Over 55 and Long to Immigrate to NZ? The Age Waiver Visa Might be Your Ticket

You’re in your late fifties or early sixties. You’ve got decades of experience, a wealth of knowledge, and a burning desire to immigrate to New Zealand. But every website tells you the same thing: the skilled migrant visa cuts off at 55.

Is that really the end of the road? Not necessarily.

Today,  we sit down with immigration advisor Charlotte Stockman from NZ Shores to unpack exactly what an age waiver is, who qualifies, and how you can navigate the process if you’re considering how to immigrate to NZ with an age waiver visa.

For a select few, there is a little-known pathway called an age waiver. It’s not advertised on the Immigration NZ website. It’s not something you can apply for directly.

But for the right person, in the right circumstances, it can open doors that seemed permanently closed.

If you’re wondering about the bigger picture of why move to New Zealand in the first place, or if you’re still deciding between the New Zealand South- Island or North Island, understanding your visa options is the essential first step.

For those who are under the 56 cutoff, our comprehensive guide on how to relocate to New Zealand is a great place to start.

But if you’re reading this and thinking, “I’m already past that age,” this episode is for you.

In this weeks NZ Ahead podcast episode, we sit down with immigration advisor Charlotte Stockman from NZ Shores to unpack exactly what an age waiver is, who qualifies, and how you can navigate the process if you’re considering a relocation to NZ with an age waiver visa.

Liz: Charlotte, welcome back to the NZ Ahead podcast. We are thrilled to have you here with us.

Charlotte: Thank you so much for having me back again, guys. Love to be here.

Liz: You’re our favourite immigration advisor. Today, you’re going to be talking to us about an age waiver. So let’s jump straight in. What is an age waiver and how do you apply for it to come to New Zealand?

Charlotte: This is very much a niche topic of conversation. It’s definitely not something that’s going to apply to everyone listening today.

Immigration have what we call the instruction manual. For advisors and lawyers, that’s like our Bible. It tells us who is eligible and how different policies affect different types of visas.

Under each visa, there is criteria that a person has to meet. For a lot of our skilled migrants, you have to be under the age of 56 to apply. Typically you can apply up until the day you turn 56, so it’s 55 inclusive.

But in some circumstances, we can apply to waive that criteria. It’s a process where a request is made to the immigration minister or the associate immigration minister.

A case has to be put forward under a special direction. A special direction is a submission to one of the ministers where we have to make an argument as to why that criteria should be waived.

It’s a very unique process. It’s not something you can do directly through the NZ immigration website or any of their visa platforms.

It is typically best handled by an immigration advisor or a lawyer because we have the knowledge to navigate it.

It’s a special request you make before you even go ahead and apply for a visa.

For anyone considering this path, our comprehensive guide on how to relocate to New Zealand is a great place to start understanding the bigger picture.

The Age Cutoff: What You Need to Know

Liz: So if I start an application when I’m 55, but it doesn’t get completed until I’m 56 and a half, would I then have to apply for an age waiver?

Charlotte: No, it’s based on date of submission. If you turn 56 while your resident visa is processing, it’s not something you even have to consider. You’ve submitted while you were still within that eligibility window.

An age waiver is typically for people who have already surpassed that 56 age bracket and are looking at coming to New Zealand permanently. It’s for those saying, “I’m 56 plus and I want to reside here.”

So we go through a process of applying to the minister to request that they allow us to do so.

Liz: Is there a limit? If someone were 96 and still working, would that still apply?

Charlotte: There’s no particular cutoff. There’s nothing in immigration policy that says you have to be under a certain age to apply for an age waiver. This sits outside our policy, outside our immigration Bible.

But the older you get, the harder it’s going to get. If you were 96 and still working, I mean, go you, that’s amazing. But chances are by 96, you’re probably going to have some health concerns.

Immigration New Zealand would probably be worried you’re going to be a bit of a drain on the healthcare system. They’d ask, would it be worth it?

We have a 100% success rate in this space, but we are also really careful with who we take on. It’s not something that anyone can come to us and say, “I want to apply for an age waiver,” because we may say no, sorry.

The chances might be lower, whether it’s because you’re not deemed to be of critical need to New Zealand, or because you’re 80-something and may not meet the other criteria for that visa.

The minister may approve the age waiver, but you still have to meet the rest of the criteria. You might not pass your medical because of your age.

So that is definitely something to be aware of. We could get the waiver because you’re a 96-year-old doctor and the minister thinks you’re of great asset, but are you actually going to pass the rest of that application?

This is where understanding the health requirements for a NZ visa becomes absolutely critical. An NZ visa denied outcome due to health is something you want to avoid at all costs.

