As the global demand for nurses soars to crisis points, New Zealand is under more pressure than ever to appeal to offshore workers.
Recruiters have been busy selling the Kiwi dream in the UK and while interest to move here is at a record high, soaring house prices and the cost of living are putting much-needed nurses off from taking the plunge.
Nurses of the world - New Zealand wants you. The problem is every country with a booth at a nurses' job fair in London has the same desperate sales pitch.
"The whole world is in need right now. You speak to any of the nurses here and they know they could go online and apply for any job in the world and they're going to get snatched up," said recruiter Kate Natrass.
"So we have to deliver and make sure they're looked after, given the right job in the right location."
Natrass has been in the recruiting business for 22 years and said she has never seen so much interest in New Zealand.
Following the crushing COVID-19 era, British nurses are desperate for a change.
"Anywhere interests me a little bit, but New Zealand definitely for the landscape and the people," nurse Lara Atkinson said.
Another nurse said they want to use their skills to help tackle New Zealand's mental health.
"I know there is a mental health shortage in New Zealand at the moment, so I feel like the skills I have and the training will be really beneficial to the people there."
A third nurse said: "I mean it’s New Zealand, it's beautiful!"
In July, New Zealand introduced streamlined residency pathways for migrants in highly skilled hard-to-fill jobs, but nurses were excluded from the tier one fast track stream - they can apply for residency after working for two years.
Since the new visa was introduced, 264 international nurses have applied for it, but Health Minister Andrew Little said New Zealand is 3000 nurses short.
"I think that's conservative," Natrass said.
And when so many countries are in need, nurses can afford to be picky.
"They want to know about the cost of living, they're aware cost of living is creeping up, they want to know about accommodation, they know if there is a housing shortage as well," Natrass said.
So New Zealand can’t just rely on its good looks.
