Which jobs are on NZ’s ‘green list’?
What do a Kaiako Kura Kaupapa Māori, backhoe operator and paediatric surgeon have in common? They’re all on the Immigration NZ “green list”.
The green list details roles that are in demand in New Zealand. Migrants in those occupations have smoother path to residency. “Tier one” roles can offer a “straight to residence” option, while “tier two” roles offer “work to residence”.
The Government added six roles to the list this month, including aviation engineers and corrections officers.
But it said some previously announced roles would not be added, including welders, fitters and turners, and vehicle painters.
“The work to residence pathway for bus and truck drivers is also closing to new applicants, as the shortages of drivers reported when this was established have been filled,” Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said at the time. “These changes are the start of a more comprehensive work programme to create a smarter immigration system that manages net migration, responds to our changing economic context, attracts top talent, revitalises international education, is self-funding and sustainable, and better manages risk.”
Now, questions are being asked about how the list is administered and whether the settings are right.
Business NZ said it would welcome a review. “The green list was introduced following the post-Covid border re-opening, and before the skilled migrant category policy was reviewed and introduced in October 2023,” a spokesperson said.
“It would be timely for the Government to review the work residency settings given that both the skilled migrant category and the green list provide straight-to-residence or work-to-residence pathways and there is now significant duplication between the two visa channels.
“The green list has had no publicly available criteria for industry to get occupations added to the list, no process for industry to engage with, and no published information on the number of people that have arrived in New Zealand under green list occupations to inform the effectiveness of it.”
Alan McDonald, head of advocacy at the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) said it was important to get the balance right, for both employers and potential migrants.
There were questions to address around how the Government determined which roles counted as “highly skilled”, he said.
“New Zealand still has shortages of truck drivers, health care workers and construction workers, while not going ahead with placing occupations such as welders and fitters and turners on the green list could cause some shorter-term issues while employers find and train up suitable local staff,” he said.
He said he knew of some businesses that did not have enough experienced welders to train apprentices. “We are supportive of ensuring we are bringing in the right workers, and that they are not exploited, but we do need to get the balance right.
“Making it harder for motivated workers to come into New Zealand means they will go somewhere else, that hurts business and means our economy misses out.
“The reality is our population is aging rapidly, is highly educated and we are losing many young people to Australia. As a result, we don’t have the workers to do some of the jobs that are unfairly categorised as unskilled.
“These jobs make an important contribution to our economy, and we still need them. This latest round of changes further highlights the need to settle on a stable, longterm migration policy.”
Infometrics chief forecast Gareth Kiernan said the “open door” policy of the last 18 months had worked well to alleviate the skills shortages that had become critical during Covid but could not last. “The Government move towards focusing on more highly skilled roles again and having a more targeted policy is a necessary shift – the in-flow we’ve had isn’t sustainable when you take into account the housing and infrastructure limitations we have got here.”
But he said it had been clear during the pandemic that some lower-skilled roles were not things that New Zealanders wanted to do. “Where do they go from here?”
Immigration policy manager Polly Vowles said the list helped address ongoing skills shortages by offering a clear, prioritised, occupation-based offer of residence where it was particularly important to attract people.
“At the time of its introduction, the Minister of Immigration agreed that the first review of the green list would occur a year after its creation – the 2023 Green List review, with subsequent reviews every three years from there. Reviews consider roles proposed for addition against criteria relating to evidence of shortage, national significance, and skill level. As part of the 2023 green list review MBIE received nominations for additional occupations from key stakeholders, including private organisations, peak bodies, and government agencies.
“An occupation is recommended to be added to the ‘straight to residence’ pathway where the role already qualifies for residence via the skilled migrant category, as the green list is likely to offer a quicker pathway to residence.”