You are hereThe New Zealand nurse route. 12 steps. TruMerit about 30 days; the Council's time varies; the visa 80% within 3.5 months.
- 1Check you fitYou are hereStart this route
- 2Check the offer you were sentOnly if someone sent you an offer
- 3Start your TruMerit verificationYou can start this now
- 4Pass your English testYou can start this now
- 5Apply to the Nursing CouncilCannot start yet: opens when the Council emails you to apply
- 6Pass the theory examCannot start yet: opens when the Council invites you to sit the theory exam
- 7Pass the OSCE in ChristchurchCannot start yet: opens when you pass the theory exam
- 8Win a job offerYou can start this now
- 9Get your practising certificateCannot start yet: opens when the Council registers you
- 10Get your Straight to Residence VisaCannot start yet: opens when you hold your registration and a written job offer
- 11Travel, arrive and get your IRD numberCannot start yet: opens when your visa is granted
- 12Your first payslipCannot start yet: opens when you start with your employer
I am stuck
I am stuck
Open "I am stuck" on your step: it names where the official answer lives.
Become a nurse in New Zealand
For nurses on the NMCN register. Twelve steps to your first New Zealand payslip.
Why this order?
The steps run in the order the Nursing Council of New Zealand and Immigration New Zealand need them. You cannot apply to the Council directly: TruMerit checks your papers first, then the Council invites you to apply, then to sit the theory exam and the OSCE in Christchurch. Your English test and your job search can start now. Health New Zealand says most frontline jobs need your registration and your practising certificate before the visa, so the certificate comes before the visa here.
TruMerit takes about 30 days to verify your papers. The Council says its time to assess an application will vary. You have 6 months from the Council's invitation to pass the theory exam and 18 months from its initial invitation to complete the OSCE; Immigration New Zealand decides 80% of Straight to Residence applications within 3.5 months. Your job search and your exams set the real length. Read 8 October 2026; the visa's time read 26 October 2026.
Free. About two minutes.
- 1Start here
Check you fit
Seven questions, about two minutes, no account.
See what this step needs
No number comes from your answers on this route: no verified rule set grades it.
The Nursing Council of New Zealand's self-assessment, for a nurse whose nursing education was not in the USA, the UK, Ireland, Singapore, British Columbia or Ontario, who is registered at home now and has worked at least 1,800 hours as a registered nurse: you "will have to complete the tests of competence", the theory exam and the OSCE. "The outcome is not confirmed until the assessment is completed." Read on nursingcouncil.org.nz, 8 October 2026.
What the Council asks for: a current registration with your home regulator, the NMCN; a Bachelor of Nursing degree (or the equivalent) or a master's in nursing that led to your registration; a declaration that you have practised nursing for at least 1,800 hours since you registered (with no experience after registering, you cannot apply); and English: IELTS Academic 7 in listening, reading and speaking and 6.5 in writing, or OET 350 in listening, reading and speaking and 300 in writing. Read 8 October 2026.
For the visa: registered nurses are on New Zealand's Green List, on the part that leads to the Straight to Residence Visa, with registration with the Nursing Council and a Bachelor of Nursing. You must be 55 or younger when you apply. Read on immigration.govt.nz, 8 October 2026.
The Council says demand "is currently lower than previously, except in some particular areas of speciality or experience (e.g. mental health and addiction)", and encourages you to look for work before you apply for registration or come to New Zealand. Read 8 October 2026.
Source: Nursing Council of New Zealand, internationally qualified nurses, read 8 October 2026.
Open the Council's page for internationally qualified nurses
The Straight to Residence Visa
The Green List's nursing roles
Free.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Answer seven short questions. They check your degree, your hours, your English and your age against the official rules. No score comes back.
Where the official answer lives: The Nursing Council's page for internationally qualified nurses holds its self-assessment; the Council answers at iqn@nursingcouncil.org.nz.
- 2
Did someone send you an offer? After a yes: check it before you trust it
- 3You can start this now
Start your TruMerit verification
Open your order with TruMerit, which checks your papers for the Nursing Council, and pay its USD 380 fee. Open it once your English result is near: the order expires 12 months after you open it.
