Transport Work to Residence, Explained
The Transport Work to Residence Visa grants New Zealand residence to people who have worked 24 months in an acceptable transport job in New Zealand within the previous 30 months. The named eligible occupations are Ship's Master (231231) and Deck Hand (899211), both requiring maritime certificates. Pay must be at least NZ$35.00 an hour. It costs from NZ$6,450.
Quick Facts
| Item | Detail (as at August 2026) |
|---|---|
| Who it is for | People already working in New Zealand in an acceptable transport occupation |
| Named occupations | Ship's Master (231231) and Deck Hand (899211) |
| Prior New Zealand work | 24 months within the previous 30 months, holding a valid work visa throughout |
| Pay | At least NZ$35.00 an hour |
| Legacy rates | Bus driver NZ$28.00/hr, truck driver NZ$31.61/hr — roles approved before 7 April 2024 only |
| Employer | Must be accredited; job permanent or fixed-term 12 months or more |
| Age | 55 or younger |
| Cost | From NZ$6,450 — NZ$2,880 fee + NZ$3,570 immigration levy |
| Important context | Six transport occupations were removed from the Green List on 7 April 2024 |
| What it grants | Indefinite right to live, work and study in New Zealand |
Primary source: Transport Work to Residence Visa — INZ, read on 20 August 2026.
What this visa is, and what it is not
The Transport Work to Residence Visa is a named residence product with the same architecture as the Work to Residence Visa: 24 months of qualifying New Zealand work in the previous 30, an accredited employer, age 55 or younger, and a NZ$6,450 application.
What it is not is a broad open door for the transport industry. That framing was closer to true in 2023 than it is now.
On 29 September 2023, transport occupations were added to the Green List. On 7 April 2024, six transport occupations were removed from it. What survives is this visa, and Immigration New Zealand names two eligible occupations on it: Ship's Master and Deck Hand. Both are maritime roles, both require formal maritime certification, and neither is a road transport occupation.
Anyone arriving at this page expecting a truck driver residence pathway should read the section on legacy rates below carefully, because the position there is genuinely unclear and this site will not resolve it with a guess.
The named occupations
| Occupation | ANZSCO | Certification required |
|---|---|---|
| Ship's Master | 231231 | A Skipper Restricted Limits qualification with a 500GT or 3000GT endorsement, or an STCW certificate for vessels of 500 gross tonnes or more |
| Deck Hand | 899211 | A Qualified Deck Crew Certificate of Proficiency, or a Deck Watch Rating Certificate of Proficiency |
These are maritime and fishing sector roles. The certification is not optional and not substitutable — it is the requirement attached to the occupation, in the same way registration is the requirement attached to most Green List health occupations.
STCW refers to the international Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping convention. Skipper Restricted Limits, Qualified Deck Crew and Deck Watch Rating are New Zealand certificates administered through the maritime regulator. Which specific certificate satisfies the instruction in an individual case is a question for Immigration New Zealand or a licensed adviser.
The 24-month rule
24 months in an acceptable transport job in New Zealand, within the 30 months immediately before applying, holding a valid work visa throughout.
Three points are worth isolating:
- The work must be in New Zealand. Sea time accrued on foreign-flagged vessels outside New Zealand jurisdiction is not the same thing as New Zealand employment, and this test is about the latter.
- A valid work visa must be held throughout. A gap in visa status is a gap in the accrual.
- The 30-month window gives six months of tolerance, no more.
Pay
The general rate is NZ$35.00 an hour — the immigration median wage in force from 9 March 2026.
Two legacy rates also appear in the instruction:
| Role | Rate | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Bus driver | NZ$28.00/hr | Roles approved before 7 April 2024 |
| Truck driver | NZ$31.61/hr | Roles approved before 7 April 2024 |
Immigration New Zealand states that time worked in those pre-7-April-2024 roles, including bus driver roles, may still be counted toward the 24 months.
