The Green List has made a few headlines recently, largely because in August 2025, ten new trade-related occupations will be added to it, expanding the list substantially and opening up more opportunities for applicants to secure a pathway to residence. This potentially helps to fill a gap for trade related roles that don’t (currently) have a pathway to residence, yet there is a pretty consistent demand for them.

However, whilst the Green List has been around since 2022, and is essentially a reincarnation of the old Long-Term-Skill-Shortage-List (LTSSL), it still remains a bit of a mystery to plenty of applicants. This is largely because most hopeful migrants, jostling for a spot on this list, assume that having a job offer that matches one of the entries, is all you need.

The Green List is actually a bit more complex than that, with each occupation having very specific criteria attached, as well as serving a dual purpose for both the Straight-To-Residence (STR) and Work-To-Residence (WTR) categories. Depending on where your occupation sits on the list and the requirements for the role, that will determine whether you qualify and how long it might take you to secure residence.

This week’s article, takes a closer look at the Green List, why it exists and how it works - hopefully giving potential applicants a clearer view of whether they are on the list or not and how to follow a pathway to residence.

There are a number of things within the immigration process that can be confusing (in fact most of it is), but the one thing that seems to pop up the most is the difference between residence and permanent residence and it can be one of the hardest things to explain to a client, despite it being relatively simple.

I suspect its the word “permanent” which creates the confusion, because most applicants assume that it’s only when they achieve that visa, that they can live in New Zealand permanently. However it doesn’t quite work like that and in fact the word permanent only applies to one particular aspect of a resident visa.

Hopefully this week’s article, helps to clarify the difference between the two visas, how you get from the first one to the second one and also highlights that whilst residence does let you live here permanently there are some rare situations that can lead that visa to being taken away. Being mindful of these things, will ensure that once you achieve your end goal, and have that shiny new resident visa in hand, you can keep it.

In the world of New Zealand immigration, one of the most common points of confusion, and something we are asked about a lot more than we probably should be, is the difference between a work visa and residence. While it might appear obvious to some, for many applicants, the difference between these two visas and what they provide is not so clear and can lead to disappointment when one doesn’t necessarily turn in to the other. More importantly these two different visas are also interpreted very differently by applicants and employers alike. Employers tend to have a short-term view, focusing very closely on the ability for applicants to secure a work visa, so they can fill the vacancy, whereas applicants are usually always focused on the longer-term pathway to residence.

Understanding the difference between the two visas, is a key step for any potential applicant and also appreciating that a work visa doesn’t automatically lead to residence can be the difference between success and failure. However it is also important for employers to appreciate that for applicant’s there is often a much bigger plan in place than just the Work Visa, and there are many things that they can do to support that longer-term objective.

This weeks article is as much about the employer side of the equation as it is for applicants, however we will take a look at the key differences between these visas and then also how they are so closely linked together, and perhaps whether they need to be.