See what this step needs
The Council's Step 1 is TruMerit: "You cannot apply directly to the Council to be registered." TruMerit checks your identity, every registration you held in the last 10 years, your nursing qualification, your English and your 1,800 hours, then sends all of it to the Council. Read on nursingcouncil.org.nz, 8 October 2026.
USD 380, about ₦506,540, TruMerit's fee, separate from the Council's own NZD 485 (about ₦366,180). It is non-refundable. A translation is USD 85 a page, about ₦113,305. Read on ncnz.trumerit.org, 8 October 2026. At ₦1,333 to the US dollar, 20 October 2026. At ₦755 to the New Zealand dollar, 20 October 2026 (the CBN's US dollar rate of 20 October 2026 times the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's of 20 October 2026).
The clocks: TruMerit takes about 30 days to verify your papers and write its report; you then have 30 days to review the report and send it to the Council, and a further 30 days to apply to the Council. Your documents and your 1,800 hours must all reach TruMerit within 12 months of your order, or the order expires. Your English scores must be met within 12 months of your first sitting and within three years of the day your TruMerit report is sent to the Council. Read 8 October 2026.
Your NMCN registration: TruMerit needs your own list of every licence of the last 10 years, one of them active, and each regulator sends its verification straight to TruMerit. Which NMCN paper TruMerit takes, and its fee: we do not know this yet. The NMCN's verification page lists general verification of certificates of registration at ₦66,875 and a letter of good standing at ₦8,750, paid through REMITA; it does not say where the verification form comes from or how the verification is sent, and the NMCN's portal, myportal.nmcn.gov.ng, offers no verification application. Read on nmcn.gov.ng, 7 October 2026. Ask the NMCN before you pay: (234) 702-923-4588 or info@nmcn.gov.ng, 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.
Your nursing school: it sends TruMerit the nursing education form, which you download from TruMerit's portal and give to the school, and your full transcript with its hours. Where TruMerit says so in its email after you apply, you upload them yourself with a legal self-declaration. Read 8 October 2026.
Your 1,800 hours: you declare them before TruMerit's report is issued. Hours cannot be added once you apply to the Council. Identity: certified colour copies of your passport and one other identity document, current on the day you apply to TruMerit. Read 8 October 2026.
Source: TruMerit, verification for the Nursing Council of New Zealand, read 21 October 2026.
Your clock: the 12 months before your TruMerit order expires, worked out from the day you open your TruMerit order, which you enter in your plan: every document and your 1,800 hours must reach TruMerit within 12 months of it. Enter it in your plan
Your clock: about when TruMerit's report comes, about 30 days after your order, worked out from the day you open your TruMerit order, which you enter in your plan: TruMerit takes about 30 days to verify your papers and write its report, so look for it about 30 days after it.
Your clock: the 30 days to review your TruMerit report, worked out from the day TruMerit issues your report, which you enter in your plan: review it and send it to the Council within 30 days. Enter it in your plan
TruMerit on your nursing school
Rekoja charges nothing here. You apply and pay TruMerit yourself.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Make an order with TruMerit and pay USD 380. TruMerit collects your papers, your hours and your English result, checks them, and sends them to New Zealand's Nursing Council. Ask the NMCN how it sends your verification.
Where the official answer lives: TruMerit's page for the Nursing Council answers on your order; the NMCN answers on (234) 702-923-4588 and info@nmcn.gov.ng, 8am to 4pm, Monday to Friday, its Abuja office is Plot 713, Cadastral Zone Life Camp, Gwarinpa, and its Lagos zone office is No. 8 Harvey Road, Yaba, on 08064703003 and lagoszo@nmcn.gov.ng.
- 4You can start this now
Pass your English test
Sit IELTS Academic or OET at a test centre and reach the Council's scores.
See what this step needs
IELTS Academic 7 in listening, reading and speaking and 6.5 in writing, or OET 350 in listening, reading and speaking and 300 in writing. OET C+ (300 to 340) is not a pass in listening, reading or speaking. Read on nursingcouncil.org.nz and ncnz.trumerit.org, 19 October 2026.
