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Licensed Immigration Advisers 🇳🇿✨ We are a dynamic team with 3 Full Licensed Advisers. Our LIAs speak English and Spanish.

We have combined industry experience of over 25 years and specialise in skilled residence and work visas and family visas. To book an appointment with our Licensed Immigration Advisers please follow the link - http://tinyurl.com/VisaLegalCita

22/10/2026

⚡ EWRB REGISTERED & LICENSED? NZ RESIDENCE COULD BE CLOSER THAN YOU THINK! 🇳🇿

Do you hold EWRB Registration and a current Practising Licence?
Have you worked in an ANZSCO Skill Level 1–3 role for at least 2 years since obtaining your registration and licence?

You may be approaching eligibility to apply for New Zealand residence under the Skilled Migrant Category!

Your occupation, employment and skilled work experience will need to meet Immigration New Zealand requirements, so it’s important to check exactly what experience can count.

📩 Get in touch with VisaLegal ASAP to have your eligibility and skilled work experience assessed.

You may already be well on your way to meeting the requirements for residence. ⚡🇳🇿

21/10/2026

You’ve chosen what to study in New Zealand.

Now it’s time to understand what you need to take that next step.

From the programme and institution’s entry requirements to your Student Visa application and any work rights you may be eligible for, there are details worth checking before you commit to a course.

If exploring residence options is also part of your plans, our Licensed Immigration Advisers can assess how your proposed studies relate to those goals and what other requirements you would need to meet. Studying in New Zealand does not guarantee residence.

At VisaLegal, we take the time to understand your circumstances and what you want to achieve. We work through your options with you, prepare and submit your visa application, and support you throughout the process and after approval.

Let’s talk about your plans. Book a free initial conversation.

📅 Book here: https://tinyurl.com/VisaLegalStudy
📩 [email protected]

20/10/2026

WEBINAR GRATUITO EN ESPAÑOL

📅 Miércoles 28 de octubre – Latinoamérica
🇨🇱 Chile: 8:30 pm | 🇦🇷 Argentina: 8:30 pm
🇨🇴 Colombia: 6:30 pm | 🇵🇪 Perú: 6:30 pm
🇲🇽 Ciudad de México: aprox. 5:30 pm

🇳🇿 Nueva Zelanda: jueves 29 de octubre, 12:30 pm
Regístrate gratuitamente aquí 👉 https://tinyurl.com/VisaLegalWebinar2026

Si tu plan era venir a Nueva Zelanda con una Working Holiday y no lograste obtenerla, probablemente ahora te estés preguntando qué otras alternativas podrías tener.

En este webinar gratuito, Melanie Bradley y Adriana, Licensed Immigration Advisers de VisaLegal, conversarán sobre otras posibles vías para venir a Nueva Zelanda y qué factores deberías considerar antes de decidir cuál podría ajustarse mejor a tus circunstancias.

Hablaremos, entre otros temas, de:
- Qué otras opciones pueden existir además de la Working Holiday.
- Cuándo estudiar en Nueva Zelanda podría ser una alternativa a considerar.
- Qué papel puede tener una oferta de trabajo y qué debes tener en cuenta.
- Cómo tus estudios, experiencia laboral y planes a futuro pueden influir en tus opciones.

Por qué es importante pensar no solo en cómo llegar a Nueva Zelanda, sino también en tus objetivos a más largo plazo.

También tendremos un espacio para responder algunas de las preguntas más frecuentes que estamos recibiendo de personas que no consiguieron su Working Holiday.

Nos vemos pronto!

19/10/2026

🇳🇿 If you applied for your visa before 29 September 2023, what wage do you need to meet when applying for Green List Work to Residence?

There is an exemption for certain applicants who gained qualifying work experience while holding a visa they applied for before 29 September 2023. Where their Tier 2 Green List occupation does not have a specific remuneration requirement, that work can count towards residence even if it was paid below the median wage threshold.

When this pathway was first introduced, there was no general income requirement, except where a wage was specified for a particular occupation. This exemption preserves the pathway to residence for people who had applied for their visas before those requirements changed.

👷 This includes dairy managers, halal slaughterers, automotive electricians and mechanics, electricians, plumbers, gasfitters, drainlayers, corrections officers, and certain teaching roles, including registered early childhood teachers.

📋 Until recently, there has been some difficulty understanding what wage these applicants need to meet when they apply for residence. Amendment Circular 2026-29, issued on 7 October 2026, clarifies that there are two options:

➡️ If an applicant met the median wage when they started counting their qualifying work experience, and continued to meet that rate throughout the period claimed, they can rely on that earlier rate when applying for residence, provided it falls within the applicable 30-month look-back period.

