New Zealand's looking for qualified and skilled Singaporeans and Malaysians.
Bring Your Skills to New Zealand

New Zealand currently has demand for skilled workers across key sectors, including engineering, education, ICT and health. So this may be a great time to bring your skills to New Zealand – you could enjoy a different pace of life while adding international work experience to your CV.

You have several work visa options. Some are for short periods, of 6 months to 3 years in duration, and are called temporary. Other visas are more permanent and even offer the benefits of residency. These are called permanent visas. Here’s a brief description of your options:

Temporary Work Visa options include:
Essential Skills - Ideal if you have a job offer and are looking for short term opportunities or a starting point to experience life in New Zealand. Find out more here.

Work Exchange Programme - This option is great for Singaporean undergraduates and recent graduates to come to New Zealand and gain work experience. Find out more here.

Working Holiday Scheme – This visa allows 18 – 30 year old Malaysian citizens to come to New Zealand for work (as long as it is not permanent), study or travel. You can stay for up to 6 months and it's a great way to see the country, as you are eligible to earn money while you travel or study. Find out more here.

And more permanent work visa options include:
Work to Residence policy - Special categories to experience life in New Zealand where you start qualifying for residence from day one, so you can either stay for a short time or apply to stay for as long as you like. Find out more here.

Residence policy - Perfect if you want to make New Zealand your permanent home. Find out more here.
 

Helpful Tips:

• Most of the visa options require you to have a job or job offer, so it may be a good idea to come to New Zealand on a visitor's visa in order to search for jobs and interview with employers.
  • Note: Singapore and Malaysian citizens are entitled to travel visa- free if the stay is for a period of less than three months provided a valid return ticket to the country of residence is held, with proof of sufficient funds for your stay, and a passport valid for 3 months beyond the date of departure from New Zealand.
• If you intend to stay more than 6 months, Singaporeans will need a Temporary Entry X-Ray Certificate. If you intend to stay more than 12 months, you'll need a Medical and Chest X-Ray Certificate, which is less than 3 months old. This is also a possibility of such a requirement for Malaysian citizens, but it depends on length of your stay and your answers on the health requirement questions.
• Use the Immigration New Zealand Medical requirements found on the NewZealandNow website. If you're currently living in Singapore or Malaysia you can go to any registered doctor to complete your medical certificates.
• If you plan to stay more than 24 months, you'll also need a Police Certificate. If you're a Singaporean national living in Singapore, you will need to apply for a certificate of clearance from the Singapore Police Force. More information can be found here.
  • If you're a Malaysian national living in Malaysia, you will need a certificate of good conduct from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Malaysia. More information can be found here.

If you have a specific question you don’t see answered here, why not ask the Knowledge Base on NewZealandNow? If that still leaves your questions unanswered, contact the Immigration New Zealand Singapore branch for information on both Singapore and Malaysia.