Who Can Apply for a New Zealand Age Waiver Visa?

Liz: You mentioned a doctor. Is this something that anyone can apply for, or do you have to have a special skill? Like a tradie, for example. Who’s eligible?

Charlotte: The people we typically see applying for age waivers are doctors, because we do actually do age waivers for a lot of them. New Zealand needs healthcare professionals. We have a really good strong argument there.

We can say, “Okay, we’ve got a doctor or a nurse or a psychologist. They are on the Green List, our long-term skill shortage list. We can demonstrate that there is a clear need for this person to reside in New Zealand despite being above that age threshold of 56.”

We need them. We need their skills. They’re going to come and contribute.

Technically, yes, anyone could go ahead and apply for an age waiver. But if you are in an occupation which isn’t hard to source, or you’re not going to be providing a great asset to New Zealand, it’s going to get harder.

If you are a tradie, you’re going to find it 100 times harder to get an age waiver approved than if you were a doctor or a teacher or a psychologist or someone working for NASA.

You have to be quite a unique and special individual. You might, for example, be a rocket scientist who’s worked at NASA and is now joining Rocket Lab. You have these crazy skills that there’s no way anyone in New Zealand’s ever going to have.

In that case, yes, you would probably get an age waiver. But it is very much case by case, and you can’t guarantee it because at the end of the day, it’s either the immigration minister or the associate minister who are signing off on those decisions.

They’re very careful with that too, because it has come back to bite them in the past. Ministers have been found out to approve special directions to people they probably shouldn’t, and then they get in a bit of hot water.

So they are typically very careful as to who they say yes to and who they say no to.

Our guide on the New Zealand Skilled Migration Visa explains the standard pathway for those under 56. And if you’re considering bringing a partner, our New Zealand partner visa guide covers how they fit into the picture.

Real-Life Examples

Liz: We did have someone in our NZ Ahead community who was a palliative nurse carer, and I believe she got an age waiver as well.

Charlotte: Yep, exactly. It’s a niche thing, really. But a special direction can be applied to anything.

It’s one of these things where you’re saying, “Right, we’re ignoring the immigration policy manual, and we’re going to try and say, please grant me a visa or please allow me to apply for a visa because I have exceptional circumstances.”

I submitted one for an English language waiver last week. Not sure how it’s gonna pan out, but you can submit a special direction for anything.

Liz: You just mentioned a teacher. If I’m over in the UK and I think I’ve got a special talent—say I teach a really specialist subject, and I’m 65—would it be worth me applying, or coming to you at least, to ask if I’ve got a chance?

Charlotte: It would be worth it. Anything which we see on that long-term skill shortage list—immigration have already identified those occupations are either hard to recruit for or hard to train for. Those people are already hard to source.

For a teacher, we’d probably definitely recommend you’re in the country. You would want to be here working and already contributing to New Zealand before applying. So we’d bring you out on a New Zealand work visa first.

We’d then get you working and then say, “All right, you’re here, you’re contributing. This is how you’re benefiting New Zealand already.”

We have seen them approved for teachers, but ultimately, it’s in the art of the argument. It’s in how well you can put an argument forward to either of those two ministers to say, “This is why I think I should be granted a waiver.”

Probably if you worked in the STEM field—science, technology, engineering, maths—as a teacher, you’d probably have a greater chance than if you were a PE teacher or an arts teacher. There’s probably a lot more of them, whereas we know we really need those STEM teachers.

It all comes down to the balancing act of what can you provide that New Zealand needs, and why should Immigration New Zealand actually allow you to apply for that visa after that age cut-off?

This is a great reminder for anyone moving to New Zealand that skills in high demand can open doors you might think are closed.

Is Approval Guaranteed?

Liz: Is approval guaranteed? Should I go for it anyway and think, “Well, maybe”? I know you said you had a great success rate, but is it guaranteed or is it just up to them?

Charlotte: It’s not guaranteed in any way or form. You are basically saying, “Please, sir, grant me a favor,” for lack of a better term. We are very much asking for a favor from Immigration New Zealand.

Immigration New Zealand charges $200 for a special direction. If it then gets through the minister’s office and they say, “Yes, we’re happy to approve,” the immigration fee is actually quite cheap at $200.

But you will obviously pay a fee to someone like us for our expertise to actually go through that process. If you came to us and said, “I really want to go through this process, I want to apply for an age waiver,” we would look at it with realistic eyes and say, “Yes, we think there’s probably a good chance,” or “No, there’s not.”

But we still can’t guarantee what the minister’s going to do. We can try our best. We can put forward a really good argument.

We do have a 100% success rate, but that is also because we are quite particular about what we do put forward to request. We are quite careful in that space.

