Sydney, Australia (EFE).- New Zealand announced on Tuesday the creation of two new residency pathways for skilled foreign workers starting in mid-2026, with the aim of helping businesses retain skilled labor in sectors facing workforce shortages and amid a record exodus of citizens from the Oceanian country.
Minister of Economic Growth Nicola Willis said the initiative responds to the demand from employers, who felt that it was too difficult for some migrants to obtain residency despite having experience and skills not available in the existing workforce.
“We’re fixing it,” Willis stated in a statement.
The two new options are the ‘Skilled Work Experience pathway,’ aimed at workers with at least five years of work experience, including two years in New Zealand, and the ‘Trades and Technician pathway,’ which will apply to those with a relevant qualification at Level 4 or higher and at least four years of experience, 18 months of which must have been in the country.
Qualifications are organized from Level 1-10. Level 4 is equivalent to an advanced technical or vocational certificate, above basic secondary school education. From there, the levels increase: diplomas (levels 5-6), university degrees (7), master’s degrees (9), and doctoral degrees (10).
Minister of Immigration Erica Stanford said in the same statement that the government seeks to balance attracting highly skilled workers with responsibly managing migration levels, “ensuring that New Zealanders continue to be prioritized for jobs.”
The government will also reduce the required migrants with New Zealand university degrees need to work before they can apply for residency, with the intention of encouraging international students to stay in the country after graduation.
In January the government relaxed visitor visa rules to attract digital nomads, and a month later did the same for the Active Investor Plus visa.
The push for skilled labor comes as a record number of New Zealand citizens left the country between July 2024 and July 2025, according to data published by Statistics New Zealand.
During that period, 73,400 New Zealanders emigrated, compared to 25,800 who returned to live in the country, resulting in an unprecedented negative net migration balance.
These figures reflect a growing trend of emigration to Australia and other destinations, in search of better employment and living opportunities amid a shrinking GDP, and underscore the challenges New Zealand faces in retaining talent and stemming the loss of its workforce. EFE
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