The visa waiver covers visits only
The United States is on New Zealand’s visa waiver list. American citizens and US nationals can visit without applying for a visa first, but you must get a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) before you travel. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) gives you a visitor visa when you arrive.
The waiver is for short visits. It does not let you work, and it does not count towards living here. To work, study for longer or move permanently, you need a visa. A work visa needs an accredited employer and an approved job check, exactly as it does for an applicant from any other country.
The working holiday visa
If you are a US citizen within INZ’s age range and you live in the United States, you can apply for the USA Working Holiday Visa. You do not need a job offer. The visa lets you:
- holiday in New Zealand
- work in temporary jobs
- study or train for a limited time
- travel in and out of New Zealand.
You cannot take a permanent job on this visa. You cannot get it if you have had a New Zealand working holiday visa before, even one you did not use. A partner or child who wants to come with you needs to apply for their own visa. You also need to show funds for your living costs, full medical insurance and a plan to leave at the end of your stay. The INZ page gives the current age range, length of stay and amount of funds.
A working holiday is a good way to see whether New Zealand suits you. It is a temporary visa, and staying longer means applying for a different visa, usually through an accredited employer.
Your citizenship can count for English
For skilled residence visas, INZ accepts your English ability from your citizenship if you are a citizen of Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States and you have worked or studied for long enough in one of those countries, or in Australia or New Zealand. A qualification comparable to a New Zealand bachelor’s degree, gained while living in one of the listed countries, can also count.
The rules for work visas are different, so check the INZ page for the visa you are applying for. If you need a test, it must be taken in person at a test centre. INZ does not accept tests taken at home.
Qualifications and registration
Most qualifications gained outside New Zealand need an International Qualification Assessment from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). Some US qualifications are on INZ’s list of exemptions for the Skilled Migrant Category, so check that list before you pay for an assessment.
If your job needs a licence or registration in New Zealand, such as nursing, medicine, teaching or many engineering roles, the registration body decides that separately. A US licence does not automatically give you New Zealand registration. Start the registration process early, because a work or residence visa for these roles usually needs it.
Police certificates
For a resident visa, INZ asks for a police certificate from every country you are a citizen of, and from every other country where you have lived long enough to trigger the rule. For most Americans that means a US certificate, plus one from any other country where you have lived or worked. INZ’s police certificate tool shows how to get one from each country. Our guide on police certificates explains the rule.
Who may advise you
Only a licensed New Zealand immigration adviser, a New Zealand lawyer, or a person with a legal exemption may give immigration advice about New Zealand. That applies to relocation consultants in the United States as much as anywhere else. A US immigration attorney is not licensed to advise on New Zealand visas unless they also hold a New Zealand licence or exemption. Check any adviser’s licence on the public register before you pay.
Where to start
Routes American 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
Accredited Employer Work Visa
The main work route, through an accredited employer and an approved job check.
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02
Residence through skilled work
Where most skilled applicants are heading, usually after a period of work in New Zealand.
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03
Skilled Migrant Category points
Check whether your qualification, registration or income reaches the points requirement on its own.
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04
Partner and family visas
For joining a partner who is a New Zealand citizen or resident, assessed on evidence of your life together.
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