New Zeland FTA to unlock jobs for 5000 Indian professionals: Commerce Sec

As many as 5,000 of India professionals such as yoga instructors, chefs, Ayush professionals, IT, education teachers, nurses, caregivers, will get professional visas for serving New Zealand economy

India is moving closer to opening global markets for its professionals as legally binding commitments under Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) begin to translate into overseas opportunities for chartered accountants, doctors, architects and other skilled workers, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on Tuesday. 

 

Speaking at a brainstorming session titled “Expanding Global Horizons: Opportunities for Indian Professionals” on December 23, Agrawal said India’s demographic dividend places it in a strong position to meet rising global demand for professional services, provided domestic ecosystems evolve in line with international standards and practices.

 

He emphasised that recent FTAs are no longer limited to trade in goods but increasingly include enforceable provisions on professional services, mobility and visa facilitation. These commitments, he said, can play a crucial role in helping Indian professionals access overseas markets in a more predictable and transparent manner.

 

 

A key example is India’s recently announced free trade pact with New Zealand, under which around 5,000 Indian professionals—including yoga instructors, chefs, AYUSH practitioners, IT professionals, teachers, nurses and caregivers—will be eligible for professional visas to work in New Zealand. According to Agrawal, such provisions mark a shift from aspirational language to concrete market access for Indian talent.

 

 These professionals can stay up to 3 years in New Zealand.

 

Besides,  New Zealand will offer 1,000 working holiday visa (WHV) to young Indians with multiple entries allowed for a period of 12 months. The WHV is a temporary visa that allows people to travel and take up short-duration work in another country to build their skills or fund their travel expenses.

 

The deal has additionally removed numerical caps on post-study work visas for Indian students for both STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programmes – post-graduate and undergraduate – and doctoral programmes. Starting 2026, the New Zealand government will give post-study work rights of up to 3 years for STEM graduates, and up to 4 years for doctoral scholars.

 

The commerce secretary stressed that to fully capitalise on these opportunities, Indian professionals must adopt global best practices and continuously upgrade skills in line with technological advancements and evolving international requirements. He also encouraged professional bodies, including the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), to actively participate in global forums and international conferences to strengthen collaboration and recognition.

 

Discussions at the session focused on four core areas: making Indian professionals globally ready; strengthening international mobility through Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) and memoranda of understanding; expanding professional networks and chapters abroad; and leveraging FTAs to boost India’s professional services exports.

 

"Emphasis was placed on the need for clear outcome metrics to assess the effectiveness of MRAs. Discussions also focused on making India's sectoral regulatory frameworks more 'recognition-ready' for pursuing MRAs," the ministry said, adding emphasis was placed on the need for greater openness within the Indian professional services landscape to foreign professionals practising in India to craft win-win outcomes.