Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has withdrawn one of the more convenient options foreign health workers relied on to prove their English ability. From midnight on July 12, 2026 (NZST), every part of the Occupational English Test (OET) must be completed in person at a supervised test centre. The at-home, online version of the test is no longer accepted for anyone who sits it on or after July 13, 2026.
- In force since
- July 13, 2026
- Who it affects
- Applicants using OET — mainly nurses, doctors, and other health-sector workers
- Country
- New Zealand
- What changed
- At-home OET no longer accepted for immigration applications
Why this matters for South and Southeast Asian nurses
OET is the English test most commonly used by health professionals — nurses, doctors, dentists, physiotherapists, and other regulated health workers — when applying for New Zealand work and residence visas, including under the Accredited Employer Work Visa and Skilled Migrant Category pathways. New Zealand has been actively recruiting overseas nurses to fill hospital and aged-care shortages, and a large share of that pipeline comes from India, the Philippines, and other South and Southeast Asian countries. Anyone in that pipeline who was planning to test from home now has to find and book a physical test centre instead.
A grace period only for tests already booked or completed
INZ has built in one exception: candidates who had already completed an at-home OET, or who completed it by Sunday, July 12, 2026, can still use those results in their application. Anyone testing from July 13 onward must attend an in-person, supervised test centre for all four parts of the test.
INZ says the change is meant to keep the testing process fair, protect the integrity of the immigration system, and make sure results reflect each applicant's own ability — language that typically signals concerns about impersonation or assistance during unsupervised remote testing.
| Before July 13, 2026 | From July 13, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Test format | At-home online OET accepted → In-person, supervised test centre only |
| Existing at-home results | Valid if test completed by July 12, 2026 |
| Who is affected | All OET test-takers relying on results for an NZ immigration application |
Nurses and other health workers planning to apply for a New Zealand work or residence visa using OET should now plan around booking an in-person test centre slot well ahead of their intended application date — the at-home shortcut is gone. This is a testing-logistics change, not a change to who qualifies, but it can add time and cost for candidates in areas without a nearby test centre, so it's worth building extra lead time into any NZ visa timeline.
