Aged care jobs
in New Zealand

For workers

Care work has its own residence visa, and it runs on a clock. Time spent in the right job, at the right pay, with the right visa is what counts, so the details of your first contract matter.

Visas that can fit

• Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV). You need a full-time offer from an accredited employer with an approved Job Check. If your job is graded at skill level 4 or 5, or at level 3 from 1 June 2026 (INZ, 25 May 2026), you must show English, for example an IELTS overall score of 4 or more or a PTE Academic score of 29 or more. Exempt from the level 3 rule: an AEWV expiring on or before 1 December 2026 when you apply for a further level 3 AEWV, people who already gave English evidence in an earlier AEWV application, Global Workforce Seasonal Visa and Peak Seasonal Visa applications, and Job Change applications (same INZ news item). For skill level 4 or 5 jobs the maximum stay is 3 years, unless the job is an eligible care workforce job paid at least $28.25 an hour, which allows up to 5 years.
• Care Workforce Work to Residence Visa. INZ's page says applications are open and shows no closing date. INZ says you must be aged 55 or younger when you apply (Care Workforce Work to Residence Visa), and have worked in the care workforce for 24 months in the 30 months before you apply. That time can be spread across several periods and can include leave you are legally entitled to. The job must be permanent or fixed-term for at least 12 months, and the fee is $6,450.
• Eligible jobs. The list includes Aged or Disabled Carer, Nursing Support Worker, Personal Care Assistant, Residential Care Officer, Disabilities Services Officer, Therapy Aide, Diversional Therapist, Māori Health Assistant (Kaiawhina Hauora) and Child or Youth Residential Care Assistant. Read the exact title on your contract against the list.
• Other routes. See the work visa guide and the residence guide for the wider picture.

Registration, licences and English

• Qualifications. Careerforce says entry-level roles usually need no qualifications, but on-the-job training towards the New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing Level 2 or 3 is likely expected. Level 2 takes about 7 months and Level 3 Health Assistance about 12 months.
• Nursing roles. Registered and enrolled nurses working in aged care are registered by the Nursing Council. See the healthcare guide for that process.
• English for residence. The residence visa needs you to speak and understand English, shown by citizenship, study or an accepted test that is no more than 2 years old when you apply.

How to find jobs

• Check the provider on INZ's accredited employer list before you accept.
• Ask whether the employer supports training through Careerforce. Its employer-delivered training lets staff learn on site while earning.
• Ask in writing for the job title, hours and hourly rate. They decide whether your months count towards residence.

Common mistakes

• Treating all care jobs as equal. Only the job titles on INZ's eligible list count for the residence visa.
• Starting a job below the care workforce wage rate. You must have been paid at least the rate in place when your 24 months began, and the current rates are on INZ's Work to Residence wage rates page.
• Letting police certificates age. They must be less than 6 months old when you apply.
• Leaving it late. INZ says you must be aged 55 or younger when you apply (Care Workforce Work to Residence Visa).
• Not holding the right visa for the whole period. You must have held a work visa, a Critical Purpose Visitor Visa that allowed work, or an Interim Visa for the full 24 months. The Critical Purpose Visitor Visa is now closed.

For employers

An aged care employer can set the process up once and repeat it for each hire. How a care role is graded decides how much extra work that hire needs.

• Accreditation. Choose standard (up to 5 migrants) or high-volume (6 or more) accreditation. It lasts 12 months and then needs renewing.
• Job Check. Advertise first, then apply within 90 days of the advertisement closing. One application can cover several positions with the same job, pay, location and minimum requirements. For ANZSCO skill level 4 and 5 roles, declare in good faith that you engaged with Work and Income and interviewed suitable candidates, and keep the evidence.
• Pay. The statutory pay-equity rates for care and support workers stopped at 31 December 2023, when those sections of the 2017 Act were repealed. Since 10 March 2025 the AEWV has had no median wage requirement, but you must pay the market rate and not less than the $23.95 adult minimum wage. INZ uses $28.25 an hour as the pay line for a 5-year stay in an eligible care workforce job. The residence rate is on INZ's Work to Residence wage rates page.
• Sector agreements. The care workforce sector agreement's wage exemption ended on 10 March 2025. INZ says agreements that offer residence pathways continue, with no change to the residence wage.
• Obligations. Do not pass recruitment costs on to workers, and give them information about living and working in New Zealand. Check that you are not on a stand-down list.

We help providers with accreditation and Job Checks. See the employer accreditation service →