The scores must be reached within 12 months of your first sitting, and every sitting must be within the three years before you apply to the Council. Online tests are not accepted; a computer test at an approved test centre is. PTE is not accepted. Read 19 October 2026.
TruMerit: if your passing results are not in within a year of your TruMerit order, the order expires. Read 19 October 2026.
The visa asks English results no more than 2 years old when you apply for it, sat in person at a test centre: IELTS 6.5 overall or OET C+ in all four. The Council's scores are higher, and they are the ones you need. Read on immigration.govt.nz, 19 October 2026.
IDP Nigeria charges ₦299,000 for IELTS Academic on computer at a test centre. Read on ielts.idp.com, 19 October 2026. IELTS's own finder lists 57 test centres in Nigeria, among them in Lagos the British Council's at 1B Birrel Avenue, Yaba, and IDP IELTS Nigeria Yaba, and in Abuja IDP IELTS Abuja at 50 Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse 2. Read on ielts.org, 19 October 2026. Where OET is sat in Nigeria, and what it costs: we do not know this yet. Here is OET's own booking page, linked on this step.
Source: Nursing Council of New Zealand, requirements, read 21 October 2026.
Your clock: the 12 months to reach every score, worked out from the date you first sit the test, which you enter in your plan: every score reached within 12 months of it. Enter it in your plan
Your clock: the three years before you apply to the Council, worked out from the date you first sit the test, which you enter in your plan: apply to the Council within three years of it.
Open the Council's English requirements
IDP Nigeria's IELTS fees and test dates
Free. Rekoja does not sell a course; the test owners' own materials are on their pages.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Take IELTS Academic or OET at a test centre and get the Council's scores, all within 12 months of your first try.
Where the official answer lives: The Council's requirements page holds the scores and the rules; IDP Nigeria's IELTS page, IELTS's centre finder and OET's own booking page, linked on this step, find a test date and centre.
- 5Cannot start yet: opens when the Council emails you to apply
Apply to the Nursing Council
When the Council emails you, apply in MyIQN, pay the NZD 485 fee, and do the check and the two free courses it asks for.
See what this step needs
Once TruMerit's report reaches the Council, the Council emails you an invitation to apply for registration, and you follow your application in MyIQN. Read on nursingcouncil.org.nz, 8 October 2026.
NZD 485, about ₦366,180, the Council's application fee. Then the criminal history check by Fit2Work, AUD 155, about ₦144,310, for each country you lived in for 12 months or more in the last seven years; it is asked for once you are invited, through MyIQN. All fees are non-refundable, even if you withdraw. Read 8 October 2026. At ₦755 to the New Zealand dollar, 20 October 2026 (the CBN's US dollar rate of 20 October 2026 times the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's of 20 October 2026). At ₦931 to the Australian dollar, 20 October 2026 (the CBN's US dollar rate of 20 October 2026 times the Reserve Bank of Australia's of 20 October 2026).
Two free online courses on Ko Awatea LEARN: Foundations in Cultural Competency, and Module 1, Nga Paerewa Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The account needs your IQN number and can take up to one working day to be approved; you upload each course's record to MyIQN. Read 8 October 2026.
If an agent helps you, tell the Council on its authority form, sent to iqn@nursingcouncil.org.nz, with your own contact details. Your statutory declarations must be made by you: one made by an agent stops your application. Read 8 October 2026.
How long the Council takes: "The length of time it takes to process and assess IQN applications will vary." It gives no figure, and the time does not include TruMerit's. Read 8 October 2026.
Source: Nursing Council of New Zealand, requirements, read 21 October 2026.
Your clock: the 30 days to apply to the Council, worked out from the day you send your TruMerit report to the Council, which you enter in your plan: apply to the Council within 30 days of it. Enter it in your plan
Open the Council's page for internationally qualified nurses
The Council's questions and answers
Rekoja charges nothing here. You apply and pay the Council and Fit2Work yourself.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
When the Council emails you, apply on its MyIQN site and pay NZD 485. Then pay for the police check and do two free online courses.
