New Zealand is one of the world's top expatriate destinations, favoured for its natural beauty, mammoth national parks, dynamic Māori culture, and world-class surfing and skiing. New Zealand can be mellow or action-packed, but it's always epic.

New Zealand also offers a strong diversified economy, excellent educational facilities, good career opportunities and a relaxed outdoor lifestyle with a huge variety of leisure interests in lakes, seas, mountains and cities, all at close hand.

There are many opportunities to work in New Zealand in permanent or short term positions in the major cities and rural heartland. The country is sparsely populated with just over 5 million inhabitants, mostly living in the major cities. There is a chronic shortage of medical and healthcare professionals and great opportunities for expatriate medics. 

New Zealand has a shortage of skilled people in medicine, dentistry, healthcare and science. Your first step to finding a job is to research the country and find out about the locations where jobs are available in your field and the qualifications and professional licences required to apply for jobs. 

You should prepare your CV and register with a recruitment agency which has expertise in managing international recruitment to New Zealand. Recruiters will be able to advise you about the best companies and organisations to work with,  locations, immigration and credentials requirements.

Immigration New Zealand processes visa applications for candidates who have been offered jobs with accredited employers. There are various visa options and the most appropriate choice of visa will depend upon your age, employment terms and duration of proposed stay in New Zealand. 

Permanent residency is available for candidates with job offers from accredited employers and the interntion to remain and work in New Zealand for many years.

New Zealand has a shortage of doctors at all levels and relies considerably on international medical graduates to staff its public health care system Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand. 

Positions are available throughout the country for specialists, general practitiners and junior doctors.

There is strong demand for the following specialists:

• anaesthetists
• internists / general physicians 
• obstetricians and gynaecologists
• general surgeons
• orthopaedic surgeons
• emergency physicians
• psychiatrists
• radiologists

Jobs for junior doctors are available for PGY2+ physicians at the level of house officer and registrar. There is a mixture of jobs accredited for postgraduate specialist training and service positions. 

New Zealand has a shortage of dentists, both general and specialist, and jobs are open to international dental graduates in private practice and hospital dentistry. 

In hospital dentistry, the career structure is similar to that of doctors, with resident dental officers, and senior dental officers. Hospital dentistry services provide general dental services to in patients and community patients focusing on children and patients with special needs. Some travel to peripheral dental clinics is often required.

New Zealand's laboratories employ medical laboratory scientists and technicians across a wide range of skills including haematology, blood bank, biochemistry, microbiology, histology and genetics.

Some laboratories are run by the public healthcare system Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand  whilst others are run by private companies including multinational companies.

For some jobs you will need to register with the Medical Sciences Council of New Zealand. Applications can be made on line and take 6-12 weeks on average to process.

New Zealand has a shortage of healthcare professionals, particularly in the fields of nursing, pharmacy, physiotherapy, radiography or medical imaging, anaesthesia technology, clinical psychology and clinical physiology. Most jobs require provisional registration with the appropriate regulatory authority and the right to work in New Zealand. Many jobs offer visa sponsorship to overseas applicants. 

Employers in New Zealand advertise vacancies directly and with recruitment companies. Candidates should check the eligibility requirements and prepare an up to date CV for each job, ensuring that the appropriate key words and eligibility criteria are obvious.

The recruitment process proceeds as follows:

1. CV Review: recruiters review CVs and eliminate unqualified applicants 
2. Candidate Screening: recruiters review references and credentials and may ask candidates to take a screening interview, often containing pre- recorded questions.
3.  Job Interviews: interviews with employers are usually conducted by zoom or teams and can last up to 60 minutes.
4. Job Offers: successful applicants receive formal written job offers setting out the employment terms. These are often conditional upon obtaining a visa and professional registration.
5. On Boarding: if a visa is required, the employer will issue a job token or other appropriate documents for Immigration New Zealand and for professional registration. Health and police checks must be completed before starting work.

These 5 steps may take from 6 weeks to 6 months and occasionally longer depending upon the job and individual circumstances.