If you are an overseas doctor weighing up a move to Aotearoa, medical recruitment in New Zealand comes down to two things: registering with the Medical Council of New Zealand, securing the right work visa with an accredited employer. Get those lined up in the right order with your recruiter and the rest of the move becomes far easier. This guide walks through each step, the registration pathways open to international medical graduates, what you can expect to earn, and how a specialist recruiter fits into the picture.
New Zealand has a real and ongoing need for doctors. General practitioners sit on the Government's Green List with a direct path to residence, and the Medical Council has spent the past two years shortening its processing times for overseas-trained doctors. For many international candidates, the timing has rarely been better.
What is medical recruitment in New Zealand, and how does it work?
Medical recruitment in New Zealand is the process of matching overseas and locally trained doctors to vacancies across the health system, then supporting them through registration, immigration and relocation. Roles sit in three main settings: public hospitals run by Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, private surgical hospitals, and community practices and clinics.
A specialist recruiter acts as the bridge between you and a New Zealand employer. Rather than applying cold to dozens of hospitals, you work with someone who knows which departments are hiring, what each role involves, and how to present your experience so it lands well with a Kiwi employer. Good healthcare recruitment in New Zealand is free for the candidate, because the employer pays the fee. That means the advice, the job search and the relocation support cost you nothing.
The order of events matters. You usually confirm your registration pathway and start gathering documents early, line up a job offer, then apply for the visa that the offer unlocks. Trying to do these out of sequence is where a lot of candidates get stuck.
Who can work as a doctor in New Zealand?
To practise medicine in New Zealand you must be registered with the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) and hold a current practising certificate. The Council registers doctors into one of three scopes of practice:
- General scope covers resident doctors, resident medical officers and doctors in vocational training. Most international medical graduates start here, first in a provisional general scope while they are supervised.
- Vocational scope is for specialists who have completed recognised specialist training. Again, there is a provisional vocational stage first.
- Special purpose scope covers doctors here for a defined reason, such as a locum, a training post or a specific teaching role.
Every international medical graduate registered in a provisional general, provisional vocational or special purpose scope must work under supervision to begin with. The supervision is structured and time-limited, and it is designed to help you settle into New Zealand practice safely rather than to hold you back.
What are the registration pathways for international doctors?
There are three main routes to registration for international medical graduates. Which one applies to you depends on where you trained, where you have worked recently, and what specialist qualifications you hold.
The Competent Authority pathway
If you are registered with a recognised competent authority, you can register in New Zealand without sitting the local exam. The Council currently recognises the General Medical Council in the United Kingdom and the Irish Medical Council. Doctors who trained and are registered through those bodies, and who meet the experience requirements, can apply for provisional general registration directly.
The Comparable Health System pathway
This pathway is for doctors who have recent clinical experience in a country whose health system the Council considers comparable to New Zealand's. The list now sits at 29 countries, following the addition of Japan and South Korea in early 2025 and, more recently, Chile, Luxembourg and Croatia.
To qualify, you generally need to:
- hold an acceptable primary medical qualification
- have practised clinically for at least 33 of the previous 48 months, for a minimum of 20 hours a week
- have worked in the same or a similar area of medicine, at a similar level of responsibility
- hold current full or general registration with the regulator of at least one comparable health system you worked in
If you are a specialist, you will usually apply through the provisional vocational pathway. The Council has recently sped this up: applications for provisional vocational registration are now assessed within two months, and there is a dedicated fast-track for GPs trained in the United States, Canada and Singapore.
What English language requirements do doctors need?
Before the Council registers you, or lets you sit NZREX, you must show that your English is strong enough to keep patients safe. There are several accepted ways to meet the standard, but the two most common are the IELTS and the OET.
| Test | Minimum score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS (Academic) | 7 in speaking and listening, 6.5 in reading and writing | Results must be within two years |
| OET (Medicine) | Grade B in all four sub-tests | Results must be within two years |
You may also satisfy the requirement in other ways, for example if you completed a health-related postgraduate qualification at a New Zealand university, or worked for a set period as a registered practitioner in an approved English-speaking country. It is worth checking your situation against the Council's list early, because sorting your English evidence can be one of the slower parts of the process.
How do you get a visa to work as a doctor in New Zealand?
Your registration pathway and your visa run on parallel tracks, and a firm job offer usually connects the two. The best-known route for doctors is the Green List.
General practitioner is a Tier 1 Green List role, which means it comes with a Straight to Residence pathway. To use this pathway you generally need to be 55 or younger at the time of application, hold your MCNZ registration, and have that accredited job offer in hand and have professional registration. Applications in this tier are prioritised and are often decided within a matter of weeks.