Where the official answer lives: The Council answers at iqn@nursingcouncil.org.nz, and its questions and answers page holds the rules on fees and withdrawing.
- 6Cannot start yet: opens when the Council invites you to sit the theory exam
Pass the theory exam
Book the Council's theory exam at a Pearson VUE test centre outside Nigeria, pay for it, and pass both parts.
See what this step needs
NZD 140, about ₦105,700, for the whole exam; a re-sit of Part A is NZD 32, about ₦24,160, and of Part B NZD 108, about ₦81,540. Read on pearsonvue.com and nursingcouncil.org.nz, 8 October 2026. At ₦755 to the New Zealand dollar, 20 October 2026 (the CBN's US dollar rate of 20 October 2026 times the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's of 20 October 2026).
The exam is multiple choice on a computer at a Pearson VUE test centre, overseas or in New Zealand, never at home: 120 questions in 165 minutes, Part A medication safety (12 questions in 30 minutes) and Part B nursing knowledge (108 questions in 135 minutes), with 15 minutes to read. You sit both parts at your first attempt; after that you re-sit only the part you failed. Read on nursingcouncil.org.nz, 8 October 2026.
You have six months from the Council's invitation to pass, and three attempts; each sitting counts as one, a missed appointment may count as a failed one and its fee is not refunded, and after three failed attempts your application closes. The Council sends you a reminder 8 weeks before your six months run out. Take your passport, in the same name as your Council application, and a second ID. The Council writes to you within six weeks of passing both parts, or of your third attempt. Read 8 October 2026.
Where you sit it: outside Nigeria. Pearson VUE's centre finder for this exam lists no centre near Lagos: "No results. We couldn't find any results with your search term within 2000 miles." The nearest centres it lists are Pearson Professional Centers-Nairobi, Kenya (6th floor, Principal Place, 14 School Lane, Nairobi) and Pearson Professional Centers-Johannesburg (6th Floor Sandton City Office Tower, 158 5th Street, Sandton, Johannesburg), so the theory exam is a trip to Kenya or South Africa. Read on Pearson VUE's centre finder, 8 October 2026.
Source: Pearson VUE, Nursing Council New Zealand, read 21 October 2026.
Your clock: the six months to pass the theory exam, worked out from the date of the Council's invitation to sit the theory exam, which you enter in your plan: pass within 6 months of it. Enter it in your plan
Book the exam with Pearson VUE
The Council's theory exam handbook
Rekoja charges nothing here. You book and pay Pearson VUE yourself.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Book the theory exam at a Pearson VUE centre and pay NZD 140. The nearest centres are in Nairobi and Johannesburg, so you travel to sit it. Pass both parts within six months of the Council's invitation. You have three tries.
Where the official answer lives: Pearson VUE's page for the Nursing Council books the exam, and its centre finder, linked on this step, lists the centres (Nairobi and Johannesburg are the nearest); the Council's theory exam handbook holds the rules.
- 7Cannot start yet: opens when you pass the theory exam
Pass the OSCE in Christchurch
Get a visitor visa, travel to Christchurch, and sit the two-day course and the OSCE.
See what this step needs
NZD 3,500, about ₦2,643,000: the two-day orientation and preparation course, NZD 500 (about ₦378,000), and the OSCE, NZD 3,000 (about ₦2,265,000). A re-sit of the OSCE is NZD 3,000. Read on nursingcouncil.org.nz, 8 October 2026. At ₦755 to the New Zealand dollar, 20 October 2026 (the CBN's US dollar rate of 20 October 2026 times the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's of 20 October 2026).
The course is at the University of Canterbury and the OSCE at the Nurse Maude Simulation and Assessment Centre, both in Christchurch, in person. Your first booking covers both. The OSCE is 10 stations of 12 minutes each: 2 minutes to read, 8 for the scenario and 2 to move on. A change more than 10 days before costs nothing; 10 days or less, no change except in extenuating circumstances; nothing is refunded, and a missed OSCE counts as an attempt. Read 8 October 2026.