Liz: That’s where I got confused. I heard the 100% success rate and thought, “Wow!” But what you’re saying is you only pick out people who you think are going to get through.

Charlotte: Curate, curate. Exactly.

This is why understanding the downside of moving to New Zealand and being realistic about your chances is so important.

It’s also worth reading about why people leave New Zealand, to go in with eyes wide open.

Can You Do It Yourself?

Liz: Can we do it ourselves, or is it best to use a lawyer or an immigration advisor for something like this?

Charlotte: With anything in the immigration system, you can do it yourself. There’s nothing that says you are obligated to use someone like us. But chances are you’re probably going to have potentially a better outcome if you do, because you’re going to have years of experience from a person actually going ahead and doing that for you.

Only our very senior team members at this stage will manage a special direction until we’re confident that our more junior advisors are competent. Then we sit through and we go with them and we provide training to upskill.

Because it is a debate, almost. You’re almost having a debate with Immigration New Zealand as to why you should be allowed to do this. It’s in the art of the argument. You’ve got to present your best argument.

If it’s not done in the right way or you don’t provide enough information, the minister’s officer will just come back and say, “No, sorry, we’re not proceeding.”

That’s not to say you can’t go and try again. There’s nothing at all that says you can’t try 10 times to submit a special direction to the minister’s office. But by that point, if you’re quantifying your time, you probably could have paid someone like us to do it.

If you’re coming from the US, our story on USA marine moves to New Zealand shows what’s possible with the right approach.

Do You LOVE New Zealand? Sign up below, and I will send you my FREE Moving to and Living in New Zealand Guide.

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How the Argument Is Made

Liz: Do you actually make the argument? Do they put an essay or a video forward? How does that work? Who actually goes to the minister and says, “Can we please have this?”

Charlotte: As advisors, we write a supporting letter. The last letter I sent off for a waiver was about 10 pages long. But on top of that, we provide supporting documentation to actually back up what we’re saying.

For someone like a doctor, it’s quite easy. The argument is not that hard to make, particularly if they have a job offer in New Zealand. We can say, “Here’s this doctor at the moment who is in a very niche field with a salary of over $350,000.”

That argument for us is going to be quite easy. He’s over the age of 56, but here he’s been hired into this unique role that this private hospital virtually can’t hire any Kiwis for because we don’t train hardly any.

That’s quite an easy argument. We’d provide evidence of his employment. We’d provide a support letter from the employer to say, “This is why we really need this person to stay in New Zealand permanently. This is going to be the outcome on the health system.”

The level of documentation we provide and support would differ depending on what the occupation was, who the person was. If they’re already in the country working, we look to obtain evidence of what is their contribution to New Zealand—and not just employment-wise, but outside of that.

Are they part of their community? Do they belong to a church or a sports group? Have they made friends? Are they settling in? We pull on lots of different resources to show that it’s not just, “You’ve got a job offer in this particular field.”

We try to show that as a whole, this person’s going to be of contribution to New Zealand because they’ve settled into their community. They’re providing a service, whatever it may be. We draw on lots of different sources to create an argument to say, “This is why this person should be allowed to stay.”

Liz: Yeah, becoming a good Kiwi then.

For those considering the move, our guide on life in New Zealand gives a real sense of what settling in looks like. And if you’re wondering about the practicalities, our articles on buying a house in New Zealand and exploring New Zealand by campervan can help you picture your future here.

How Can They Be in New Zealand Already?

Liz: But how can they be in New Zealand if they’re too old? How can they be in New Zealand in the first place?

Charlotte: There’s no age limit on a work visa. For these people, particularly for my doctor at the moment, he’s coming out to New Zealand first on a work visa. He’s already got his offer of employment.

For him, we probably could apply for the special direction, the request to the minister, before he even arrives. But it takes time. A special direction takes probably about four months to work its way through the minister’s office.

Employers typically want people here before that. So we bring these people out on work visas, which have no age cut-off. They’re in the country working while that’s processing in the background. Then once we get the yes from the minister, that then allows us to go and apply for the residence visa.

I will just add that you can’t apply for an age waiver when you submit a residence application. You can’t go and submit your skilled migrant or your straight to residence application after you turn 56 without approval from the minister.

Because if you do, an immigration officer is just going to look at it and say, “Well, you don’t meet policy because you’re over the age of 56.” It would be an outright decline.

The only way we can circumnavigate that is to get approval from the minister’s office first. Then we can go ahead and submit the application with immigration because we’ve got the document from the minister’s office to say, “We’re going to waive this age requirement for you.”

This is a crucial step that many people miss when researching how to immigrate to New Zealand over 56. Getting the process right from the start saves time, money, and heartache.