If you are aged over 55, then there is always options to apply for an age waiver.
All medical roles also sit on the Green List. A recruiter or a licensed immigration adviser can tell you which tier your specialty falls into and which visa to apply for.
How much do doctors earn in New Zealand?
Pay in the public system is set by national agreements rather than negotiated role by role, which makes it transparent and predictable. Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, which replaced the 20 district health boards in 2022, employs resident medical officers under collective agreements negotiated with the junior doctors' unions, the NZRDA and STONZ.
House officers and registrars earn a base salary that steps up with each year of experience, from roughly NZ$80,000 in the early postgraduate years to around NZ$150,000 or more for senior registrars, before penal rates and allowances are added on top. Senior medical officers and vocationally registered specialists earn considerably more. Private hospitals and some community roles set their own pay, so it pays to compare the full package rather than the headline number.
Alongside salary, doctors here talk a lot about the lifestyle: shorter commutes, a strong culture around annual leave, and a country where the mountains, the coast and a national park are rarely more than a short drive away.
What is the step-by-step process to get a medical job in New Zealand?
Every candidate is different, but medical careers in NZ tend to follow the same broad sequence:
- Get in touch and share your background. A recruiter reviews your qualifications, experience and goals, and confirms which registration pathway fits.
- Prepare your documents. Primary qualifications, references, proof of recent practice and your English test results all need to be in order.
- Find the right role. Your recruiter matches you to vacancies, helps sharpen your CV for a New Zealand audience, and prepares you for interviews.
- Accept an offer and apply for registration. With an offer in hand, you lodge your MCNZ application. The Council assesses eligibility for provisional general, general and special purpose applications within about 20 working days once your file is complete.
- Apply for your visa. The job offer unlocks the appropriate work or residence visa.
- Relocate. Housing, schools for the children, banking, tax numbers and the practical side of the move all come together in the final stretch.
How long does the whole process take?
Realistically, plan for several months from first contact to first day on the job. English testing, document gathering and any exam sit at the front and are the parts most within your control, so starting them early is the single best thing you can do. The Council's assessment and the visa decision each run to a matter of weeks or months rather than days. Doctors who begin preparing their paperwork before they even have an offer tend to move through the whole process noticeably faster.
How does a recruitment agency help with medical careers in NZ?
You can manage a move on your own, but a specialist recruiter removes a lot of the guesswork. Accent Health Recruitment has been placing doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and operating department practitioners since 2004, and the team brings more than 55 years of combined experience to the process. Many of the people you deal with have worked in healthcare themselves, in New Zealand and overseas, so they understand both the clinical side and what it feels like to pack up your life and move to the other side of the world.
The service is free to candidates. That covers matching you to the right role, guidance on registration and visas, help preparing your CV and interviews, and support with the relocation itself, from your first email through to long after you have arrived. Local knowledge is the part overseas agencies cannot replicate: knowing which region suits your specialty, which employers are hiring, and how the New Zealand system actually works day to day.
Frequently asked questions
These are the questions international doctors ask us most often. You'll find more on our FAQs page.
Do I need to sit NZREX to work as a doctor in New Zealand?
Not always. If you are registered with the UK's General Medical Council or the Irish Medical Council, or you have recent experience in one of the 29 comparable health system countries, you can usually register without sitting NZREX. The exam is for doctors who do not qualify under those pathways.
Can international doctors get residence in New Zealand?
Yes. General practitioners have a Straight to Residence pathway through the Green List, and many other medical roles offer either straight residence or a work-to-residence route. A firm job offer from an accredited employer is the key that unlocks it.
Is medical recruitment free for candidates?
With a specialist agency like Accent Health Recruitment, yes. The employer pays the recruitment fee, so the job search, registration guidance and relocation support cost you nothing.
Which doctors are most in demand in New Zealand?
General practitioners are a standout, sitting in the top Green List tier. There is also steady demand for psychiatrists, anaesthetists, emergency medicine specialists, radiologists and resident medical officers across the public system, family medical physicians and GPs.
How much can I earn as a junior doctor?
Resident medical officer pay is set under national agreements and steps up with experience, starting around NZ$80,000 in the early postgraduate years and rising into the mid six figures for senior registrars, before allowances.
Ready to take the next step?
If a medical career in New Zealand is on your mind, the easiest place to start is a conversation. Tell us about your background and what you are looking for, and we will map out the registration pathway, the visa and the roles that fit. Get in touch with Accent Health Recruitment on +64 3 366 4503, or browse current medical jobs in New Zealand, and let's work out your move together.