"Upon successful completion of the online theoretical examination, an invitation will be extended to you by the Council to undertake the clinical competence assessment. You will have 18 months from the date of the Council's initial invitation to complete the OSCE." You have three attempts, with no wait required between them; after three, or once the 18 months pass, your application closes. Your result comes within six weeks. From the Council's OSCE handbook, published 28 September 2026; read 8 October 2026.
The trip: Nigeria is not on New Zealand's visa waiver list, so you need a Visitor Visa. From NZD 441, about ₦332,955; 80% decided within 2 weeks; busiest from September to March. You show at least NZD 1,000 a month, about ₦755,000, or NZD 400, about ₦302,000, if your accommodation is paid. Immigration New Zealand recommends you book no non-refundable travel until the visa is approved. Read on immigration.govt.nz, 26 October 2026.
The Visitor Visa fee for an applicant in Nigeria, and whether you may sit the OSCE on a Visitor Visa: we do not know this yet. Here is the Visitor Visa page, linked on this step.
Source: Nursing Council of New Zealand, OSCE handbook, read 26 October 2026.
Your clock: the 18 months to complete the OSCE, worked out from the Council's invitation sent after you pass the theory exam, which you enter in your plan: complete the OSCE within 18 months of it. Enter it in your plan
Your clock: about when your Visitor Visa is decided, 80% within 2 weeks, worked out from the day you apply for your Visitor Visa, which you enter in your plan: Immigration New Zealand decides 80% of Visitor Visas within 2 weeks of applying. Enter it in your plan
Open the Council's competence assessment page
Rekoja charges nothing here. You book and pay the course and the OSCE yourself, and apply for the Visitor Visa yourself.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Get a visitor visa, fly to Christchurch, do the two-day course and pass the hands-on exam. It costs NZD 3,500, and you have three tries within 18 months.
Where the official answer lives: The Council's OSCE handbook holds the booking rules; the Council answers at iqn@nursingcouncil.org.nz, and Immigration New Zealand's Visitor Visa page on the trip.
- 8You can start this now
Win a job offer
Find a nursing job with an accredited employer and apply to it yourself. You can start looking now.
See what this step needs
The visa needs a job or job offer with an accredited employer, in a job on the part of the Green List that leads straight to residence, paying at least the rate the Green List sets for the job or, where it sets none, the median wage of NZD 35.00 an hour (about ₦26,430). The job must be full-time, and permanent or fixed term for at least 12 months, or contracts for at least 6 months. The offer letter shows the hours, how long, the position and the pay. Read on immigration.govt.nz, 26 October 2026. At ₦755 to the New Zealand dollar, 20 October 2026 (the CBN's US dollar rate of 20 October 2026 times the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's of 20 October 2026).
Health New Zealand is an accredited employer and can employ migrants on the Accredited Employer Work Visa or the Straight to Residence Visa; on the Straight to Residence Visa you have residence before you arrive once you hold registration and an acceptable offer. Its Health Immigration Service of licensed immigration advisers gives free support, and Green List health roles are prioritised for complete applications. Read on healthnz.govt.nz, 8 October 2026.
The Council "has no role in the recruitment or employment of internationally qualified nurses." If you hold a written offer, not a verbal one, while you wait on registration, email iqn@nursingcouncil.org.nz. Read on nursingcouncil.org.nz, 8 October 2026.
Who may charge you: "New Zealand employers cannot charge you fees for a job or make you pay any of their recruitment costs", even through a third party; a recruitment agency's charges "should reflect the service they provide you". Employment New Zealand says paying "an amount of money or a fee to get a job" is a sign of exploitation. Read 8 October 2026.
Where Health New Zealand lists its nursing vacancies open to nurses abroad: we do not know this yet. Here is Health New Zealand's nurses page, linked on this step.
Rekoja cannot get you the job or apply for you, and no employer may charge you for one.
Source: Health New Zealand, international candidates, read 26 October 2026.
Health New Zealand's nurses page
Open Health New Zealand's page for international candidates
Health New Zealand's nurses page
Paying for a job is exploitation
Free. Rekoja never sells a job, and no employer may charge you for one.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Find a nursing job with an employer on New Zealand's accredited list, and apply yourself. No employer may charge you for a job.
