The following is just a couple of in depth occupations for you to review.

1. Nurses

i) Application for registration is made to the Nursing Council of New Zealand.
ii) You must supply evidence of nursing practice hours for the past 3 years while registered. This needs to be in writing and verified by your employer.

• Equivalent International Nursing qualification

• Competency to practise

• Fitness for registration and in particular the ability to communicate effectively in English.

iii) From 1/1/09 all overseas applicants except Australians will be required to complete an English language assessment.
The pass required for IELT’s is 70% and for OET (Occupational English Test) is a B pass.
iv) When steps 1 – 3 are completely satisfied there is a period of about one month that will elapse while the Nursing Council evaluates the application.
v) Once registration is approved there is a further period of up to 6 weeks between making an application for a Practicing Certificate and it being approved.
The Nursing Council strongly recommends that applicants do not make plans to permanently move to New Zealand until the registration process is complete or the applicant has been advised to complete a competence assessment programme.

2. Engineers
i) Application is made to IPENZ – the Institute of Professional Engineers in New Zealand.
ii) The process is fully set out on the IPENZ website.
iii) Engineering institutes worldwide operate what is called a “credit schedule” which provides for mutual recognition of substantially equivalent assessments.
iv) If not registered/certified the applicant will therefore not be deemed to be competence assessed and will be required to work in New Zealand for at least a year before the assessment can occur.
v) If certified then while membership will be granted all other matters being equal, a new member will be required to work for between 6-12 months to become familiar with NZ Standards and Codes of Practice before they can become a Chartered Professional Engineer.

3. Teachers
i) Application for registration is made to the NZ Teachers Council (NZTC)
ii) Assessment of the comparability of overseas teaching qualifications to NZ teaching qualifications is done by the NZ Qualifications Authority. You must provide a certified copy of the NZQA assessment report to the NZTC. The report from NZQA will take not less than 35 working days.
If an applicant does not receive comparability there are specific provisions under which he/she can still apply.
iii) Certified copies of certificates must be supplied as well as certified copies of statements of service.
iv) Language: In order to be registered a teacher an applicant needs to provide written evidence that English is his/her first language and it has been the medium of instruction in his/her schooling and that all schooling qualifications have been completed in English.
v) Police check: Applicants will need a Police Certificate.
vii) The length of the process is somewhere between 4-6 weeks if full and accurate documentation is provided from the outset. The NZTC meets weekly to consider completed applications.
viii) The Practicing Certificate is renewable every 5 years and will require a supporting affirmation by a Principal. The test is “satisfactory recent teaching experience”.