Meridian Migration

Moving from New Zealand to Eastern Europe on a work permit

If you live in New Zealand on a post-study work visa or another temporary visa, some of the ten EU countries we cover in Eastern Europe take work-visa applications where you live and some do not. Here is what each country’s official pages say, so you can plan without guessing.

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About your current visa

We don’t advise on your current New Zealand visa. For that, speak to a licensed immigration adviser or a lawyer. Never stay or work beyond what your visa allows while you plan a move.

Which countries take applications from New Zealand?

Country by country, from the consulates’ and immigration offices’ own pages. Where they say nothing, we say “not confirmed”.

What stays the same wherever you live

In most of these countries the employer applies for the work permit in its own country first. Only the visa step depends on where you live, because consulates take applications from people legally resident in their district.

  • Poland: Polish consulates take national visa applications from people legally resident in their district, which covers Indians on work or study visas in the US (listed visa types) and residence-permit holders in the UK and Ireland. The Polish work permit itself is applied for by the employer in Poland, wherever the worker lives. gov.plchecked 24 Oct 2026
  • Czechia: Rule (IPC): apply in person at a Czech mission in (a) your country of nationality or of the travel document, (b) a country where you hold long-term or permanent residence and have lived legally for at least 2 years (for EU countries, only the Dresden visa centre), or (c) any mission if you are a national of the listed countries. Some missions have quotas. From 1 Jul 2026 the embassies in Abu Dhabi, Doha, Kuwait, Riyadh, Singapore, Tel Aviv, Taipei and Tokyo have a zero Qualified Worker quota for nationals of countries outside their district (60 a year each for the highly qualified/key staff programmes) — so Indians living in the Gulf can no longer use those embassies for the Qualified Worker route. ipc.gov.czchecked 24 Oct 2026
  • Lithuania: Migration Department rule since 22 Oct 2025: applications at external service provider offices 'can only be submitted by citizens of the country where the external service provider office is located'. Citizens of Australia, Japan, the UK, the US, Canada, New Zealand and South Korea may use any office. Exceptions allowing a filing in another country: intra-company transfers, lecturers or researchers employed by a higher-education or research institution, major investors, and collective relocation under the Law on Investments. A person already legally in Lithuania can apply at the Migration Department in Lithuania. Whether a Blue Card applicant who is an Indian citizen may file in CA/US/UK/AU/NZ: not listed as an exception, so treat as no unless the Migration Department confirms. migracija.lrv.ltchecked 24 Oct 2026

The EU Blue Card, if you have a degree

Each country sets its own Blue Card salary. These are the minimums in the official sources, as published.

EU Blue Card minimum pay by country
CountryMinimum pay
PolandAt least 150% of the previous year's average wage: PLN 13,355.34 gross a month for applications filed in 2026 (2025 average PLN 8,903.56 per GUS) (secondary source).
Latvia1.5 times the previous year's average gross monthly wage: EUR 2,723 a month; 1.2 times (EUR 2,178) for professions on the Cabinet's list of expected significant labour shortages (PMLP, from 1 April 2026).
RomaniaNot confirmed: sources conflict. KPMG (secondary) says that since 8 March 2024 (Law 28/2024) the minimum is the average gross salary (previously two average gross salaries). The EU Immigration Portal page (updated 1 Apr 2025) says at least four times the national average gross wage. Confirm with IGI before publishing a figure.
CroatiaNot confirmed: not stated on the MUP page.
SlovakiaAt least 1.2 times the average wage in the Slovak economy; the average wage itself if the degree was obtained in the last 3 years (IOM, Jul 2026). The Ministry of Labour page still says 1.5 times — see not confirmed. 2026 EUR amount: not confirmed.
CzechiaAt least 1.5 times the average gross annual wage (MPSV, IPC). The average used from 1 May 2026 to 30 Apr 2027 is CZK 590,580 a year (CZK 49,215 a month), which law firms put at CZK 73,823 gross a month.
BulgariaAt least 1.5 times the average gross salary in Bulgaria, based on the 12 months before the contract (EU Immigration Portal). Secondary estimate: about EUR 2,071 gross a month using July 2025 to June 2026 data (Innovires); the figure changes with each quarterly statistics release.
EstoniaAt least 1.5x the annual average gross monthly wage: EUR 3,138 from 5 March 2026; 1.24x (EUR 2,594) for listed top-specialist professions (science, technology, health, teaching, business, IT, law, culture).
LithuaniaAt least 1.5 times the most recently announced average gross monthly earnings (EU Immigration Portal). Using the EUR 2,411.40 average quoted by Work in Lithuania in 2026, that is about EUR 3,617 gross a month (our arithmetic; confirm the current average before publishing).
HungaryHUF 1,001,048 gross a month in 2026 (HUF 800,838 for listed occupations such as general practitioners and pharmacists); HUF 883,671 in 2025.

The EU Blue Card in Eastern Europe, explained

Questions

Can I apply for a Poland work visa from New Zealand?

Not confirmed: no Polish mission page for New Zealand was checked.

gov.plchecked 24 Oct 2026gov.plchecked 24 Oct 2026gov.plchecked 24 Oct 2026bip.lubuskie.uw.gov.plchecked 24 Oct 2026

Can I apply for a Czech Employee Card from New Zealand?

IPC 2-year residence rule applies; mission and quota not confirmed.

ipc.gov.czchecked 24 Oct 2026mzv.gov.czchecked 24 Oct 2026mzv.gov.czchecked 24 Oct 2026epravo.czchecked 24 Oct 2026(secondary)mzv.gov.czchecked 24 Oct 2026mzv.gov.czchecked 24 Oct 2026

Can I apply for a Lithuania work permit from New Zealand?

VFS office exists in New Zealand, but it accepts only citizens of the country where the office is (plus AU, JP, UK, US, CA, NZ, KR citizens) except for ICT, researchers/lecturers, major investors and collective relocation.

migracija.lrv.ltchecked 24 Oct 2026workinlithuania.comchecked 24 Oct 2026home-affairs.ec.europa.euchecked 24 Oct 2026

Do I have to go back to India to apply?

Not always. Several consulates take visa applications from people legally resident in their district, and the work permit itself is usually applied for by the employer in the destination country, wherever you live. For New Zealand, the official pages we checked do not confirm it for any of these countries yet; a consultant checks with the mission. Where a page does not confirm it, we check with the mission before you apply.

Can you advise me on my New Zealand visa?

No. We only help with work permits for the countries we cover. For your current New Zealand visa, speak to a licensed immigration adviser or a lawyer.