➡️ Alternatively, they can count qualifying work experience without meeting a wage requirement for that period, provided their current employment or offer of employment meets the median wage in effect when they submit their residence application. This is currently $35 per hour.

⏳ The look-back period is important. Applicants cannot simply rely on whichever median wage applied when they first started working. Someone who started on the previous median wage of $29.66 cannot continue to use that rate, because it falls outside the 30-month look-back period.

📅 The $31.61 rate still falls within that window and can potentially be relied on if the applicant’s ITA is issued on or before 17 February 2028—the same day they submit their EOI.

📌 The exemption does not apply to occupations with their own specific remuneration requirements. Applicants must also meet the remaining residence requirements, including completing 24 months of qualifying work within the applicable 30-month period.

📧 If you are trying to understand your residence options under Work to Residence, contact [email protected] to get in touch with one of our Licensed Immigration Advisers.

18/10/2026

When you’re granted a new work visa to change employers, can you still work out your notice period with your current employer?

Under section 350(7) of the Immigration Act 2009, your employer does not commit an offence by allowing you to work out the minimum notice period required by your employment agreement, even if your new visa no longer allows you to work for them.

The problem is that this protects your employer. It does not give you permission to work out your notice period. You could therefore be doing what your employment agreement requires while also breaching the conditions of your new visa.

In our experience, Immigration New Zealand does not take a strong position against an employee in this situation. However, it can become an issue when you apply for residence and try to count work experience that is technically unlawful, as we have seen in a recent case.

When applying for a visa or a variation to your visa to change employers, we recommend explaining in your application that you intend to give notice and work out your contractual notice period with your current employer. Ask INZ to include this in your visa conditions, or at least confirm the permission in writing.

These details can be so important, if not at the time, then at some point in the future. This is why, even if you are doing something as simple as a variation to your visa, it’s worth getting a professional involved to make sure everything is done right.

While this all seems a bit difficult, we always recommend that, where possible, you wait until your new visa is approved before resigning from your current job. We have seen the awkward positions people can end up in when they jump the gun with this.

If you need advice about changing employers, feel free to contact us at [email protected] and speak directly with one of our Licensed Immigration Advisers.

16/10/2026

Nee Zealand is going to need a lot more aged-care workers.

Around 35,000 people currently work in residential aged care in New Zealand, and the Ministry of Health's Aged Care Ministerial Advisory Group expects demand for residential care to increase by around 33% over the next decade.

If workforce numbers needed to grow at roughly the same rate, that would mean around 11,500 additional aged-care workers by 2035.

For migrants, aged care is particularly popular option because some care roles provide a direct pathway to New Zealand residence.

Under the Care Workforce Work to Residence pathway, eligible workers can apply for residence after completing 24 months of qualifying work in New Zealand. For care workforce roles, the relevant residence wage rate is currently $28.25 per hour.

When New Zealand's borders reopened after Covid, there was a rush of recruitment into aged care, much like there was with nurses. Eventually, that demand eased as employers filled vacancies and the sector reached capacity.

But aged care is not a sector that is going to stop needing people.

New Zealand's population is ageing, demand for care is increasing, and many migrant care workers recruited after the borders reopened are now reaching residence. Once they have residence, some will understandably move into other occupations or progress into different roles.

We expect this will create opportunities in the sector again over time.

We speak to a lot of people who are considering aged care as a pathway to residence, including people thinking about studying in New Zealand as a way to enter the sector.

There is an important reality to understand, though.

If you have no previous care experience, getting your first job can be difficult.

You may be competing against applicants who already have several years of aged-care, disability-support or healthcare experience. Even these people are finding it hard in the current labour market.

For that reason, we generally discourage people with no relevant experience from studying aged care as an immigration strategy.

English is another important factor. For an AEWV you will need an IELTS overall score of 4.0. At But meeting Immigration New Zealand's minimum is not necessarily enough to get a job.

If you are genuinely looking for employment in aged care, your English needs to be good enough to communicate comfortably with residents, families and colleagues — and, importantly, to complete a job interview in English with a prospective employer.

In practical terms, someone with only very basic English is likely to find the employment search considerably harder, even if they technically meet the minimum immigration requirement. At residence stage you need IELTS 6.5 overall, or an accepted equivalent test.

For people who already have care experience and a reasonable level of English, however, this is a sector worth watching.

If you are looking for potential aged-care employers in New Zealand, you can find a list of provders here: https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/LegalEntitySummaryAgedCare.csv

The businesses on the list are not necessarily recruiting now, and inclusion does not mean they are willing or able to recruit migrant workers. It is intended as a starting point for your own employment search.

If you are considering aged care as part of your pathway to New Zealand residence — whether through employment, study, or a combination of both — VisaLegal can help you work out whether the pathway is realistic for your circumstances and what steps would make sense next.

