There’s a noticeable scarcity of nurses in lots of international locations right now. Nursing is a high-demand career in New Zealand in 2025, notably in speciality areas equivalent to emergency division, psychological well being, and dependancy. Like many developed international locations, New Zealand is dealing with an ageing inhabitants that may require elevated medical care. Additionally, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation has estimated that half of the nation’s nurses will retire by 2035.
To keep up high quality healthcare and deal with the scarcity of nurses, the Authorities of New Zealand has added a number of registered nurse roles to Tier 1 of the Inexperienced Listing Roles. This permits overseas-registered nurses to use instantly for the Straight to Residence Visa.
To work as a Registered Nurse in New Zealand, you could register with the Nursing Council of New Zealand and acquire a practising certificates from the council. Let’s speak in regards to the steps concerned within the registration course of.
Registration as an Internationally Certified Nurse
For nurses who’re presently registered with an abroad regulatory authority, the next are the steps to get registered with the Nursing Council of New Zealand.
Step 1: Paperwork Verification with CGFNS
The Fee on Graduates of Overseas Nursing Colleges (CGFNS) is utilized by the Nursing Council of New Zealand (NCNZ) to confirm and authenticate the credentials of Internationally Certified Nurses (IQN). The next paperwork should be submitted to CGFNS for verification and authentication:
- Identification Paperwork
- Employment Historical past (with a minimal of 1,800 hours of post-registration nursing expertise)
- Schooling Historical past (the nursing qualification that made you eligible to acquire registration as a nurse. This training should be equal to New Zealand qualification.)
- Licence Validation (present registration (s) held within the final 10 years)
- Language Proficiency (A minimal rating on the Occupational English Check (OET) or IELTS, as specified by the CGFNS. There are two English Language Proof Pathways that won’t require an OET or IELTS rating)
As soon as all of the paperwork have been verified, CGFNS will ship the report back to NCNZ after you’ve reviewed and authorised it. For detailed info concerning paperwork and necessities, go to the official CGFNS web site.
Step 2: Completion of On-line Programs
As an IQN, you could full two free on-line programs on culturally protected nursing follow in New Zealand. A certificates of completion might be issued for every course, and you could submit them to the NCNZ.
Step 3: Health to Practise
Health to Practise requires each IQN applicant to undergo a prison historical past examine. This examine is finished for all of the international locations that an applicant has lived in for greater than 12 months within the final seven years. An authorised company performs this examine on behalf of the NCNZ. When you’ve got lived in New Zealand for six months or extra, you could additionally undergo a prison historical past examine by the Ministry of Justice.
Step 4: Competent to Practise in New Zealand
After you have accomplished all of the above steps, NCNZ might wish to assess your competence to practise as a registered nurse in New Zealand. This contains passing a theoretical examination and a medical examination.
The theoretical examination assesses the nursing information of IQNs and is performed on-line. It’s performed at an accredited examination centre, both in New Zealand or abroad. The medical examination, generally known as the Goal Structured Medical Examination, needs to be taken after a two-day orientation and preparation course. The length of the medical examination is three hours. It is very important word that the medical examination, and orientation and preparation course should be taken in individual and at an accredited centre in New Zealand.
Internationally Certified Nurses whose nursing training, which led to their registration, was accomplished within the UK, Eire, Ontario, British Columbia, Singapore or the USA could also be exempted from the above competence exams. Nonetheless, the choice to exempt is taken by the NCNZ after reviewing each applicant’s paperwork.
For detailed details about registering as an Internationally Certified Nurse in New Zealand, we extremely advocate visiting the official web site of NCNZ.
Underneath the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act 1997, nurses with a present registration and a present practising certificates in Australia should not have to comply with the above steps to obtain a nursing registration in New Zealand.
Charges and Processing Time
The registration course of contains a number of charges related to totally different steps. The NCNZ payment for processing the appliance is NZD 485. For verifying and authenticating paperwork, CGFNS prices USD 380. As mentioned earlier, the NCNZ makes use of an exterior company to conduct prison historical past checks. This company, Fit2Work, prices AUS $159 per nation you’ve lived in (for greater than 12 months within the final seven years).
In case you’ve lived in New Zealand for greater than 6 months, you could examine the payment charged by the Ministry of Justice New Zealand for a prison historical past examine. The fee for the theoretical competence examination is NZ $140. You should pay NZ $500 for the orientation and preparation course, and NZ $3000 for the Goal Structured Medical Examination.
The processing time for an software is dependent upon many elements equivalent to time taken to finish the competency examinations, submitting extra requested paperwork, and completion of on-line programs. The NCNZ takes at the least 5 months to course of an software not together with time taken by the CGFNS for verification and authentication. Additionally, candidates are given 12 months (from the time of receiving the invitation electronic mail) to use for registration and full all of the registration necessities. Failing to take action will outcome within the closing of the registration software.
Demand for Nurses in New Zealand in 2025
As talked about earlier, a profession in nursing might help overseas-trained nurses get the Straight to Residence Visa in New Zealand. Registered Nurse (RN) roles included in Tier 1 of the Inexperienced Listing Roles are RN (aged care), RN (baby and household well being), RN (neighborhood well being), RN (essential care and emergency), RN (developmental incapacity), RN (incapacity and rehabilitation), RN (medical follow), RN (medical), RN (psychological well being), RN (paediatrics), RN (perioperative), RN (surgical), and registered nurses nec.
In keeping with the NCNZ Quarterly Information Report for September 2024, 38,667 of 83,591 nurses with practising certificates in New Zealand, are Internationally Certified Nurses. In different phrases, almost half (46.25%) of all nurses in New Zealand are IQNs. This reveals the demand and alternatives obtainable to overseas-trained nurses in New Zealand.
Salaries of Registered Nurses in New Zealand
Registered Nurses in New Zealand usually earn between NZD 82,000 and NZD 107,000 per 12 months. Senior registered nurses earn between NZD 114,000 and NZD 163,000 yearly. Additionally, Nurse Practitioners can earn between NZD 137,000 and NZD 163,000 yearly.
Turning into a registered nurse in New Zealand is a rewarding profession with quite a few development alternatives. It’s important to grasp all the necessities to turn into a practising nurse. In case you’ve any queries about nursing in New Zealand, please contact us.
Writer Particulars
Vandana Rai
(LIA 201400900)
Director
Vandana Rai is a Senior Licensed Immigration Adviser and has constructed a fame round her uncommon set of abilities, which could possibly be thought-about very best for her authorized career.
