Secondary school teachers move to Straight to Residence pathway
The Government has announced that secondary school teachers from overseas will soon move from the Green List's Work to Residence pathway to the Straight to Residence pathway to help address the pressure on teacher supply in secondary schools.
The changes will be implemented in May 2024.
The demand for teachers globally is increasing and New Zealand is being proactive in introducing a faster, more attractive way for teachers to become a permanent part of our schools and communities. Importantly, schools will benefit from being able to secure great teaching talent to help students achieve their potential.
This is part of the ongoing effort to meet the current demands on the sector and the latest step in attracting high quality, qualified teachers to New Zealand.
All primary and ECE qualified overseas teachers from overseas remain on the Green List residence pathway and they continue to have access to the Overseas Relocation Grant of up to $10,000 to help with moving costs.
Green list roles
All qualified teachers are now included on Immigration New Zealand’s Green List as roles eligible for either Work to Residence or Straight to Residence.
The Green List provides a residence pathway to support attraction of highly skilled migrants in globally in-demand and long-term shortage areas.
If the occupation is on the list and the employer is accredited, they will not need to provide proof of advertising for the role during the AEWV job check step (Step 2).
For the Green List teaching roles, the migrant will have a work to residency pathway after two years if they are a primary or ECE teacher. Secondary school teachers will be able to go on the straight to residency pathway from May 2024.
To be eligible, teachers must hold a New Zealand registration and a provisional practising certificate issued by the Teaching Council of Aotearoa.
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