Skilled Green List occupations
The bulk of the annual visa quota is reserved for a defined list of in-demand skilled roles, spanning engineering, ICT, healthcare and the trades.
IND NZ
Your pathway from India to New Zealand
New Zealand and India just signed a landmark trade agreement — KGS Pathway turns it into a real career move, from STEM training to your first day on the job.
Programme
NZ Work-Ready STEM
Status
Boarding Now
What the NZ–India FTA means for Indian professionals
New Zealand and India signed a Free Trade Agreement in New Delhi on 27 April 2026 — negotiated in roughly nine months, one of the fastest FTAs New Zealand has struck. Alongside tariff cuts on 95% of New Zealand's exports, it opens new, direct routes for skilled Indian workers, graduates and their families to live and work in New Zealand, with both governments committing to recognise each other's professional qualifications.
- 1,667+
- new 3-year skilled work visas issued per year, capped at 5,000 in place at any time
- USD $20B
- in private investment New Zealand has committed to help facilitate into India over 15 years
- 2–4
- years of post-study work rights for STEM graduates, Bachelor's through PhD
- 1,000+
- Working Holiday places opening up each year for young Indians
What the Agreement Includes & Who Benefits
The FTA creates new opportunities for investors, students, and skilled professionals. A New Zealand Investment Desk will support Indian investors, while students can work up to 20 hours a week. It also enables easier movement for contractual service suppliers and intra-company transferees.
Specialist & cultural roles
A further allocation is set aside each year for occupations like yoga instruction, music, culinary arts and Ayurvedic practice.
Students & recent graduates
Work rights while studying and extended post-study visas mean a New Zealand qualification now converts more directly into a career here.
Young professionals
A yearly Working Holiday allocation gives early-career candidates a lower-commitment way to experience New Zealand first.
Your journey, boarding group by boarding group
Training, matching, and settling — one continuous service, not a paperwork hand-off.
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Group 1
Assess & match
We review your qualifications against FTA-eligible occupations and real New Zealand employer demand — before you invest time in an application that doesn't fit.
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Group 2
Get work-ready
NZ Work-Ready STEM modules cover the Health and Safety at Work Act, the direct "Kiwi Way" of workplace communication, NZ-specific engineering and IT standards, and interview coaching built around how New Zealand employers actually hire.
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Group 3
Match & place
We connect you with employers seeking your skills and support you through the parts of the process that are ours to run — not the visa paperwork itself, which stays with licensed immigration advisers.
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Group 4
Arrive & settle
Our co-living hub and onboarding support help you settle in — from your first flat and community to your first 100 days at work — so relocation doesn't derail the job.
About KGS Pathway
KGS Pathway is a bespoke agency registered in New Zealand, built to bridge Indian talent with New Zealand opportunity. We were founded on a simple observation: the hardest part of moving countries for work usually isn't the job offer - it's everything around it, from feeling work-ready to that first week finding your feet in a new hemisphere.
"It's more than trade — it's people-to-people."
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Guardianship of your journey
We treat every candidate's relocation as our own responsibility, start to finish.
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Genuine welcome
Co-living and community support so you're never navigating alone.
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Two-country accountability
Registered and compliant in New Zealand.
Tell us about your goals
Whether you're an Indian professional exploring the FTA pathway or a New Zealand employer looking for talent, we'd like to hear from you.
Passenger details
- Office
- New Lynn, Auckland 0600, New Zealand
- info@kgspathway.co.nz
- Phone
- +64 210 577 199
- Registered
- New Zealand