Where the official answer lives: Immigration New Zealand's accredited employer list, and the employer's own careers page; Health New Zealand's nurses page for its nursing roles.
- 9Cannot start yet: opens when the Council registers you
Get your practising certificate
Once you are registered, apply and pay for your annual practising certificate, so you are allowed to work as a nurse.
See what this step needs
"When practising as a nurse in Aotearoa New Zealand you must hold a valid practising certificate, which you renew each year." Once you have applied and paid, you may practise and you show on the register of practising nurses. Practising without one "is not permitted under the Act". Read on nursingcouncil.org.nz, 8 October 2026.
Your first certificate runs 3, 6, 9 or 12 months, to line up with your birthday: NZ$32.50, NZ$65.00, NZ$97.50 or NZ$130.00, about ₦24,538, ₦49,075, ₦73,613 or ₦98,150, with the levy and GST included. The fee is non-refundable. Read 8 October 2026. At ₦755 to the New Zealand dollar, 20 October 2026 (the CBN's US dollar rate of 20 October 2026 times the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's of 20 October 2026).
Health New Zealand: "Most frontline workforces require you to obtain New Zealand registration and an Annual Practising Certificate before applying for a visa and starting work." Its nurses page lists reimbursement of your practising certificate costs. Read on healthnz.govt.nz, 8 October 2026.
Source: Nursing Council of New Zealand, annual practising certificates, read 21 October 2026.
Your clock: a count of the days left on your practising certificate, worked out from the date your practising certificate is valid until, which you enter in your plan. Enter it in your plan
Open the Council's practising certificate page
Health New Zealand's page for international candidates
Rekoja charges nothing here. You apply and pay the Council yourself.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
After the Council registers you, pay for your practising certificate. It is your permission to work as a nurse, and you renew it every year.
Where the official answer lives: The Council's practising certificate page; the Council answers at iqn@nursingcouncil.org.nz.
- 10Cannot start yet: opens when you hold your registration and a written job offer
Get your Straight to Residence Visa
Apply online for the Straight to Residence Visa with your registration and your job offer.
See what this step needs
From NZD 6,450, about ₦4,869,800; 80% decided within 3.5 months. Your partner and dependent children aged 24 or younger go on the same application; the page does not say whether the fee covers them. You must be 55 or younger when you apply. The page prints no savings requirement; after you apply, Immigration New Zealand may ask for bank statements or payslips showing your salary. Read on immigration.govt.nz, 26 October 2026. At ₦755 to the New Zealand dollar, 20 October 2026 (the CBN's US dollar rate of 20 October 2026 times the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's of 20 October 2026).
The fee and the time for an applicant in Nigeria: we do not know this yet. The page shows them only once your country is entered. Here is the visa's page, linked on this step.
Health: everyone on the application aged 15 or older has a chest X-ray and a medical examination, less than 3 months old when Immigration New Zealand receives them. The doctors in Nigeria who may do them: we do not know this yet. Here is Immigration New Zealand's finder for its doctors. Read 19 October 2026.
Character: police certificates for everyone aged 17 or older, less than 6 months old when you apply, from each country you are a citizen of and each you spent 12 months or more in over the last 10 years. How to get the Nigeria Police certificate for this visa: we do not know this yet. Here is Immigration New Zealand's police certificate page. Read 19 October 2026.
English: results no more than 2 years old when you apply, sat in person at a test centre. You, the main applicant, cannot use the English lesson option. Your partner and children aged 16 or older must speak English or pay for English classes in New Zealand; for them the score is IELTS 5 or OET grade C, and children younger than 16 need none. Read on immigration.govt.nz, 19 October 2026.
Whether a nurse registered with the Council also needs an international qualification assessment (IQA): we do not know this yet. "If you need an IQA, you must apply and include the results in your visa application." The visa's page, linked on this step, holds the rule. Read 19 October 2026.
