Yes. You need a visa from Immigration New Zealand (INZ), the government's immigration agency, and registration with the Veterinary Council of New Zealand: two decisions made by two different bodies. The Council says that to practise or use the title "veterinarian" in New Zealand you must be registered with it and hold a current annual practising certificate, and INZ lists veterinarians among the jobs that need occupational registration, to be obtained before you apply for a visa to work in them. A visa does not register you, and registration does not give you a visa. Where you studied matters: the Council's Gazette notice lists the veterinary degrees it accepts without any further exam, including degrees from schools in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and South Africa.

Registering as a veterinarian in New Zealand

The Council offers general, limited and specialist registration. General registration comes without an exam if your degree is on its list, or if you hold a pass in one of the exams or assessment programmes it names, provided you also meet its minimum standards for practising and its English requirements. The notice sets conditions for some schools: American and Canadian degrees count from the date the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) accredited the school, and some European degrees only for particular graduation dates. The passes it names include the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons membership exam, the American PAVE and ECFVG certificates and the Canadian National Examining Board's licensing exam, and anyone relying on a pass also needs a veterinary degree of at least four years of study.

If your degree is not on the list, you are not registered in Australia and you hold none of those passes, the Council says you may be able to apply for registration by sitting and passing the combined Australasian Veterinary Examination (AVE). It is a two-part assessment, a preliminary examination followed by a final one, run by the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council. Vets registered in any Australian state or territory apply under the Trans-Tasman mutual recognition provisions instead.

If English is not your first language, the Council's English policy accepts IELTS Academic with at least 7 in each part at one sitting, OET with an A or B in each section at one sitting, the internet-based TOEFL at set scores for each section, or PTE Academic with at least 65 in each skill. A pass is normally valid for 2 years.

Green List, work visas and residence for veterinarians

INZ's Green List sorts listed jobs by whether they can lead to residence immediately or after 2 years of work in New Zealand. The veterinarian role is in the immediate group, and its requirement is registration with the Veterinary Council. In practice, a registered vet with a full-time job at an accredited employer, or an offer of one, at the pay rate INZ sets, can apply for a Straight to Residence Visa, which allows an indefinite stay, as long as they are 55 or younger and meet the visa's English and other requirements. INZ accepts these applications from inside or outside New Zealand. Our Green List guide describes both groups.

An accredited employer is one INZ has approved to hire migrants, which is why the job offer comes before this visa. The Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) needs a full-time offer from such an employer, backed by an approved job check (INZ's approval of that specific job), and either your Council registration or the Council's confirmation that the job is eligible for it. Our AEWV guide covers it in more depth.

Residence can also come through the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC), which likewise starts from a job or job offer with an accredited employer and has a route scored on points. That route needs 6 points, and INZ counts Veterinary Council registration as 4. The remaining 2 can come from skilled work in New Zealand after registration, with 18 months of it worth 2 points. Our SMC guide and points calculator help you add it up.

Can you work as a vet while you prepare for the AVE?

Not under the scope built for exam candidates, unless you already hold New Zealand citizenship or permanent resident status. The Council's policy on limited registration includes a time-limited scope for people preparing for the final examination, which the policy calls the National Veterinary Examination. Its criteria include a pass in the preliminary exam, enrolment for the next final exam, and New Zealand citizenship or permanent resident status with a permanent home there. Work under it is tightly limited: you practise under direct supervision, may call yourself a veterinarian in training but not a veterinarian, may not prescribe restricted veterinary medicines, and lose the registration when the final exam results are announced. The Council also stresses that registration in a limited scope is not a route to general registration.

A common mistake veterinarians make

Letting a long gap open after you qualify. The Council's recency of practice policy says it may decline or add conditions to the practising certificate of someone with a recognised degree or exam pass who has not practised as a veterinarian for a year or more since graduating or passing that exam, and of anyone who has not practised for the last three consecutive years. Conditions can include supervision or a period of practical training. So keep practising while you plan your move, and avoid a gap of a year or more after graduating or passing the AVE.

First steps

1. Check your degree and graduation year against the Council's Gazette notice.
2. If your school is not listed, read about the AVE on the Council's registration page.
3. If English is not your first language, book a test that meets the Council's English policy.
4. Search for full-time veterinary jobs with employers accredited for the AEWV.
5. With registration and an offer in hand, read what the Straight to Residence Visa asks of you.