
| Source of that fee | INZ Fees Guide INZ 1028, May 2026 |
| Live INZ page | None found. Every URL path attempted returned 404 |
| Corroborating evidence | The Global Impact Permanent Residence Visa is priced at NZ$6,490, which reconciles exactly to this fee line |
| Related legacy categories | Talent (Accredited Employer) Resident Visa · Talent (Arts, Culture, Sports) Resident Visa · Long Term Skill Shortage List Resident Visa |
| What to do | Ask Immigration New Zealand or a licensed adviser directly. Do not plan around this category on the basis of secondary sources |
The situation, stated honestly
Most pages about a visa category can tell you what it requires. This one cannot, and the reason is worth explaining because it is unusual.
Immigration New Zealand publishes no working page for the Residence from Work Category. Every URL path attempted during this research returned a 404, including the ones that would follow INZ's own naming conventions. It does not appear in the current residence visa navigation.
But the category has not disappeared from INZ's own documentation. The Fees Guide INZ 1028, dated May 2026, carries a live line for the Residence from Work Category: a NZ$2,920 application fee at Band A, plus the standard NZ$3,570 immigration levy — NZ$6,490 in total.
A fee line in a document dated May 2026 is meaningful. Immigration New Zealand does not generally price things nobody can apply for.
The evidence that it is still in use
There is a second, stronger piece of evidence.
The Global Impact Permanent Residence Visa — a residence product that appears in INZ's own visa lookup and has a published processing time of about 10 weeks — is priced at NZ$6,490.
That figure reconciles exactly:
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Residence from Work Category application fee (Band A) | NZ$2,920 |
| Immigration levy | NZ$3,570 |
| Total | NZ$6,490 |
In other words, a visa currently being granted is being charged under the Residence from Work Category fee line. That is not proof that the category is open to new applicants in its original form, but it is good evidence that the fee line is live and in active use — which is why nobody should be told this category is closed.
What can and cannot be said
What can be said:
- The fee line exists in INZ 1028, dated May 2026, at NZ$2,920 plus NZ$3,570.
- That line reconciles exactly to the price of a visa currently being granted.
- No live INZ page describing eligibility criteria could be located.
What cannot be said:
- That the category is closed. There is no evidence of closure, and the fee line points the other way.
- That the category is open to new applicants in its 2010s form. There is no evidence of that either.
- What its current eligibility criteria are. They were not published anywhere that could be read.
Guides that confidently declare this category "closed" or "replaced by the Green List" are asserting something the available material does not support. The accurate position is that its status is unresolved, and that Immigration New Zealand is the only reliable place to resolve it.
What Residence from Work historically was
Historically, "residence from work" described a family of categories that let people convert a specific temporary work visa into residence after a period of employment in New Zealand — a work-visa-first architecture, rather than the offer-first architecture of the Skilled Migrant Category.
Three named categories from that era still appear in Immigration New Zealand's own visa lookup:
- Talent (Accredited Employer) Resident Visa
- Talent (Arts, Culture, Sports) Resident Visa
- Long Term Skill Shortage List Resident Visa
Their settings were not verified during this research and should not be inferred from their names.
One point of care about the last of those. The Long Term Skill Shortage List Work Visa is confirmed closed. The Resident Visa of the same name is a different product, and its status was not verified. Do not read the closure of one as the closure of the other — this is exactly the kind of conflation that leads people to abandon a route that may still exist, or to pursue one that does not. See closed and legacy New Zealand visas.
What replaced the work-to-residence idea
Whatever the current status of the old category, the work-first route to residence is now served by clearly documented products:
| Visa | Structure | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Work to Residence Visa | 24 months in a Green List Tier 2 occupation, within the previous 30 | From NZ$6,450 |
| Care Workforce Work to Residence Visa | 24 months in one of nine care occupations, at NZ$28.25 an hour | NZ$6,450 |
| Transport Work to Residence Visa | 24 months in an acceptable transport job, at NZ$35.00 an hour | From NZ$6,450 |
| Skilled Migrant Category | Six points from a qualification, income or occupational registration, plus New Zealand work experience | From NZ$6,450 |
Each of those has a live INZ page, published requirements and a published fee. If you are looking for a work-based route to residence and have landed here, one of those four is almost certainly the instrument to read.
Step 1: Ask Immigration New Zealand directly
Because there is no published page, secondary sources cannot answer this. Immigration New Zealand's contact channels are the only authoritative route to a current answer about whether this category accepts applications and on what terms.
Step 2: Check whether a documented pathway already covers your situation
If you hold a work visa and are looking to convert it to residence, compare your circumstances against the four documented products above. In most cases one of them is the relevant instruction and the question about this category is moot.
Step 3: Take an unclear case to a licensed adviser
Where a legacy category genuinely matters — for instance if you were granted a Talent (Accredited Employer) Work Visa years ago and were told a residence route would follow — that is a case for a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer, not for a website. See how to find a licensed immigration adviser.
Why an undocumented fee line is worth publishing
Two reasons this page exists at all.
First, because people search for it. Older employment contracts, older adviser correspondence and older forum posts all reference "residence from work", and someone reading those documents today deserves an accurate account of what can and cannot be established, rather than a confident guess in either direction.
Second, because it is a good illustration of a general problem with New Zealand immigration information. Immigration New Zealand rebuilt its website and a large number of older URLs now 404. A page returning 404 is not evidence that a category ended — it is evidence that a URL changed. Treating one as the other produces exactly the kind of confident, wrong content this site exists to correct.
Where the line sits on advice
This page reports what could and could not be verified from primary sources on 20 August 2026. It does not tell anyone what to apply for, because under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 assessing an individual's options is licensed work — and the Act applies whether or not the person advising charges a fee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Residence from Work Category closed?
There is no evidence that it is closed, and there is evidence pointing the other way — a live fee line in Immigration New Zealand's May 2026 fees guide that reconciles exactly to a visa currently being granted. There is also no live INZ page setting out its criteria. The honest answer is that its status is unresolved and should be confirmed with Immigration New Zealand.
How much does the Residence from Work Category cost?
The INZ 1028 fee schedule dated May 2026 gives NZ$2,920 at Band A plus a NZ$3,570 immigration levy — NZ$6,490 in total.
Why can I not find a Residence from Work page on the INZ website?
Every URL path attempted returned 404. Immigration New Zealand rebuilt its site and many older addresses no longer resolve; current paths use /visit/, /visas/, /work/ and /live/. A 404 tells you a URL changed, not that a category ended.
Is the Talent (Accredited Employer) Resident Visa still open?
Its settings were not verified during this research. It appears in Immigration New Zealand's visa lookup, but that alone does not establish current eligibility criteria. Confirm with Immigration New Zealand.
Is the Long Term Skill Shortage List Resident Visa still open?
The Long Term Skill Shortage List Work Visa is confirmed closed. The status of the Resident Visa of the same name was not verified, and the closure of one should not be read as the closure of the other.
What should I use instead?
If you are converting work into residence, the four documented products are the Work to Residence Visa, the Care Workforce Work to Residence Visa, the Transport Work to Residence Visa and the Skilled Migrant Category. Each has a published page, published requirements and a published fee of around NZ$6,450.
What is the Global Impact Permanent Residence Visa?
A permanent residence product that appears in Immigration New Zealand's visa lookup, priced at NZ$6,490 with a published processing time of about 10 weeks. Its settings were not researched here. It is relevant to this page only because its price reconciles exactly to the Residence from Work Category fee line, which is what shows that line is in active use. See other New Zealand residence categories.
