Immigration Minister, Andrew Little says more than 6,300 overseas workers have joined New Zealand’s health workforce since the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme and Green List Straight to Residence pathways began.
“This includes 2,500 nurses, and more than 2,300 workers in the aged care, disabled and personal care sectors,” Mr Little said.
“The evidence is clear that at time of global health worker shortages, New Zealand’s immigration settings are helping to attract more health workers to our shores to bolster our health system.”
This Government created the Green List in 2022 to help attract highly skilled workers in nationally significant roles amidst global workforce shortages.
There is now a total of 48 health sector roles on the Green List all of which are on the Straight to Residence pathway.
This includes enrolled nurses, nurse practitioners, dentists and dental technicians, MRI scanning technologists, paramedics, optometrists, pharmacists and counsellors.
“Growing our health workforce is a top priority for this government, and these visa pathways are part of work we are doing to improve healthcare for New Zealanders,” Minister Little said.
“A recent OECD report ranked New Zealand as the number one country in the world for attracting highly skilled workers, which gives New Zealand an advantage in a highly competitive global market.”
There are also a further 800 people offshore who have been approved an Accredited Employer Work Visa, who are yet to make the move to New Zealand.
This Government also created a residence pathway for some care workers under the Accredited Employer Work Visa to gain residence after 24 months.