Your documents: a copy of your passport, 1 acceptable photo, your chest X-ray and medical, your police certificates, your English result, evidence of your job offer with an accredited employer in a full-time job on the part of the Green List that leads straight to residence, and English translations of any document not in English. For your partner and children: proof of your relationship, their identity documents and photos, their police and medical evidence, and their English result or paid English lessons. Read 26 October 2026.
You apply online and pay online; there is no visa application centre in Nigeria (Africa's is in Pretoria). An approved visa comes as an eVisa. "Immigration New Zealand only charges you an application fee." You do not need an adviser, and using one does not speed your application; if you use one, "only use a licensed immigration adviser (LIA), a certified New Zealand lawyer, or someone else legally able to provide immigration advice". Health New Zealand says "immigration advice can only be provided by a licensed professional or lawyer". Read on immigration.govt.nz and healthnz.govt.nz, 19 October 2026.
Source: Immigration New Zealand, Straight to Residence Visa, read 26 October 2026.
Your clock: the 6 months a police certificate lasts for the visa, worked out from the date on your police certificate, which you enter in your plan: it must be less than 6 months old when you apply. Enter it in your plan
Your clock: the 3 months your X-ray and medical last for the visa, worked out from the date of your chest X-ray and medical, which you enter in your plan: they must be less than 3 months old when Immigration New Zealand receives them. Enter it in your plan
Your clock: about when your visa is decided, 80% within about 15 weeks, worked out from the day you apply for the Straight to Residence Visa, which you enter in your plan: Immigration New Zealand decides 80% of applications within about 15 weeks of it. Enter it in your plan
Doctors who do the X-ray and medical
The Green List's nursing roles
Immigration New Zealand on advisers and scams
Health New Zealand's Health Immigration Service, on its page for international candidates
Rekoja charges nothing here. You apply and pay Immigration New Zealand yourself. Rekoja does not prepare this file: Immigration New Zealand says to use only a licensed immigration adviser, a certified New Zealand lawyer or someone else legally able to give immigration advice. Health New Zealand runs a free Health Immigration Service of licensed immigration advisers.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Apply online for the Straight to Residence Visa, with your registration, your job offer, a medical, police certificates and your English result. You arrive already a resident.
Where the official answer lives: Immigration New Zealand's Straight to Residence Visa page holds the official answer; for Health New Zealand jobs, its free Health Immigration Service, on its page for international candidates, linked on this step.
- 11Cannot start yet: opens when your visa is granted
Travel, arrive and get your IRD number
Fly within 12 months of your visa, land, and get your IRD number, your tax number, before you start.
See what this step needs
"You must come to New Zealand within 12 months of the date your visa is issued, if you applied for your visa outside of New Zealand." Fill in the New Zealand Traveller Declaration before you travel. You can work in any job for any employer. Your travel conditions run for 2 years from the day you first arrive as a resident. Read on immigration.govt.nz, 8 October 2026.
Your IRD number: apply as a new arrival through a myIR account with your passport details and your Immigration New Zealand application number, by your visa's final arrival date. If approved, it comes by text or email in 2 days, and it is free. Health New Zealand: "You will need to have an IRD number before you can start." Read on ird.govt.nz, 8 October 2026.
A bank account can be opened before you travel but is activated at a branch, with ID, an address, your IRD number and your visa. A resident visa gives you publicly funded healthcare. A rental bond can be up to 4 weeks' rent. Relocation support is whatever your employment agreement says. Read on healthnz.govt.nz, 8 October 2026.
Source: Immigration New Zealand, Straight to Residence Visa, read 8 October 2026.
Your clock: the 12 months to arrive in New Zealand, worked out from the date your visa is issued, which you enter in your plan: come to New Zealand within 12 months of it. Enter it in your plan
Your clock: the 2 years your travel conditions run, worked out from the day you first land in New Zealand as a resident, which you enter in your plan: your travel conditions end 2 years after it. Enter it in your plan
The Straight to Residence Visa
Health New Zealand's page for international candidates
Free. Rekoja charges nothing here.
I am stuck
Explain this step more simply
Fly to New Zealand within 12 months of getting your visa. Get your free IRD tax number, open your bank account, and start work.
