Teaching jobs
in New Zealand

For workers

Teaching is a regulated profession, so the order matters. The Teaching Council decides whether you can teach, and the visa follows from a job offer. Most of the waiting is in the registration, so start that first.

Visas that can fit

• Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV). You need an offer from an accredited employer, such as a school or centre, with an approved Job Check. The Ministry of Education's page for overseas-trained teachers names the AEWV first, with the duration tied to your job offer (Ministry of Education, get ready to move).
• Green List, Tier 1 (Straight to Residence). In the Appendix 13 version dated 9 March 2026, primary, secondary, middle or intermediate school teachers and Kaiako and Pouako Kura Kaupapa Māori were Tier 1. The listed condition was Teaching Council registration with a provisional or full practising certificate, plus one of the named Bachelor of Education or teaching degrees. The Ministry of Education notes the pathway has a salary threshold that some teachers may not meet. INZ says you must be aged 55 or younger when you apply (Straight to Residence Visa).
• Green List, Tier 2 (Work to Residence). The same version listed registered early childhood teachers and several special education teacher roles in Tier 2. The Ministry of Education says the early childhood route needs full-time work, permanent or fixed-term for at least 12 months, and also has a salary threshold. INZ says you must be aged 55 or younger when you apply (Work to Residence Visa).
• Other routes. The Ministry also mentions a Working Holiday Visa for up to 12 months where you are eligible. Partner, student and residence options are in our work visa guide and residence guide.

Registration, licences and English

• Qualification check first. The Teaching Council says you apply to NZQA for a Teaching International Qualification Assessment before you register. NZQA no longer pre-approves overseas teaching qualifications, and a discretionary pathway exists, with an extra review fee, if your assessment falls short (Teaching Council, satisfactorily trained to teach). Australian-trained teachers may qualify under the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act 1997.
• Registration and the practising certificate. Registration does not by itself let you teach. A practising certificate does, and the first one for a beginning teacher is the Tōmua, or Provisional Practising Certificate. The Council says applications usually take 6 to 12 weeks (Teaching Council, third-party checks and applying).
• Checks. You supply a New Zealand Police vet, plus overseas police vets for any country you lived in for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. You also provide evidence of a supervised induction or mentored programme from when you began teaching, and declarations on fitness to teach.
• English. The Teaching Council needs evidence of English or te reo Māori competency. Accepted tests must be under 2 years old, for example IELTS Academic 7.0 in every skill, or a PTE Academic score of 69 overall, and some study or schooling in English can count instead (Teaching Council, language competency). This is separate from INZ's AEWV English rule, which is set by skill level (INZ, 25 May 2026).

How to find jobs

• Tell the Teaching Council as soon as you have a firm job offer. The Ministry of Education says it prioritises those applications.
• Schools and centres hiring from overseas need to appear on INZ's accredited employer list. Check before you rely on an offer.
• The Ministry runs a teacher supply service for overseas-trained teachers, with webinars and a navigator team. It says the navigators clarify requirements but do not complete steps for you.
• Ask the school how it will assess your salary. The Ministry's page says you complete a salary assessment with Education Payroll, and your school takes part.

Common mistakes

• Paying anyone for a teaching job. Job offer scams are common — check with INZ before paying anyone.
• Treating registration as the same thing as being allowed to teach. You need a practising certificate too.
• Letting an English test lapse. Results must be less than 2 years old when you apply.
• Planning a residence pathway without checking the salary threshold that applies to your sector.

For employers

Schools and early childhood centres can recruit from overseas, but the visa work sits next to professional checks. The Teaching Council says a practising certificate is what permits someone to teach, so the two timelines need to run together.

• Accreditation. A school or centre needs employer accreditation before hiring on an AEWV. Standard accreditation is for up to 5 migrants and high-volume for 6 or more, valid for 12 months (INZ process page).
• Job Check. Apply within 90 days of the advert closing if you advertised. A Job Check lasts 6 months or until your accreditation ends, and there is a fee for each one.
• Pay. Since 10 March 2025 no median wage threshold applies to the AEWV. The floor is the minimum wage, $23.95 an hour from 1 April 2026. The Ministry of Education says a salary assessment is completed with Education Payroll, with the school taking part.
• Mentoring. The Ministry says the school gets a time allowance for mentoring, 10 weeks for primary, intermediate and special schools and 20 weeks for composite and secondary schools.
• Relocation help. Eligible primary and secondary teachers can receive up to $10,000 through the Overseas Relocation Grant. Funding is capped each year and allocated first-come, first-served, so confirm the current round with the Ministry.
• Obligations. Do not pass recruitment costs on to the teacher, and give them information about living and working in New Zealand.

If your board or centre is applying for accreditation for the first time, our employer accreditation service can take on the paperwork.