You can email us at [email protected] or book an appointment with our team here: https://tinyurl.com/VL30minZOOM

15/10/2026

If you rely on work experience at $29.66 per hour for your residence application, you may need to submit before 27 February 2027.

If you need 18 months of work experience and want to use experience at $29.66 per hour, you may need to submit your EOI before that date.

This includes people applying under:
▪️ The Trades and Technician Pathway
▪️ The SMC six-point system who need 2 points for work experience, e.g. those using an overseas bachelor’s degree.

With the end of the year approaching, this deadline is actually not that far away. If this is you, our advice is to get started now. There is a fair amount to organise, and you do not want to run out of time.

Skilled Residence pathways require qualifying New Zealand work experience within a “look-back” window. As that window moves forward, you can lose the ability to rely on work experience, even if you met the wage threshold when you started the job.

Some people may have a little longer under the grace period rules. Your deadline depends on your individual circumstances, including when you must receive your Invitation to Apply and submit your residence application.

If you miss your deadline, in the worst-case scenario it could wipe out all the work experience you were relying on.

If you have to start counting again, you may not have enough time before your five-year work visa limit runs out. Or, if your employer cannot pay the current wage threshold, you may not have a pathway to residence at all.

There is a lot at stake.

Struggling to understand what the look-back rules mean for you? Book a free 15-minute appointment with one of our Licensed Immigration Advisers.

If suitable, we can offer a pre-assessment to check your eligibility, when you must apply by and what happens if you cannot meet your deadline.

📧 [email protected]
🔗 Book: https://tinyurl.com/VisaLegaFree15SMC

14/10/2026

Choosing a course and planning your future should be part of the same conversation.

If you want to study in New Zealand and explore possible residence pathways, it’s worth understanding how your chosen programme relates to your academic background, work experience and goals.

At VisaLegal, our team of Licensed Immigration Advisers works with you to assess your circumstances, study plans and possible residence options, so you can make an informed decision before choosing a programme.

We support you from that initial planning stage, through preparing and submitting your visa application, and after approval, so you have our support at every step.

Studying in New Zealand does not guarantee residence.

Assessing your circumstances early helps you understand the possibilities and the requirements you would need to meet.
Start by telling us about your plans. Book a free initial conversation and find out how we can support your plans to study in New Zealand.

📅 Book your conversation here: https://tinyurl.com/VisaLegalStudy

📩 [email protected]

12/10/2026

"🗳️ If you are a New Zealand resident, you may be able to vote in this year’s General Election.

📅 The last day to enrol or update your details is Sunday, 25 October 2026.

This year, Election Day is Saturday, 7 November 2026.

It is often mistakenly believed that you must be a New Zealand citizen or hold a Permanent Resident Visa to be eligible to vote in New Zealand elections. This is not true.

For voting purposes, the definition of a resident is different from the immigration definition.

A resident for electoral purposes can include someone who holds a valid resident or other visa if:

✅ you live in New Zealand;
✅ you hold a Residence or Permanent Residence visa;
✅ you have lived in New Zealand continuously for at least 12 months at some point in your life
✅ you are not ineligible because of certain convictions or deportation history.

If you are on a temporary visa such as a work or student visa that requires you to leave New Zealand by a certain date, you are not eligible to enrol and vote.

If you meet the eligibility requirements and live in New Zealand, you are required to enrol to vote. However, voting itself is not compulsory in New Zealand.

More information about Our Election system:

Every three years, New Zealand has a General Election.

In a General Election, you get two votes:

🗳️ Your party vote is for the political party you would like to see represented in Parliament.

🗳️ Your electorate vote is for the person you would like to represent your local area in Parliament.

You do not have to choose a candidate from the same party that you give your party vote to.

New Zealand uses the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system. Your party vote largely determines how many seats each political party receives in Parliament. If no party has enough seats to govern alone, parties may negotiate with others to form a government.

If you have recently gained residence in New Zealand, or you are unsure whether your visa makes you eligible, check before the deadline.

👉 Check your eligibility: vote.nz
👉 Enrol or update your details: vote.nz

Being able to vote is an important part of participating in your new home and having a say in who represents you. 🇳🇿"

08/10/2026

Thinking about studying in New Zealand but unsure about the financial requirements for your Student Visa?

VisaLegal can help you understand the costs, review your funding plan and prepare the evidence for your application. Our Licensed Immigration Advisers handle the immigration advice and visa application.

Book an initial student consultation: https://calendar.app.google/5RFDZraRixBA538C6

Or email [email protected]

Address

Hamilton

Telephone

+64272895249

Website

https://visalegal.co.nz/links/, https://www.google.com/maps/place/VisaLegal/@-35.2643897,-45,4z/data=!4m8!3m7!1s0x8f6e16

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