MEDIA RELEASE
11 October 2016
Immigration New Zealand accepts OET, the healthcare English language test, for visa purposes
Today Immigration New Zealand announced it will accept the Occupational English Test (OET), a specialist English test
for healthcare professionals, as proof of English proficiency for most visa categories, effective 21 November, 2016.
International healthcare professionals can now take OET to fulfil the English language requirements for both visa
purposes and registration with healthcare boards and councils in New Zealand. In addition, OET can be used as proof of
proficiency for admission to healthcare courses.
OET has been providing healthcare-specific English testing for the past 30 years, and the test is already accepted by
major healthcare regulators and educators in New Zealand, including the Medical and Nursing Councils and University of
Otago.
The New Zealand Immigration website states that hospitals and practices across New Zealand are looking for doctors,
midwives, surgeons and 36 other healthcare occupations. It’s estimated that New Zealand will need 380 extra specialists
every year to meet the OECD average by 2021, and up to 25,000 more nurses by 2030. (https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/work-in-nz/nz-jobs-industries/healthcare-jobs)
OET helps to fill these gaps by providing proof of English language proficiency, and the opportunity for healthcare
professionals to become more competent in English related to their workplace, leading to safer and higher quality care.
Unlike many English tests, OET’s writing, reading, listening and speaking tasks use real healthcare scenarios, such as
calming a distressed patient or writing a referral letter.
OET CEO, Sujata Stead, says: “Safety and quality of care for patients lies at the heart of OET. By testing English
through real healthcare scenarios, regulators and employers can feel confident that professionals who’ve passed OET can
communicate effectively in their healthcare workplace.”
“We applaud Immigration New Zealand for giving OET candidates the chance to use their test results for their visa
application. We share the common vision of supporting healthcare professionals to successfully contribute within the New
Zealand healthcare system,” she concludes.
For more information about the visa categories and accepted OET grades, see the Immigration New Zealand website: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas
For more information about the Immigration New Zealand announcement: