Global Impact Work Visa

If you are an entrepreneur or investor who has been accepted into the Edmund Hillary Fellowship you can apply for this visa to live and work in New Zealand.

With this visa you can Live, work and study in New Zealand for 36 months and apply for permanent residence in New Zealand after 30 months on the Edmund Hillary Fellowship.

Things to note

  • Fellowship applications are now closed. Only applicants accepted into the Fellowship can apply for the Global Impact Work Visa.
  • You must remain on the Edmund Hillary Fellowship for 30 months before applying for permanent residence. To be eligible for residence, you must maintain the support of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship.
  • You cannot include a partner or dependent children in your work visa application, but they can apply for visas based on their relationship to you. They will need to meet residence health and character criteria.

English language

You will need to provide one of these with your application:

  • ou will need to provide one of these with your application:
    • an acceptable English language test result.
    • evidence you’re a citizen of Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom (UK) or the United States of America (USA), and you have spent at least five years working or studying in those countries, or in Australia or New Zealand.
    • evidence you have a recognised qualification that’s comparable to a New Zealand level 7 bachelor’s degree, which you gained in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, the UK or the USA. You must have also studied for at least two years in any of those countries to get that qualification.
    • evidence you have a recognised qualification that’s comparable to a postgraduate New Zealand qualification, which you gained in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, the UK or the USA. You must have also studied for at least one year in any of those countries to get that qualification.
    • confirmation from the Edmund Hillary Fellowship that you have demonstrated a high standard of English. Your Letter of Offer will confirm this.
  • English language test results must be no more than 2 years old.

Maintenance funds

You must have access to the equivalent of NZ$36,000 to support yourself and your family for the first year in New Zealand. Evidence of access to maintenance funds can be any of the following:

  • bank statements in the name of yourself or your partner who is included in the visa application
  • job offer for yourself or your partner with an annual salary of at least NZ$36,000.
  • scholarship valued at NZ$36,000 or more for the first yea
  • assets with a recent valuation of NZ$36,000
  • another source of income which provides a minimum of $36,000 for the first year.

 Letter of offer

The Edmund Hillary Fellowship will provide you with a Letter of Offer if you are invited into the programme. You should provide a copy of that letter with your visa application.

Source of investment funds

If you were selected on the basis of an investor profile you must provide evidence that investment funds and/or assets were earned legally. Evidence of Investment funds may include, but is not limited to:

  • payslips or employment agreement
  • tax returns
  • asset valuations
  • Divident Statements
  • Business Performance CAP reports.

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