Healthcare jobs
in New Zealand

For workers

Clinical jobs in New Zealand have a council or board behind them, such as the Nursing Council or the Medical Council, and each has its own rules for people trained overseas. A visa application and a registration application can run side by side, so start both early and keep the documents consistent.

Visas that can fit

• Green List, Tier 1. In Appendix 13 dated 9 March 2026, Tier 1 (Straight to Residence) includes nurse practitioners and registered nurses, enrolled nurses, midwives, general practitioners, dentists, hospital pharmacists, physiotherapists and medical imaging technologists. Where the list sets a condition, it names registration with the matching New Zealand council and a degree. Read the live entry for your role before you plan around it. INZ says you must be aged 55 or younger when you apply (Straight to Residence Visa).
• Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV). This works for a job offer from an accredited employer with an approved Job Check. The offer must be full-time, at least 30 hours a week, and the AEWV English test applies at skill levels 4 and 5 and, from 1 June 2026, level 3 (INZ, 25 May 2026), so check how your job is graded. 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).
• Partner and other routes. If you are joining a partner or studying here first, see the partner and family guide and the study guide.

Registration, licences and English

• Nurses. The Nursing Council says you cannot apply to it directly. You first verify your identity, your registrations from the last 10 years, your nursing qualification, your English evidence and 1,800 hours of post-registration nursing experience through TruMerit. Then you apply to the Council, complete two free online courses on culturally safe practice, pass a criminal history check and, if required, a competence assessment. That assessment has a theory exam and a clinical exam (OSCE). Whether you must sit it depends on your background, and the Council's self-assessment tool gives an indication.
• Doctors. The Medical Council's General scope lists pathways by background, such as UK and Irish graduates, Australian registrants, the examinations pathway and the comparable health system pathway. Its announcement of 15 July 2025 set a fast-track for GPs trained in the US, Canada and Singapore, with applications processed within two months.
• Midwives and others. Midwives apply to the Midwifery Council. The Green List names the Physiotherapy Board, the Dental Council and the Pharmacy Council for those professions.
• English. Even where an AEWV needs no English test, the council that registers you will want its own evidence of English, so read its requirements page rather than the visa page.

How to find jobs

• Use INZ's accredited employer list to confirm that a hospital, clinic or practice can hire you on an AEWV.
• Ask each employer whether the offer depends on your registration and what start date they expect.
• Read the job offer for hours and pay. An AEWV job must be full-time and the employer must keep paying the amount that is recorded in your visa conditions.

Common mistakes

• Trying to apply to the Nursing Council directly. The Council says you cannot, and that your documents must be verified through TruMerit first.
• Assuming a competence assessment is optional. Registered nurses with a Bachelor-equivalent qualification and 1,800 hours of RN work in the USA, UK, Ireland, Singapore, British Columbia or Ontario in the last 10 years may not need one. The Council confirms the outcome only after the full assessment.
• Relying on an old checklist. The Nursing Council has issued new requirements for internationally qualified enrolled nurses, and the Medical Council changes its pathways from time to time.
• Paying anyone for a job offer. INZ declines applications that involve money paid to the employer.

For employers

A health employer carries two checks: the migration process and the worker's professional registration. Plan the start date around whichever is slower.

• Accreditation and Job Check. Accreditation lasts 12 months. Each role then needs its own Job Check, valid for 6 months, and there is a fee for each. You must confirm the person has the skills, experience or qualifications for the role before you make the offer.
• Registration timing. The Medical Council's July 2025 announcement gives processing targets: 20 working days for the comparable health system pathway, two months for the GP fast-track, and three months for specialists from other countries applying for provisional vocational registration. Ask the Nursing Council and other councils for their current timeframes.
• Pay. The AEWV has had no median wage requirement since 10 March 2025. Pay must still be the market rate for the job and place, and not below the minimum wage of $23.95 an hour. Green List roles carry pay conditions of their own.
• Settlement duties. Give the worker information about living and working in New Zealand, support their settlement, and do not pass recruitment costs on to them.
• Stand-down lists. Employers on the Immigration or Employment New Zealand stand-down lists cannot hire migrants.

We help employers set up accreditation and Job Checks. See the employer accreditation service →