New Zealand visa pay requirements

The New Zealand visa pay rate is a critical legal factor determining both the validity of an application and the accompanying family rights. From 09/03/2026, New Zealand’s immigration system applies new pay thresholds, affecting many popular visa types and routes to residence. Understanding correctly how these thresholds are applied will help applicants avoid mistakes in preparing their applications and in medium-term financial planning.

Before going into each visa category, two concepts need to be clearly distinguished: the minimum wage and the median wage. The minimum wage is the legal threshold applying to all workers in New Zealand, while the median wage is an immigration reference threshold published byImmigration New Zealand, based on data from Stats NZ. In this article, all visa-related analysis revolves around the median wage — because that is the figure with legal significance for immigration applications.

The median wage — the core reference threshold of New Zealand’s immigration system

The median wage is the median rate of pay calculated by Stats NZ on the basis of data across the whole New Zealand labour market. The immigration authority uses this figure as the basis for converting a whole series of thresholds in visa policy, from the minimum rate of pay for visa holders through to the income threshold for supporting family members.

Theo Immigration New Zealand (INZ), from 09/03/2026 the median wage officially rises from NZD 33.56 an hour to NZD 35.00 an hour. This adjustment is based on the June 2025 median pay data published by Stats NZ. This change carries with it a rise in the many dependent thresholds such as the 1.5 times and 2 times median wage levels.

Three points to remember about this mechanism. First, the median wage is adjusted periodically each year. Second, the other thresholds in the immigration system are usually calculated as multiples (0.8x, 1.5x, 2x) of the median wage. Third, applications are assessed against the threshold in force at the time of filing, not at the time the visa is granted.

New Zealand visa pay requirements by visa category

New Zealand’s work visa system is divided into a number of categories, each with its own way of applying pay thresholds. Below is a detailed analysis of the most common categories Vietnamese applicants need to bear in mind.

Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV)

Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV)is New Zealand’s principal work visa, allowing foreign nationals to work for an employer accredited by INZ. It is also the visa category whose pay rules have changed most over the past 2 years.

An important point to remember: from 10/03/2025, the requirement to pay the median wage for the AEWV was abolished. At present, employers need only meet the national minimum wage, that is NZD 23.50 an hour as at the time of writing. The rate of pay for each position is set by the market, and is no longer bound by a fixed immigration threshold.

However, the median wage still matters for the AEWV in three respects. The first is the right to support family members — the income threshold for supporting a spouse and dependent children is still calculated against the new median wage. The second is the maximum period of stay — an AEWV holder paid NZD 52.50 an hour or more (equivalent to 1.5 times the median wage) may be granted a visa with a maximum term of 5 years. The third is the Job Check exemption for high-paying positions.

The Green List — the priority occupations list

The Green List is the list of occupations in short supply in New Zealand, divided into two tiers: Tier 1 (a straight route to residence) and Tier 2 (a route to residence after 24 months). Occupations on this list enjoy procedural concessions but must at the same time meet higher pay thresholds.

From 09/03/2026, the pay thresholds for Green List positions are also adjusted automatically in line with the new median wage. Employers wishing to recruit foreign workers through the Green List channel need to ensure the minimum rate of pay for each particular occupation as prescribed by INZ. Where the rate of pay does not reach the required threshold, the application will not qualify for the fast route to residence.

Skilled Migrant Category (SMC)

The Skilled Migrant Category is the most common route to residence for skilled workers. This category applies a points system based on qualifications, work experience and, in particular, pay.

Under the current rules, applicants need to score at least 6 points on the SMC’s 6-point scale. Pay is one of the important points-scoring criteria:

• Pay of 1.5 times the median wage or more: high-pay points are awarded
• Pay of 2 times the median wage or more: maximum points are awarded within the pay criteria
• Pay below the median wage: no points are awarded under this criterion

With the new median wage of NZD 35.00 an hour, the 1.5x threshold is equivalent to NZD 52.50 an hour and the 2x threshold is NZD 70.00 an hour. Applicants need to consider carefully their ability to negotiate pay with the employer in order to secure enough SMC points.