Where the official answer lives: Your employer's start letter; Immigration New Zealand's visa page; Inland Revenue's page for new arrivals on the IRD number.
- 12Cannot start yet: opens when you start with your employer
Your first payslip
Know your step on the nurses' pay scale, and what comes after your first two years.
See what this step needs
Registered nurses at Health New Zealand are paid from NZD 77,667 a year at Step 1 to NZD 109,407 at Step 7 from 2 March 2026, about ₦58.6m to ₦82.6m; from 2 March 2027, NZD 79,221 to NZD 111,596, about ₦59.8m to ₦84.3m. From the Terms of Settlement of 23 April 2026; read 8 October 2026. At ₦755 to the New Zealand dollar, 20 October 2026 (the CBN's US dollar rate of 20 October 2026 times the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's of 20 October 2026).
Health New Zealand's own page: Step 1 base NZD 77,667 with NZD 78,588 (about ₦59,333,940) in total after a median penal rate; Step 4 NZD 93,458, about ₦70,560,790 (NZD 105,636 in total, about ₦79,755,180); Step 7, after 6 or more years, NZD 109,407, about ₦82,602,285 (NZD 122,797 in total, about ₦92,711,735). Pay is fortnightly by direct credit, with at least a 3% superannuation contribution. Read on healthnz.govt.nz, 8 October 2026.
Leave: 4 weeks of paid annual leave after 12 months with your employer, and at least 10 days of paid sick leave a year after your first 6 months. Read 8 October 2026.
After you have held the Straight to Residence Visa for 2 years in a row, you can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa; citizenship, for most people, after 5 years of living in New Zealand as a resident. Read on immigration.govt.nz, 8 October 2026.
Source: Health New Zealand, Nurses, read 21 October 2026.
Your clock: the day your visa was issued, worked out from the date your visa is issued, which you enter in your plan: after 2 years in a row with the visa you can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa. Enter it in your plan
Open Health New Zealand's nurses page
The pay scales for 2026 and 2027, Terms of Settlement
The Straight to Residence Visa
Free.
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Explain this step more simply
Check your step on the nurses' pay scale. After two years with your visa, you can apply to stay for good.
Where the official answer lives: Your employer's payroll answers on your payslip; Immigration New Zealand on the Permanent Resident Visa.
See everything about this route
Cost. About ₦3.8m to register (NZD 4,125 to the Council and for the exams and course, USD 380 to TruMerit, AUD 155 for the criminal history check); about ₦8.6m with your visa (from NZD 6,450). Not the NMCN's fee, the English test, translations, the Visitor Visa for the OSCE, flights, the practising certificate (from NZ$32.50), the medical or the police certificates. Fees read 8 October 2026.
The money you must show. The Straight to Residence Visa page prints no savings requirement. For the OSCE trip, the Visitor Visa asks at least NZD 1,000 a month, about ₦755,000. Read on immigration.govt.nz, 8 October 2026.
How long. TruMerit takes about 30 days to verify your papers. The Council says its time to assess an application will vary. You have 6 months from the Council's invitation to pass the theory exam and 18 months from its initial invitation to complete the OSCE; Immigration New Zealand decides 80% of Straight to Residence applications within 3.5 months. Your job search and your exams set the real length. Read 8 October 2026; the visa's time read 26 October 2026.
Who it fits.A nurse currently registered with the NMCN, with a Bachelor of Nursing or the equivalent, at least 1,800 hours since registering, and the Council's English scores; 55 or younger for the visa. Here is the official page, checked 8 October 2026.
Your family. Your partner and dependent children aged 24 or younger go on the same visa application. Read on immigration.govt.nz, 8 October 2026.
Your papers.Your passport and one other identity document, your NMCN registration, your nursing school's form and transcript, your English results, and for the visa a medical, police certificates and your job offer.
The official page for this route. Checked 8 October 2026. Naira at the official rates of 20 October 2026. Australian and New Zealand figures are cross rates through the US dollar.
I am stuck? Open "I am stuck" on the step: it names where the official answer lives.
Free. About two minutes.