Vietnamese workers: could your years of experience now count towards New Zealand residence?

Visa guide · 2026-09-19 · 3 min read

Do you have many years of work experience, but not a long list of qualifications? New Zealand may have good news for you. On 24 August 2026, it opened two new residence pathways. This article looks at one of them, in simple words.

What is residence?

Residence is permission to live in a country for the long term. Many workers in New Zealand were on temporary work visas, and for years they had no clear way to move on to residence. The earlier skilled route had almost stopped working. It approved only six applications in the 2024/25 year.

The Skilled Work Experience pathway

This new route is built around what you have done at work. The main conditions are:

your job is in ANZSCO Level 1–3 (ANZSCO is the system Australia and New Zealand use to group jobs by skill level);
your pay is at least 1.1 times the median wage;
you have five years of relevant work history.

The idea is easy to understand. The government wants to value what a person can really do, not only the certificates they hold. This is helpful for people who learned their skills on the job.

There is also a second route, called Trades and Technician. It is for specified trade roles with a Level 4 qualification and four years of hands-on experience.

How many people applied?

More than 1,500 people applied in the first two weeks. This was higher than the government expected. It shows that many workers and employers had been waiting for this chance. By mid-2026, 19,324 residence applications were already waiting in all categories.

A look at early childhood teachers

Early childhood teachers show why the change matters. More than 200 of the first 1,500 applicants came from this group. By January 2025, over 1,000 early childhood teachers were working in New Zealand on Accredited Employer Work Visas. That was a 25% jump in less than a year. Before this change, those teachers had no path to residence. Now they do.

Something to watch: the Green List

The Green List is a list of jobs that can qualify for a direct path to residence, without the employer advertising locally first. The government is reviewing it. Some jobs may be removed, and health and engineering may face new advertising rules. So these changes do not make everything easier. They open some doors and tighten others.

How to prepare

Write down your work history clearly, year by year.
Check how your Vietnamese degree or vocational certificate can be recognised in New Zealand. Some trades need occupational registration.
Prepare certified English translations of your documents where the rules ask for them.
If a police certificate is requested, the Judicial Record Certificate No. 2 (Phiếu lý lịch tư pháp số 2) is usually the one for Vietnamese citizens.
Learn if you need an English test, such as IELTS or PTE.

Stay safe

When a new route opens, some people try to sell false hope. Deal only with licensed organisations and real employers. Never pay an unlicensed broker, and be careful with anyone asking for money upfront to secure a job or a visa. For the latest rules, read the official New Zealand visa pages.

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