Active Investor Plus Visa

Active Investor Plus Visais an investor residence visa, and does not apply the median wage threshold because an investor’s income is not based on an employment relationship. Instead, the requirements focus on the investment capital and the time present in New Zealand. This is the fundamental difference between the investor category and the work categories analysed above.

The effect of the median wage on supporting family members

One of the most important effects of the median wage is the income threshold where a visa holder wishes to bring family to New Zealand. This is also a point that commonly causes confusion for Vietnamese applicants, because the mechanism does not apply the full median wage directly.

Supporting a spouse

An AEWV holder wishing to bring a spouse over on a Partner Work Visa needs to meet a minimum income threshold. This threshold is calculated by the skill level of the position:

• Skill level 1–3 positions: rising from NZD 26.85 an hour to NZD 28.00 an hour from 09/03/2026
• Green List positions: rising from NZD 50.34 an hour to NZD 52.50 an hour from the same date

A practical situation to note: where a worker is being paid below the new threshold at the time the supporting application is filed, the application will be refused even where their own visa was granted before 09/03/2026. This forces many workers to negotiate a pay rise before filing a supporting application for a spouse.

Supporting dependent children

To bring a child under 24 to New Zealand on a Dependent Child Visa, an AEWV holder must demonstrate a minimum gross annual income. This threshold is calculated as 80% of the median wage for a 40-hour working week.

With a median wage of NZD 35.00 an hour, the calculation is: 0.8 × 35 × 40 × 52 = NZD 58,240 a year. This is the minimum income the worker needs to demonstrate through pre-tax payslips in order to be eligible to bring a child to New Zealand.

Important points in applying the new pay thresholds

There are three timing issues to which applicants need to pay particular attention in order to avoid the risk of refusal.

First, Job Check applications and AEWV applications filed before 09/03/2026 still apply the old rate of NZD 33.56 an hour. This is favourable for cases already part-way through processing. Current AEWV holders are unaffected until they have to file a new application.

Second, the income threshold for supporting family members is assessed as at the time the supporting application is filed, not the time the underlying visa was granted. This is a very important distinction. Many applicants already hold an AEWV, but where they file a supporting application after 09/03/2026 they must still meet the new threshold.

Third, New Zealand is gradually moving its occupation classification system from ANZSCO to the NOL (New Zealand’s National Occupation List). This transition may cause some positions to be reclassified by skill level, directly affecting the pay threshold applied.

Applicants need to be alert toNew Zealand immigration fraud and scams.

A comparison with Canada’s pay threshold system

To put New Zealand visa pay rates in a wider context, a quick comparison may be made with Canada’s system. Canada uses pay thresholds by province/region through Job Bank’s LMIA wage data tool, and has no single hard “median wage” applying nationwide as New Zealand does.

Conversely, New Zealand applies a single median wage nationwide, simpler to look up but less flexible in accounting for differences in the cost of living between cities. Auckland and Wellington have a significantly higher cost of living than regional cities, but the immigration pay thresholds are the same.

What both systems have in common is that they tie pay thresholds to family rights and routes to residence. Applicants in New Zealand cannot bring family over where their income is below the threshold, similar to Canada’s Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) mechanism for family sponsorship programmes.

Conclusion

The New Zealand visa pay rate is a highly technical concept but one that directly affects an applicant’s ability to be granted a visa, to bring family over and to qualify for residence. From 09/03/2026, the new median wage of NZD 35.00 an hour carries with it the automatic adjustment of many dependent thresholds, from the right to bring a spouse over through to the minimum income threshold for bringing dependent children.

For those weighing up a work route in New Zealand, having a firm grasp of these thresholds from the job negotiation stage onwards will allow them to take the initiative in planning to bring family over and in the later route to residence. Consulting an immigration professional with practical experience of the particular visa category is a recommended step before signing an employment agreement or filing a formal application.