How to find a job in New Zealand as a refugee

It depends on your status, and there are three different situations. Refugees who arrive through the Refugee Quota Programme are granted permanent residence, so they may work for any employer from the start. New Zealand accepts 1,500 refugees a year through the quota and the Community Organisation Refugee Sponsorship (CORS) programme.

People who claim asylum in New Zealand and are recognised as refugees or protected persons are Convention refugees. Adults are first granted work visas, and can then apply for residence. Immigration New Zealand’s guidance for Convention refugees says there is no fee for the work visa while you wait, and residence application fees are waived, although you pay any medical costs.

While a claim is being decided, the Refugee Claimant Visitor Visa lets you stay but not work in New Zealand. The exceptions are remote work for an employer or client based overseas, and a one-off variation for up to 6 weeks of seasonal work if the Ministry of Social Development declares a labour shortage. Immigration New Zealand says claimants may also be able to apply for a work visa. Ask your lawyer or the welfare advisor before you accept any job.

Quota refugees spend their first weeks at Te Āhuru Mōwai o Aotearoa, the Māngere Refugee Resettlement Centre. The reception programme includes an employment assessment for working-age adults. Settlement support then continues for up to 2 years in the region where you are settled, provided by Red Cross in some regions and other providers elsewhere.

The government’s Refugee Resettlement Strategy sets an employment and self-sufficiency goal “building on their skills and experiences”. Use that wording with your settlement worker. The aim is not any job, but work that builds towards what you did before. Arrive at each meeting with two job goals: one close to your old work, and one entry route into the same field.

Apply for residence as soon as you can, and apply for a work visa while you wait so you can support yourself. Keep your recognition letter from Immigration New Zealand or the Immigration and Protection Tribunal: many services ask to see it.

New Zealand Red Cross has a Convention Navigator who gives advice and advocates for you on education, English language learning, welfare, housing and health. Red Cross also helps you understand what government support you may be eligible for. After your claim is approved, Immigration New Zealand sends an introductory letter, and you can contact the Navigator at navigator@redcross.org.nz or on 0800 733 27677.

Even if you cannot work yet, you can prepare. Immigration New Zealand has a welfare advisor for asylum seekers who connects claimants to healthcare, financial support, housing and education (welfare.advisor@mbie.govt.nz). Claimants who are lawfully in New Zealand can apply to Work and Income for an Emergency Benefit, and people with a current claim or appeal are eligible for publicly funded healthcare. Legal aid is available through the Ministry of Justice.

Use the waiting time for things that count later: English classes, an honest inventory of your skills, and your CV draft. If you are granted a work visa, you will be ready to apply the same week.

NZQA’s International Qualification Assessment places an overseas qualification on the New Zealand framework. For refugees it is funded: quota refugees, CORS and Refugee Family Support Category arrivals, Convention refugees, Afghan interpreters and Afghan evacuees can all apply. Contact NZQA first (qrsenquiries@nzqa.govt.nz) to confirm your eligibility and whether your qualification can be assessed.

Some jobs, nursing among them, also need registration with a New Zealand authority before you can practise. Start early, because requirements can change and the process takes time. Meanwhile, look for a neighbouring role in the same sector where your knowledge counts from day one. Our qualification recognition guide covers the wider process.

For most jobs, working English matters as much as experience. English Language Partners teaches English for work and everyday life at 21 centres nationwide, with free classes for jobseekers and employees who are New Zealand residents or citizens. Settlement support for quota refugees also covers English classes.

For important appointments, you can ask a government agency for a free Language Line interpreter. On your CV, describe your level precisely, with the course and the level you have reached, rather than writing “basic English”. It tells an employer you are improving, and by how much.

Start with the standard format. Our New Zealand CV guide covers the two-page structure, referees and cover letters. Then solve the four problems specific to your situation.

• Experience from home: use the nearest New Zealand job title, then one line on the employer: sector, size, what it did. An employer in Hamilton does not know a hospital in Aleppo or a ministry in Kabul. Keep bullets to results.
• Gaps from flight: write one factual line and move on, such as “2021–2023: Resettled in New Zealand; English classes and volunteer work”. How much of your story you share is your choice. Our career gap guide has more wording.
• Missing certificates: list the qualification with the institution and year, and add “NZQA assessment in progress” or its New Zealand level once you have it. Never claim a qualification you cannot explain.
• New Zealand references: volunteer roles, community work and short placements count. Ask each supervisor to be a referee: a New Zealand reference is something an employer can check with one call.

Work and Income helps with job search, job matches through MyMSD and CV support. New Zealand Red Cross supports quota refugees in several regions and Convention refugees through its Navigator. Community Law gives free legal help, including on jobs, benefits, immigration and refugee matters, to people on a benefit or a low income. Citizens Advice Bureau offers advice for migrants and a free interpreter service. New Zealand employers cannot charge you a fee for a job or make you pay their recruitment costs, so treat any request for money in exchange for an offer as a scam.