India–New Zealand FTA:
5,000 Work Visa Places Open From 20 October 2026

What Changed on 20 October 2026

The India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement came into force on 20 October 2026. Alongside the trade terms, it created two new Temporary Employment Entry (TEE) visa categories that did not exist before:

• India Skilled Work Visa — up to 4,400 visa holders in New Zealand at any one time, for a defined list of skilled occupations.
• India Iconic Work Visa — up to 600 visa holders at any one time, for four professions New Zealand treats as iconic to India.

Both cost from NZD $1,355, both last up to 3 years, and both are open only to citizens of the Republic of India. As of 20 October 2026, Immigration New Zealand states that all places in both categories were available — meaning nothing had been allocated yet.

This is not a points system and it is not a lottery. It is a queue against a fixed number of places per occupation, and it opens and closes as those places fill.

India Skilled Work Visa — 4,400 Places

Places are allocated by sector, not by individual job. The total is for the sector, which means a popular role inside a sector can absorb the whole allocation.

That adds up to 4,400. Two things follow from the sector structure that most coverage has missed:

• Software is the single biggest door — 1,000 places across three related occupations, but they share one pool. A surge of software engineer applications consumes the ICT project manager allocation too.
• Nursing at 900 is bigger than teaching at 500. If you are choosing what to qualify in, that number is the demand signal, and our nurse visa sponsorship guide covers the registration steps that gate this route.

India Iconic Work Visa — 600 Places

This is the smaller and stranger of the two: four occupations New Zealand has designated as iconic to India, each with its own hard ceiling.

Three details that will trip people up:

• You cannot apply as a "yoga and naturopathy" AYUSH practitioner. Immigration New Zealand states you must pick one — apply as a yoga instructor or as a naturopathy AYUSH practitioner, whichever you actually meet the requirements for and which has places.
• Overseas qualifications need an IQA. If your qualification is not from New Zealand, you must complete an International Qualifications Assessment from NZQA — a report that verifies your qualification and maps it to the New Zealand framework. Budget time for it.
• If a category is full, the application is not accepted and the fee is refunded. You cannot queue past the cap.

The Rules Both Visas Share

The two visas have different occupation lists but almost identical mechanics:

• Citizenship — you must be a citizen of the Republic of India with a valid Indian passport. Residence in India is not enough.
• Apply from outside New Zealand — for your first visa you must be outside the country. If you were granted less than 3 years and are applying to use up the remainder, you can apply from inside.
• Accredited employer — the job offer must come from an employer accredited to hire migrants under the Accredited Employer Work Visa policy. You can check the employer on Immigration New Zealand's accredited employer list.
• Full-time work — the offer must be current and for at least 30 hours a week.
• English — an acceptable English language test result is required.
• Health, character, genuine intent — standard good health and good character requirements, plus a genuine reason for coming to New Zealand.
• No dependants — you cannot include a partner or dependent children. They are not eligible for a visa based on their relationship to you. This is a family-separation visa, and it is the single most overlooked condition.
• Study allowed — up to 3 months of study while holding the visa.
• Travel — you can travel in and out of New Zealand.
• Tied to the job — you may work only in the job, location and for the employer specified in your visa.

The Catch: 3 Years, No Residence

This is the part that decides whether the visa is worth it for you, so it deserves plain language.

• Maximum 3 years total. Time on an India Skilled Work Visa and time on an India Iconic Work Visa count towards the same 3-year ceiling. Switching between them does not reset the clock.
• No pathway to residence. Immigration New Zealand states this explicitly. The visa is temporary employment entry, not a route to a resident visa.
• You must leave, then wait 3 years. After the 3 years you must leave New Zealand before you can get another India Skilled Work Visa or India Iconic Work Visa, and you cannot get either until you have spent at least 3 years outside New Zealand.
• No dependants. Repeating it because it matters: no partner, no children on this visa.

If your goal is permanent settlement in New Zealand, this visa is not the vehicle. It is a 3-year skilled work stint with a clean exit. Our best countries for visa sponsorship comparison covers which destinations do offer a residence pathway.

What Changes on 16 November 2026

One part of the FTA has not started yet. From 16 November 2026, post-study work rights expand: Indian graduates who hold a New Zealand PhD become eligible for post-study work visas of up to 4 years, instead of 3.

Also worth knowing for students already in New Zealand: eligible students of any nationality can currently work up to 25 hours each week while studying. The FTA locks in a commitment that Indian students will keep at least 20 hours a week in-study work rights if policy settings change in future. That is a floor, not a new entitlement — nobody's hours go up on 20 October.

The Working Holiday Scheme

The FTA also commits to a new working holiday scheme for Indian nationals, with these terms:

• Age — 18 to 30.
• Timing — to be introduced within 2 years of the FTA entering into force, so by 20 October 2028 at the latest. It is not open yet.
• Cap — 1,000 places annually.
• Length — up to 12 months in New Zealand.

Do not pay anyone for a "working holiday visa slot" before Immigration New Zealand publishes the scheme. It does not exist on 25 October 2026.

The Job Offer Scam Warning

Immigration New Zealand puts an explicit warning on both visa pages, and it is unusually blunt: "Job offer scams are common in India and South Asia. Make sure your job offer is genuine."

It goes further than a warning. The department states it will decline an application if it considers that you, or your agent, has offered or promised money to the employer or the employer's agent in exchange for a job offer. Paying for the job does not just risk your money — it disqualifies the application.

Given a brand-new visa with a fixed 5,000-place cap, expect fake "guaranteed slot" offers to appear quickly. The checks that matter:

• Verify the employer on the accredited employer list before you discuss money with anyone.
• Nobody can guarantee a place. Places are released against the cap and can be full; Immigration New Zealand refunds the fee rather than holding your application.
• Read the red flags in our visa sponsorship scam checklist — the fee, the fake offer letter, the "internal contact".
• Prepare documents properly — New Zealand CV format and New Zealand cover letter guides cover what NZ employers expect.

Frequently Asked Questions