The part that is genuinely unclear
Bus drivers and truck drivers appear in the pay-threshold section of the instruction. They do not appear in the enumerated list of approved transport occupations with ANZSCO codes, which names only Ship's Master and Deck Hand.
Two readings are possible. Either bus and truck driver remain in-scope occupations with their own legacy rates, or those rates are historical references preserved so that pre-April-2024 work can still be counted toward an accrual that is otherwise completed in a named occupation.
This site does not know which reading is correct, and it is not a question to answer by inference. If you are a bus or truck driver in New Zealand with time accrued before 7 April 2024, this is the single most important thing to confirm — with Immigration New Zealand directly, or with a licensed immigration adviser — before you build a plan around it. Getting it wrong costs years.
Note also that NZ$31.61 is not an arbitrary figure: it was the immigration median wage between 28 February 2024 and 17 August 2025. It has been frozen into the instruction as a fixed legacy rate rather than re-indexed, which is consistent with it being a preserved historical threshold.
What the current job must look like
- Accredited employer. See employer accreditation explained.
- Permanent, or fixed-term for at least 12 months.
- Paid at the applicable rate.
- The applicant must be working in, or hold an offer for, the position at the time of application.
Age, English, health and character
- Age 55 or younger at the date of application.
- English — must be able to speak and understand English.
- Health — medical examination and, in most cases, a chest x-ray.
- Character — police certificates less than six months old for everyone aged 17 and over.
A partner and dependent children may be included.
Cost
| Component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Application fee | NZ$2,880 |
| Immigration levy | NZ$3,570 |
| Total | NZ$6,450 |
Immigration New Zealand publishes the combined "from" figure only. The same total applies to the Skilled Migrant Category, the Straight to Residence Visa, the Work to Residence Visa and the Care Workforce Work to Residence Visa. There has been no general fee or levy increase in 2025 or 2026.
Costs outside the application — maritime certification, medicals, police certificates, translations — are additional. See the cost of New Zealand residence.
Processing time
Immigration New Zealand's published resident visa wait-time table does not list this visa separately. For scale, the structurally comparable Work to Residence Visa averages 8 weeks with 80% decided within 3.5 months. That is not a figure for this visa. INZ's processing-time tool gives an estimated decision date based on submission date and current averages, and it is the right place to check.
Priority processing does not exist for any New Zealand visa, at any price. Anyone offering to buy you a faster decision is running a scam — see immigration scams to avoid.
Step 1: Confirm the occupation and the certificate
Ship's Master requires a Skipper Restricted Limits qualification with a 500GT or 3000GT endorsement, or an STCW certificate for vessels of 500 gross tonnes or more. Deck Hand requires a Qualified Deck Crew or Deck Watch Rating Certificate of Proficiency. Confirm exactly which certificate you hold and how it maps to the instruction.
Step 2: Reconstruct the 24 months
For each period, record the role, the employer, the visa held, and the pay rate — then test the rate against what applied at the time. Where any of the period is pre-7-April-2024 bus or truck driver work, confirm its treatment with Immigration New Zealand before you rely on it.
Step 3: Check the employer's accreditation and current job terms
Accredited employer, permanent or fixed-term for 12 months or more, paid at the applicable rate.
Step 4: Assemble health, character and English evidence
Medical, chest x-ray where required, and police certificates less than six months old for everyone aged 17 and over. An application lodged without an upfront police certificate may be declined without further contact.
Step 5: Apply online
Applications are made through an Immigration Online account.
What changes on 24 August 2026
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 applying 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.
Immigration New Zealand has confirmed the change extends to the Transport Work to Residence Visa. It matters here because the general rate is the median wage, which rose from NZ$33.56 to NZ$35.00 on 9 March 2026 — a rise that could otherwise have caught people mid-accrual.
This page was verified on 20 August 2026, four days before that change. Confirm the current rules on Immigration New Zealand's site.
After the visa is granted
This is a Resident Visa, granting an indefinite right to live, work and study in New Zealand, not tied to the employer once granted. Its travel conditions expire — typically two years from first arrival. A Permanent Resident Visa, with no travel expiry, can be applied for after two years for NZ$315 and is decided in an average of 1.5 weeks.
