Can a visitor change his status in New Zealand to a work visa if he?
Yes you absolutely can. BUT you must not start the job until you have secured the work visa and your future employer has seen it and processed it through their HR system. In 2007, thats exactly how some friends of mine moved here. They came here on holiday and applied for jobs. One of them got a job offer for full-time permanent work in an area of Long Term Skills Shortage, and took that offer to Immigration New Zealand and turned the job offer in to a work visa. On the back of that, his wife also got a work visa, and their son got a student visa so he could start going to school here. The ease of getting a job while on a tourist visa may have changed since then, but the process has not. Today, theyre still here. Their son is now doing a double major at Victoria University of Wellington, and both parents are working. They own a house and are very settled and have since become citizens.