You need a visa before you travel
Pakistan is not on New Zealand’s visa waiver list. A Pakistani citizen needs a visa for every kind of trip, including a short visit to see family or to look at a city before moving. The New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) is only for passport holders from visa waiver countries, so it is not an option.
If you hold a second passport from a visa waiver country, the rules for that passport apply when you travel on it. Check Immigration New Zealand’s (INZ) list of visa waiver countries rather than relying on what a travel agent tells you.
Your qualification will probably need an assessment
INZ says most qualifications gained outside New Zealand need an International Qualification Assessment (IQA) from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). The assessment decides whether your qualification is recognised for a visa and at what level. INZ does not make that decision itself, and a professional registration body may decide separately again.
There is one exception worth checking if you are an engineer. An engineering degree accredited under the Washington Accord, or an engineering technology degree accredited under the Sydney Accord, does not need an IQA. Your country must have been a signatory to the accord when your degree was awarded, so check the year on the International Engineering Alliance’s list.
An IQA takes time and costs money, so apply for it before you build a plan on an assumed level.
English is usually shown with a test
INZ accepts English ability without a test in some situations: for example, citizens of Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States who have worked or studied in certain countries, or people with a degree from Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States. A degree taught in English in Pakistan does not meet those conditions.
So most Pakistani applicants who need to show English will sit a test. INZ accepts several tests, including IELTS and PTE Academic. The test must be taken in person at a test centre, because INZ does not accept results from tests taken at home, and the result must be recent when you apply. The score you need depends on the visa, and the INZ page for each visa states it.
Students: funds are examined for their source
For a student visa, reaching the required balance is not enough. INZ looks at where the money came from, how long it has been in the account, and whether you can actually use it. A large deposit with no explanation, or funds held by a relative with no letter explaining the support, can lead INZ to question an application that has enough money in it.
Prepare bank statements covering a period, not a single balance. Add evidence of where the money came from, such as property sale documents or salary records, and a short explanation of who is supporting you. Read our guide on choosing a course before you pay a deposit, because the course also decides your work rights afterwards.
Documents to start on first
Police certificates and medical examinations come from other people and run on their timetable, not yours. They are the most common reason a complete application waits.
You will usually need a police certificate from Pakistan, and possibly from other countries where you have lived. Years of work in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar or another Gulf country can add a certificate that people do not expect. Any certificate not in English needs an English translation. The medical examination must be done by a doctor on INZ’s approved panel.
Who may advise you
Giving immigration advice about New Zealand requires a New Zealand licence or a legal exemption, and that applies to consultants in Lahore, Karachi or Islamabad as much as anywhere else. An education agent or a recruiter is not automatically allowed to advise you about your visa. Anyone can check an adviser’s licence on the public register in a minute.
Charging a worker for a job in New Zealand is illegal. If someone asks you to pay for a job offer, treat it as a warning about the job.
Where to start
Routes Pakistani applicants most often use
Ordered by how commonly they are used, not by how easy they are. Each one is assessed on different evidence.
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01
Student visas
The qualification you choose decides what work rights you have after it.
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02
Accredited Employer Work Visa
Requires an accredited employer and an approved job check before you can apply.
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03
Residence through skilled work
Usually reached after skilled work in New Zealand, not from overseas experience alone.
Start these first
The four things that hold applications up
All four come from someone other than you, and all four run on their own timetable. Beginning them late is the most common self-inflicted delay.
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Police certificates
From every country you have lived in for long enough to trigger the requirement, which is often more than one. Slow, and outside your control.
Find your country’s issuing authority -
Medical examination
Has to be done by a doctor on the approved panel. A medical from your own doctor does not count, however thorough it is.
Find an approved doctor -
Qualification assessment
NZQA decides whether an overseas qualification is recognised and at what level. Immigration New Zealand does not, and professional bodies decide separately again.
How NZQA assesses qualifications -
English evidence
Check which tests and scores are currently accepted before you book one. Sitting the wrong test is a common way to lose a month.
Accepted tests and scores