See Resident Visa vs Permanent Resident Visa.
How it compares with the care workforce pathway
| Transport | Care Workforce | |
|---|---|---|
| Named occupations | Ship's Master (231231), Deck Hand (899211) | Nine care occupations in Appendix 14 |
| Rate | NZ$35.00/hr, plus legacy bus and truck rates | NZ$28.25/hr |
| Rate indexed to median? | Yes — it is the median | No — separately fixed since 1 July 2022 |
| Qualification gate | Maritime certificates required | None specified in the occupation list |
| Prior NZ work | 24 months in 30 | 24 months in 30 |
| Fee | From NZ$6,450 | NZ$6,450 |
See Care Workforce Work to Residence and the side-by-side in Care Workforce vs Transport.
If you are a road transport worker
The honest summary: the named eligible occupations on this visa are maritime, and six transport occupations were removed from the Green List on 7 April 2024. Legacy pay rates for bus and truck driver roles approved before that date remain in the instruction, and their current scope is unclear.
That leaves the general skilled route. The Skilled Migrant Category does not require Green List membership; it requires six points from a qualification, income or occupational registration, topped up by New Zealand skilled work experience, and a job with an accredited employer at the relevant skill level. From 24 August 2026 it gains a Trades and Technician pathway open to Level 4 qualifications, together with red and amber occupation lists whose full contents must be confirmed on Immigration New Zealand's site.
See the Skilled Migrant Category explained and jobs with no Green List pathway.
Where to get advice
This page sets out what the published instructions say, including where they are ambiguous. It does not assess anyone's eligibility — under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 that is licensed work, whether or not the person advising is paid.
The bus and truck driver question in particular is one to put to a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer, or to Immigration New Zealand directly. See how to find a licensed immigration adviser.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which jobs qualify for the Transport Work to Residence Visa?
Immigration New Zealand names two: Ship's Master (231231) and Deck Hand (899211). Both require specific maritime certificates.
Can truck drivers get residence in New Zealand through this visa?
The position is not clear. Truck driver appears in the pay-threshold section of the instruction — NZ$31.61 an hour for roles approved before 7 April 2024 — but not in the enumerated list of approved occupations, which names only Ship's Master and Deck Hand. Confirm this with Immigration New Zealand or a licensed adviser before relying on it.
What about bus drivers?
The same ambiguity applies. A legacy rate of NZ$28.00 an hour exists for bus driver roles approved before 7 April 2024, and Immigration New Zealand states that time worked in those roles may still be counted toward the 24 months. Whether bus driver remains an in-scope occupation for a new application is not something the published material settles.
What pay is required for the Transport Work to Residence Visa?
NZ$35.00 an hour — the immigration median wage from 9 March 2026 — for general approved transport jobs. The two legacy rates apply only to roles approved before 7 April 2024.
What certificates does a Ship's Master need?
A Skipper Restricted Limits qualification with a 500GT or 3000GT endorsement, or an STCW certificate for vessels of 500 gross tonnes or more.
What certificates does a Deck Hand need?
A Qualified Deck Crew Certificate of Proficiency, or a Deck Watch Rating Certificate of Proficiency.
Is there a seafarer residence visa for New Zealand?
This is it. The maritime and fishing roles — Ship's Master and Deck Hand — sit inside the Transport Work to Residence Visa rather than in a separate seafood or maritime instrument.
How much does it cost and how long does it take?
From NZ$6,450 — a NZ$2,880 fee plus a NZ$3,570 immigration levy. Immigration New Zealand does not publish a separate wait time for this visa; use its processing-time tool.
What happened to the transport roles on the Green List?
Transport occupations were added on 29 September 2023 and six were removed on 7 April 2024. Where an occupation is removed, work already accrued still counts, provided the person stays in the occupation and continues to meet the requirements as they were listed. See how the Green List changes.
