Korea Work Visa

At a glance

The Korea Work Visa enables citizens of the Republic of Korea to work in New Zealand for a specific employer in a specific occupation. The visa is based on a list of eligible occupations [WI19.10] and does not require a labour market check [WI19.5]. Successful applicants receive a multiple-entry work visa with a maximum duration of three years, after which they must spend at least three years outside New Zealand before any further application under these instructions [WI19.5].

• Who can apply? Citizens of the Republic of Korea who are ordinarily resident in Korea and hold a full-time job offer in an eligible occupation.
• Key conditions: Work only for the named employer in the named occupation; first entry within six months; no labour market test.
• Important limitation: After completing three years on this visa, the applicant must remain outside New Zealand for a further three years before reapplying under the Korea Work Visa route.

How to apply

1. Prepare the application: Complete the appropriate work visa application form and pay the required fee, the Immigration Levy, and the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (if applicable) [WI19.5].
2. Secure a job offer: Obtain a full-time New Zealand job offer in an occupation that appears on the Korea Work Visa Occupation List [WI19.10]. The offer must satisfy the generic work visa requirements in [W2.10].
3. Meet occupational requirements: Provide evidence of any registration, qualifications, and/or work experience specified for that occupation in the occupation list [WI19.10].
4. Prove health and character: Supply the necessary medical certificates and police clearances to meet the health [A4] and character [A5] requirements.
5. Show bona fide intent: Demonstrate that you are a genuine temporary entrant who intends to stay temporarily, in accordance with [E5].
6. Residency in Korea: Be ordinarily and actually resident in the Republic of Korea at the time the application is made, unless an exception under WI19.5(d) applies [WI19.5].

Eligibility criteria

To satisfy the Korea Work Visa instructions, an applicant must meet all of the following:

• Completed application: Provide a completed form with the correct fee and levies [WI19.5].
• Qualifying job offer: Hold an offer of full-time employment in New Zealand in an occupation listed in WI19.10, and the offer must meet the standard work visa requirements under W2.10 (including compliance with New Zealand employment law, sufficient wages, and a genuine vacancy) [WI19.5] [W2.10].
• Occupation-specific requirements: Possess any required registration (e.g., professional licencing), qualification (e.g., degree, diploma) or work experience specified for the occupation in the WI19.10 list [WI19.5] [WI19.10].
• Health: Meet the acceptable standard of health as set out at A4 [WI19.5] [A4].
• Character: Meet the good character requirements at A5 [WI19.5] [A5].
• Bona fide applicant: Satisfy the immigration officer that they genuinely intend a temporary stay, in line with E5 [WI19.5] [E5].
• Residence in Korea: Be ordinarily and actually resident in the Republic of Korea at the time of lodgement, unless the exception in WI19.5(d) applies [WI19.5]. (The exception is not detailed in this instruction; practitioners must consult WI19.5(d) directly.)

No labour market check is required for this visa category [WI19.5].

Occupation List & Numerical Caps

To be granted a work visa under these instructions, the applicant must hold a full‑time New Zealand job offer in one of the following occupations and meet the specific requirements for that occupation [WI19.10]. At any one time, the number of citizens of the Republic of Korea granted a work visa under these instructions must not exceed 50 for any single occupation, and must not exceed 200 in total across all occupations [WI19.10].

Occupation	Requirements
Biomedical Engineer	One of: (i) relevant Washington Accord accredited undergraduate engineering degree; or (ii) Bachelor of Engineering or equivalent [WI19.10]
Food Technologist	Bachelor of Food Science or equivalent and a minimum of three years' relevant post‑qualification work experience in the industry [WI19.10]
Forest Scientist	Bachelor of Forestry Science or equivalent [WI19.10]
Korean Language Instructor	Certificate of Korean Language Teaching issued by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism [WI19.10]
Korean Tour Guide	Valid Tour Guide Licence issued by and registered with either the Korea Tourism Organization or the Korea Tourism Association (entrusted by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism) [WI19.10]
Multimedia Designer (Film Animator)	Minimum three years' specialist work experience in film animation [WI19.10]
Taekwondo Instructor	Taekwondo Grade 4 and above certificate recognised by Kukkiwon (World Taekwondo Headquarters) [WI19.10]
Traditional Korean Medicine Doctor	Korean Medicine Doctor license issued by the Minister of Health and Welfare [WI19.10]
Software Engineer	Bachelor of Engineering or equivalent [WI19.10]
Veterinarian	Bachelor of Veterinary Science or equivalent and registration with the New Zealand Veterinary Council [WI19.10]

Effective 20/12/2015 [WI19.10]

Interpretation & edge cases

Visa conditions and duration

Successful applicants receive a work visa and entry permission subject to several standardised conditions:

• First entry: The applicant must make their first entry to New Zealand within six months of visa grant [WI19.5].
• Multiple entries: The visa is valid for multiple entries to New Zealand for a maximum period of three years, depending on the length of the job offer [WI19.5].
• Endorsement: The visa is endorsed with a condition restricting work to the specified employer and the specified occupation [WI19.5].

Shorter initial visa and further visa

If an applicant's initial visa is granted for less than three years (for example, because the job offer is for a fixed term shorter than three years), they may apply for a further visa to cover the balance of the three-year maximum. To be granted this further visa, the applicant must still meet all the requirements of these instructions at the time of the subsequent application [WI19.5].

Stand-down period after three years

Once an applicant has completed three years of work under this visa category, they are not eligible to apply for another Korea Work Visa until they have remained outside New Zealand for a continuous period of three years [WI19.5]. This stand‑down period is mandatory, but it does not prevent an application under a different visa category.

Exception for residence in Korea

The requirement to be ordinarily and actually resident in the Republic of Korea at the time of application may be waived in certain circumstances, as set out in WI19.5(d) [WI19.5]. The specifics of this exception are beyond the scope of the generic requirements and should be checked directly in the instruction.

International trade commitments

These visa instructions reflect New Zealand's obligations under international trade agreements. Immigration officers must consider these commitments when applying the instructions [E9].

Citations

• WI19.5 — Generic Requirements
• WI19.10 — Occupations list
• W2.10 — Generic work visa instructions
• A4 — Health Requirements
• A5 — Character requirements
• E5 — Requirement to be a 'bona fide applicant'
• E9 — Trade commitments