Although the New Zealand border remains closed to non-residents or citizens, you may still be able to enter the country if you have a critical purpose for coming such as a health or disability worker.
If you are deemed a Critical Health Worker and been offered a job you can apply for a critical purpose visa. This is actually a visitor visa that allows you to work for up to 6 months with an approved employer such as District Health Board (DHB). This is the only way to currently enter New Zealand. Once this is underway, you can then apply for your longer-term work visa, which is normally then issued once you’re in the country.
The first step in the process is to apply for a Request to Travel to New Zealand. Go to: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/formshelp/request-for-travel-to-new-zealand
You will then be invited by Immigration NZ to apply for the visa itself. Once you have the invitation via email you have one month to apply for your critical purpose visa then four months to arrive in NZ after it’s granted.
Although the process may seem daunting, we have worked with many doctors and medical staff from all over the world to relocate down under. Once we’ve helped you to secure the right job in the right location, we’ll be there to assist you each step along the way.
If you are interested in living and working in Australia or New Zealand, please check out the latest opportunities on our ‘Doctors Jobs’ page or send us an email – contact@hospitalstaff.co.nz.
We look forward to hearing from you.
The team at Hospital Staff Solutions