Why Is the Age Limit 55?

Liz: With people living longer now, has the age limit risen? Is it likely to rise in the future?

Charlotte: It hasn’t changed since I’ve been doing this job, and I’ve been an advisor for 11 years this year. The age cut-off for residency is largely centered around how long a person has to work in New Zealand to actually be eligible for superannuation—the government pension.

It used to be that you had to work in New Zealand for 10 years before you could be eligible for a government pension. Hence, they have the cut-off at 55 inclusive. By the time you reach 65, which is the retirement age here, you would have been eligible.

The rules have slightly changed for superannuation based on when you were born and how long you’ve lived in New Zealand. It’s a table that I couldn’t rattle off the top of my head. But if you’re interested, you can Google “eligibility for NZ superannuation” and that table will pop up. It will tell you how long you should work in New Zealand before you’re actually eligible.

That’s where that number came from initially. Because it came from there, I don’t see it changing. Regardless, to be eligible for a New Zealand pension, you have to work in New Zealand for a period of time.

I don’t know—maybe if they put the pension age up, which is a highly contentious issue for anyone following New Zealand politics, maybe we’d see that age threshold shift. I’m not sure.

It’s been 55 for as long as I can remember, for the last decade at least, and I think for a long time prior to that, it was as well.

Liz: It’s going to be that 10-year working life, isn’t it? But if you’re on $350K, you’re not going to be bothered about a New Zealand pension, are you? You’ve got a private one in the background somewhere.

Charlotte: No, I don’t think he is. A lot of people do, particularly if you’re already above that 60 age bracket and you’re coming from the likes of the US or the UK. A lot of these people do have private pensions which would pay out far more than our government pension here.

So yeah, comparatively.

For those specifically moving from the United States to New Zealand, understanding the pension implications is an important part of financial planning. And if you’re bringing family, our guide on a parent visa for New Zealand   might be relevant.

Final Advice and How to Get Started

Liz: Before we let you go, is there anything we haven’t asked you or you think people should know? How can we get hold of you and start that process?

Charlotte: I would just like to reiterate, so everyone’s got it clear in their minds—I know we’ve kind of jumped around a little bit today. If this is something you’re interested in doing:

One, I would definitely come and speak to us first, even if it’s just for a no-obligation consultation. We can say, “Yes, you’ve got a chance,” or, “Hey, we think it’s a little bit higher risk, be prepared for a decline, because we don’t think your chances are that strong.”

Whether it’s us or another consultancy, I would make sure you get an honest opinion from an advisor or a lawyer first.

If you decide to do it yourself, do just remember that you can’t go and apply for your visa outright because it will be declined. If this is something you want to do, you have to make that request to the minister first and have their approval to waive that age requirement before you go and apply for your visa.

The resident visa is $6,500 New Zealand dollars. You don’t want to submit an application which 100% will be declined. You just got to make sure you get your steps right before you go ahead.

Liz: That’s fantastic advice. And just to remind people, Charlotte is part of our NZ Ahead community Slack group. She’s in there with her own channel. You are absolutely fantastic. The number of people who come back to us and say, “I couldn’t have done it without you.” We get so much positive feedback about your company.

Remember too, before you make any decisions, it’s worth reading about mistakes in New Zealand to avoid common pitfalls.

And if you’re wondering about the practicalities of arrival, our guide on Auckland International Airport entry questions will help you prepare.

If you’re still deciding where to settle, our comparison of cities in New Zealand and even stories about swapping Taranaki, New Zealand, for Auckland can help you picture your future here.

Charlotte: Absolutely, absolutely.

Liz: Charlotte, thank you so much for joining us. If you’re watching this and you want to reach out to Charlotte, we’ll put all the details below. But she is in our Slack community. It’s a fantastic community to be in. You can find that community by taking the free five-day video guide, and that will lead to it.

Until next time, Charlotte, thank you so much for joining us. You’re our favorite immigration advisor, and we’ll speak to you soon.

Charlotte: Thank you so much for having me, guys. Pleasure to be here. Bye.

Ready to Explore Your New Zealand  Options?

If you’re over 56 and wondering whether New Zealand might still be an option, don’t assume the door is closed.

The key is to get professional advice, be realistic about your chances, and understand that this is a niche pathway for those with exceptional skills or circumstances.

Before you take any steps, consider the best time to go to New Zealand and whether you’re ready for the commitment of a move to New Zealand.

For those who have already been here and are considering returning to New Zealand, many of the same principles apply.

Your next steps:

1. Head over to nzahead.com/free for our free 5-day video guide on life in New Zealand.

2. Join our private NZ Ahead community on Slack for support from people on the same journey.