“On the way to Zhlobin I met a New Zealander. He offered me a job." This is how Belarusians emigrated to New Zealand

The country is located far from the rest of the world, in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean. Its population is less than 5 million people, and Australia, which is its closest neighbor, is “only” 1,700 km away.

New Zealand location on the map

However, despite such distance from civilization, the standard of living in New Zealand and salaries are quite worthy of attention, and the economic situation makes it the envy of some European countries.

Economic state of the country

A few years ago, an interesting picture was observed here: with widely developed agriculture and agriculture, the cost of food was higher than in Australia. This can be explained by the peculiar policy of the state: most of the grown products were intended for export.

Mass sales of goods made the economy dependent on external consumers, which over time led to a change in the leadership party. As a result, the country has undergone numerous reforms aimed at addressing the following objectives:

• reforming the tax system.
• weakening control over the foreign currency market.
• subsidies to agriculture from state funds have been stopped.
• partial abolition and reduction of customs duties and fees.
• uniform reduction of controls over goods imported from abroad.

All this increased the range of goods of different origins, reduced their cost and partially preserved products grown on their own land for their people.

The government's successful political and economic actions have made New Zealand a world leader in many respects.

Minimum wage

Official statistics provided by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment indicate that, as of the beginning of 2021, the minimum income level of the population in euros is 9.8 per hour.

A New Zealander earns 17.70 New Zealand dollars (€ 10.31) in 1 hour, 604 dollars (€ 351) in 1 week, and at least 2,730 New Zealand dollars (€ 1,590 euros) per month. Total annual income of at least 49,000 NZD (€ 28,546).

This condition applies to the entire working population over 16 years of age working full time. An exception to this list are trainees and entry-level workers, whose age ranges from 16 to 19 years, engaged in continuous professional activity with one employer for less than six months. Other information is provided for them, which looks like this:

• 17.7 dollars per hour (€ 10.31).
• 120.8 dollars per day (€ 70.38).
• $604 per week (€351.88).

After a young employee has completed a so-called internship, he is paid the same salary as everyone else.

If we compare the level of income of the population with the 2021 reporting year, it increased by 50 New Zealand cents per hour (€ 0.29)..

You can learn about in-demand professions in New Zealand from the article on our website.

Features of the economy and labor market of New Zealand

Due to its isolated position, the island nation of New Zealand has only recently become one of the popular destinations for labor migration. Due to its geographical, climatic and social characteristics, the economy of this state is predominantly agricultural in nature - the main items of budget profit come from the export of livestock and agricultural products.

On video: How to find a job in New Zealand

The main advantages of choosing New Zealand for labor migration are the following:

• economic stability and high social level: the unemployment rate in the country is only 5%, and inflation is practically absent;
• loyal migration policy - many positions are available to foreigners in different sectors of the economy. The main condition for employment is the availability of appropriate qualifications and a valid work visa;
• For employment, an average or advanced knowledge of English is sufficient - unlike some other European countries, job seekers who speak English at a sufficient level will not have to learn additional languages.

Potential migrants should be aware that a foreign national cannot apply for any position if there is a possibility that it will be filled by a worthy local candidate. Therefore, the employer is first required to post an open vacancy in the public domain and wait for responses from New Zealand citizens before concluding an employment contract with a foreigner.

On video: How to go to New Zealand? Emigration, visa, study, work

The territorial factor is very important when choosing a direction of activity. In particular, it makes sense for agricultural specialists to look for vacancies in the counties of Waikato or Hauraki - the largest number of dairy farms are located there, and in the northern part of the Auckland Peninsula you can find many vacancies on vegetable and fruit farms. Farms employ both seasonal and permanent workers. The level of wages, however, for ordinary workers is relatively low, but it is possible to find work in caring for animals or harvesting even for applicants who do not speak English at a high level, as well as for migrants without any special qualifications.

On video: NEW ZEALAND. MY JOB Life in New Zealand

Representatives of skilled labor areas planning to find employment in large companies can focus on megacities such as Auckland and Wellington. International corporations are also opening their offices there.

Tourism is the second most profitable sector of the country's economy. Just like in agriculture, seasonal work or permanent employment is possible here. Migrants from Russia often find vacancies in the forestry sector and various areas of the mining and manufacturing industries. Like other Western European countries, modern areas of the economy are actively developing in New Zealand - information and computer technologies, banking, etc. Since such positions are profitable and prestigious, in order to occupy them, foreigners must have a higher specialized education, sufficient work experience in their homeland, and, in addition, have a high level of command of the English language.

On video: How to get a job as a nurse in New Zealand

average value

The average salary in New Zealand in 2021 is 3000-3100 euros per person.

Although the overall economic situation of the country looks quite successful, only 66.8% of the population is employed in official work. In digital equivalent, this is just over 2.5 million people; less than 130,000 are considered unemployed.

The income of citizens employed in budgetary institutions (federal and regional) is about $1,130 (658 euros). Those working for private law firms have 20–30 dollars (11–17 euros) more.

