The Green List: Simplified applications and residence pathways

The Green List will make it easier for employers to hire and attract migrants for specified high-skilled, hard-to-fill occupations, with guaranteed residence pathways for eligible people.

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The Green List only contains a small number of highly skilled roles that have been identified as being in high demand globally and in ongoing shortage in New Zealand. These roles will have registration, qualification or experience requirements, and more detail on these is available on the Immigration New Zealand website. Employers won’t need to provide proof of advertising for these occupations when progressing an accredited employer work visa job check application.

Eligible migrants working in these occupations will have clear pathways to residence, either through a direct to residence application or after working for in New Zealand depending on the role. Their partners will have open work rights. Both residence pathways will be limited to migrants 55 years or younger which is aligned with the Skilled Migrant Category requirements. The Green List is about making it easier to attract globally in-demand workers, but it is not the only pathway to residence available. Other employers will still be able to access skilled migrants, and many of them will also have a pathway to residence through the Skilled Migrant Category.

The Fast-Tracked ‘Straight to Residence’ pathway

Eligible migrants employed in these occupations can come to New Zealand on a work visa from 4 July and apply for residence from September 2022. From September residence can also be applied for directly from offshore. Minimum salary requirements apply where specified, and these will be indexed to the median wage and change over time.

Construction Project Manager

Project Builder

Quantity Surveyor

Surveyor

Chemical Engineer

Civil Engineering Technician

Civil Engineer

Electrical Engineer

Electronics Engineer

Electrical Engineering Technician

Environmental Engineer

Geotechnical Engineer

Industrial Engineer

Materials Engineer

Mechanical Engineer

Production or Plant Engineer

Structural Engineer

Engineering Professionals (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Telecommunications Engineers

Telecommunications Network Engineers

General Practitioner

Anaesthetist

Psychiatrist

Specialist Physicians (Not Elsewhere Classified)

Surgeons (Including General Surgeons, Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Neurosurgeon, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Otorhinolaryngologist, Urologist And Vascular Surgeon)

Other Medical Practitioners (Including Dermatologist, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Ophthalmologist, Diagnostic and Interventional Radiologist, and Radiation Oncologist)

Resident Medical Officer

Medical Laboratory Scientist

Clinical Psychologists & Psychologists

Physicist (Medical)

Orthoptist

Veterinarian

Other Spatial Scientist

Environmental Research Scientist

Food Technologist

ICT Managers ($120,000)

Software Engineer ($120,000)

ICT Security Specialist ($120,000)

Multimedia Specialists ($95,000)

The Work to Residence pathway Eligible migrants in these occupations can apply for residence after two years:

Anaesthetic Technician

Medical Laboratory Technician

Medical Imaging Technologist

Medical Radiation Therapist

Occupational Therapist

Sonographer

Podiatrist

Audiologist

All Registered Nurses (including but not limited to Aged Care)

Midwife

Teachers - Secondary with specialisations and registered ECE

Automotive Electrician

Diesel Motor Mechanic (including Heavy Vehicle Inspector)

Electrician (General) –registered

Plumber – registered Dairy Farm Managers

Migrants paid at least twice the median wage in other roles can also apply for residence after two years.

Questions and Answers

Is the Green List the same as the current skills shortage lists?

The Green List is shorter and more focused than the Regional Skills Shortage List. Many (but not all) of the roles on the Long-Term Skills Shortage List are on the Green List.

How do these changes relate to other residence pathways?

The Green List provides two pathways for residence – a fast track or work-to-residence path. There is also a pathway to Eligible migrants working in these occupations or who are paid twice the median wage will have clear pathways to residence. A review is underway of the Skilled Migrant Category. This pathway will be reopened later in 2022 after applications for the 2021 Resident Visa close on 31 July.

What will happen to the existing skills shortage lists (the Long-Term Skill Shortage List, Regional Skills Shortage List, and Constructions and Infrastructure Skill Shortage List)? The existing skills shortage lists will be replaced by the new Green List. This means any roles that are currently on a skills shortage list, but not on the Green List won’t be exempt from a labour market test unless they pay at least 200% of the median wage.

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Source:

Beehive