Overseas applicants
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Have you considered making the transition?
This can be your chance to have a change of lifestyle, travel to new places both for work and leisure, and live in a relatively safe environment for you and your family. Your previous service to your country will have given you the experience and transferable skills that allows you to fit right in with the NZDF. Whether you are living in New Zealand already or are thinking of moving over, this could be an opportunity for you to be part of this Defence Force.
Before pursuing a lateral transfer, we recommend you ensure you meet the eligibility criteria for a career within the NZDF. If you're unclear, the best thing to do is apply, as we'll work through the criteria with you to determine if you can proceed.
Eligibility criteria
To apply for any career with us, overseas applicants must:
- Be a currently serving member of the UK, Australian, USA or Canadian Armed Forces, who is eligible for release from this service within 18 months of applying and/or;
- Be a citizen of either the UK, Australia, USA, or Canada for a minimum period of 10 years, or have been living in NZ for at least the last 5 years;
- Meet current vacancy and rank criteria at the time of application.
Eligibility results must be included on your application at time of registration. If successful, it is your responsibility to become a NZ Permanent Resident to gain the right to live and work in NZ.
Read more about citizenship and security requirements.
Pause on Skilled Migrant Category applicants
Due to recent criteria changes, we are temporarily unable to recruit overseas candidates who require a Skilled Migrant visa. We're actively working with the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Enterprise (MBIE). This page will be updated with progress.