Another feature of the New Zealand labor market is the absence of significant differences in the incomes of people employed in different economic sectors.

Naturally, the salary level of a doctor of sciences is higher than that of a clinic doctor or nurse, but even junior medical staff have good rates, which do not allow us to claim a significant spread.

High wages of the local population are becoming one of the key reasons driving people of various nationalities along the path of immigration to this island state. If we compare statistics with European and other developed countries of the world, the income of New Zealanders exceeds many of them.

Countries with the highest wages

“If you go to the city, you will be very disappointed”

The people here are very open and friendly. They smile, rejoice, communicate with everyone as equals. On the roads everyone says hello to each other! It is very funny. Overall there is a greater sense of calm here.

In Minsk, for example, in order to go out in public, you need to choose both clothes and makeup. Nobody wears makeup here at all. They can walk barefoot or run into the store in slippers - and this is normal.

Everyone speaks English, but very quickly and often muffles sounds, so it can be difficult to understand the locals. Fortunately, our work is connected with tourists, the team is also made up of foreigners, so the only thing I don’t understand is our boss (laughs).

I really like New Zealand, but I miss civilization a little. I would like to go to some big shopping center, look at the glowing shop windows and people! Here, if you go to the city and expect to see a big metropolis, you will be very disappointed. All the cities here are small, consisting mainly of the private sector (high-rise buildings are not built due to earthquakes), and there are very few people on the streets everywhere.

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Photo: from the heroine’s personal archive.

Short review

As mentioned earlier, the average salary in New Zealand, as in any other civilized country, depends on the qualifications of each individual worker.

For an approximate overview, you can use the information presented in the table:

Values ​​are as of 2021 as reported by the Department of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Types of work visas to New Zealand

There are various types of permanent visas in this country. They are presented as follows:

• For migrants with qualifications. People who have certain knowledge and relevant education in the field in which they plan to work are given the right to obtain a permanent visa for residence and work;
• Visa from work to residence. The essence of this type of visa is that a person who wants to live permanently in New Zealand must have qualifications in the field in which he plans to work, or prove his ability to actually work in this field and be a specialist in this field. In these cases, he is allowed to reside permanently in the country;
• Residence as a result of long-term work in the country. This applies to people who have already received a previous New Zealand work visa and have applied for a visa to live here;

  

• Transfer of employees from one country to New Zealand. This type of visa has many pitfalls, because in this case everything depends not only on the person who wants to receive it, but also on the employer. The whole difficulty is explained by the fact that in order to obtain a visa for the transfer of employees, documents must be officially drawn up on the acceptance of a foreign resident for permanent work or on the transfer of business activities to New Zealand. The latter may be due to various reasons, the main one being a crisis in the country in which the enterprise was previously located, or unfavorable conditions for business development in that territory;
• Temporary work visa. This type of visa for work in New Zealand has deadlines, after which it is prohibited to remain in the country, otherwise it is a violation of the law. This visa can be obtained by people who already have work experience in New Zealand, students or anyone who wants to work short-term;

  

  New Zealand work visa sample

• Work during rest. This type of visa can only be obtained for a year, but there are also rules: this visa is issued only to residents of those countries that have signed a labor exchange agreement. The essence of the agreement is the exchange of qualified specialists from various industries and providing them with a visa for a year to work and live in New Zealand;
• New Zealand visa for seasonal work. This country is famous for its abundance of gardens and vineyards, so all seasonal work in it is associated with caring for them and harvesting. Local residents rarely work on plantations, but visitors are happy to receive money for it.

  
  After all, for Russians and Ukrainians, and indeed for residents of the countries of the former USSR, the salary of a gardener in New Zealand seems huge, but for New Zealanders it is mere pennies.

The standard of living in New Zealand is very high, so local residents simply do not agree and do not go to many jobs.

Income level by industry

The level of wages in New Zealand for different areas of activity is practically the same. For example, if an employee is a highly qualified specialist, he can earn good money both by treating people (doctor) and by repairing electrical units (electrician). This pattern can be seen in the table displaying this ratio:

The table shows average, rounded rates based on the coefficient between the maximum and minimum income.

Read on our website: pensions in New Zealand.

“The surrounding area is too beautiful to drive fast.”

After the quarantine was lifted, we had a vacation for 5-6 days, and we managed to travel around the western island. The nature here, of course, is simply incredible! There are even signs on the roads that say, “The area is too beautiful to drive fast,” and this is true. By and large, in New Zealand there are always only two roads - forward and back, because on the third side you have the sea, and on the fourth - the mountains.

We live on the west coast, which has a lot of rain. Thanks to the humidity, there is always a lot of greenery there, green ferns grow everywhere. We have a beautiful mountain right next door. I’ve been looking at her every day for six months now and can’t stop looking at her. Either she is not there because of the fog, or she is all so clean, glowing in the sun’s rays - as if she is flirting with you. Just a delight!

And the climate is very pleasant. Now, for example, it’s winter here, but the air temperature is on average +15. We wear regular windbreakers.