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Cross-border admission

Marco Reid is the visa office for professionals.

An NZ lawyer can be admitted in Australia in eight weeks under TTMRA. England and Wales in twelve months under SQE. New York in twenty-four with an LL.M. + UBE. Marco Reid runs the pathway end-to-end — eligibility check, document pack, application drafting, regulator filings, mentor matching.

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Legal-side pathways.

The four highest-volume cross-admission corridors. Other pathways available on request — we add the authority + step list to the platform when a member asks.

NZ-admitted lawyer→Australian admission

TTMRA — Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition

Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act 1997 (NZ) + Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act 1997 (Cth)

Steps

  1. Apply for admission to the Supreme Court of the relevant Australian state/territory (NSW, Vic, Qld etc.)
  2. Submit certificates of admission + good standing from NZLS
  3. Provide identity + character documentation
  4. No re-examination required under TTMRA — admission is recognised on the same terms as the equivalent local qualification
  5. Apply to the relevant law society for a practising certificate

Timeline

8–12 weeks

Indicative fees

AUD 700–2,000 depending on state

Note: TTMRA does not require local supplementary study. Different states have minor procedural variations.

AU-admitted lawyer→NZ admission

TTMRA — Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition (reverse)

Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 (NZ) + Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act 1997

Steps

  1. Apply to the New Zealand Council of Legal Education for admission
  2. Submit Australian admission certificate + practising certificate + good-standing letter
  3. Identity + character checks
  4. Admission to the High Court of New Zealand
  5. Apply to NZLS for a practising certificate

Timeline

6–10 weeks

Indicative fees

NZD 800–1,500

NZ or AU-admitted lawyer→England & Wales (solicitor)

SQE — Solicitors Qualifying Examination

Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) under Legal Services Act 2007

Steps

  1. Confirm eligibility under SRA's Qualified Lawyers Transfer regime — most NZ + AU lawyers are exempt from SQE1 if they have at least 2 years of qualifying work experience
  2. Pass SQE2 — practical legal skills assessment (typically 6 months prep)
  3. Demonstrate 2 years of Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) — overseas experience usually counts
  4. Complete the SRA character + suitability assessment
  5. Apply for admission as a solicitor of England and Wales

Timeline

6–18 months

Indicative fees

GBP 4,800–6,500 (SQE fees + admission)

Note: QLTS scheme replaced by SQE in 2021. Overseas-qualified lawyers no longer have a single transfer test — they sit SQE2 (and sometimes SQE1 if scope is too narrow).

NZ or AU-admitted lawyer→US (varies by state)

State bar reciprocity / Uniform Bar Examination

State bar admission rules (varies by state)

Steps

  1. Identify a target state. UBE states accept transferred UBE scores; non-UBE states require a state-specific bar exam.
  2. Some states (NY, CA, Connecticut, others) admit foreign-qualified lawyers without re-sitting the exam if from an LL.M. graduate of an ABA-accredited US law school
  3. Common path for NZ + AU lawyers: 1-year US LL.M. (online or in-person) → eligibility to sit NY or CA bar
  4. Pass the bar exam (UBE or state-specific) + MPRE (multistate professional responsibility examination)
  5. Character + fitness investigation

Timeline

12–24 months (LL.M. + bar exam path)

Indicative fees

USD 25,000–80,000 (LL.M. tuition + exam fees)

Note: Each state has its own admission rules. Marco Reid's eligibility checker walks through the state-by-state options based on the practitioner's existing qualifications.

Accounting-side pathways.

CA ANZ to ICAEW, AICPA, CPA Canada, and the inverse for tax agents. The MRA mesh is denser on the accounting side — expansion is generally faster than legal.

CA ANZ member→ICAEW (UK)

ICAEW Mutual Recognition Agreement

ICAEW Recognition of Prior Learning + MRA with CA ANZ

Steps

  1. Apply via ICAEW's Pathways for Members of Recognised Bodies
  2. Pass the ICAEW Tax Compliance + Audit & Assurance papers (or hold equivalent)
  3. Demonstrate continuing professional development
  4. Pay ICAEW membership + admission fees
  5. Receive ICAEW Chartered Accountant (FCA / ACA) status

Timeline

6–12 months

Indicative fees

GBP 1,500–3,500

CA ANZ member→AICPA / state CPA (US)

International Qualification Examination (IQEX)

NASBA + state boards of accountancy

Steps

  1. Confirm CA ANZ MRA eligibility (currently held with some state boards via NASBA)
  2. Pass IQEX — a single, condensed exam covering US-specific accounting rules
  3. Apply to a state board of accountancy for CPA licensure
  4. State-by-state: some states (Guam, Washington) recognise CA ANZ via IQEX directly; others require additional state-specific work experience
  5. Receive state CPA licence

Timeline

6–18 months depending on state

Indicative fees

USD 1,000–4,000 (IQEX + state fees)

Note: Verify the current MRA status of the target state board with NASBA before starting.

CA ANZ member→CPA Canada

CPA Canada — CA ANZ Mutual Recognition Agreement

CPA Canada + provincial bodies (CPA Ontario, CPA BC etc.)

Steps

  1. Apply to the relevant CPA Canada provincial body
  2. Submit CA ANZ membership letter + good-standing certificate
  3. Pass the Canadian Reciprocity Examination (CRE) — covers Canadian tax + audit specifics
  4. Provincial body admission

Timeline

4–9 months

Indicative fees

CAD 1,500–3,000

AU TPB Tax Agent→NZ IRD-listed Tax Agent

Inland Revenue agent listing

Tax Administration Act 1994 ss 124B–124M

Steps

  1. Demonstrate fitness + propriety (no relevant criminal record)
  2. Hold appropriate qualifications + practical experience
  3. Submit IR 23BS Tax Agent listing application
  4. PI insurance evidence required
  5. Listed by IRD on the agent register

Timeline

4–8 weeks

Indicative fees

Free (IRD does not charge for listing)

Note: AU TPB registration counts as relevant qualification. NZ-specific tax knowledge demonstrated via CPD or supervised work.

How Marco Reid runs the pathway.

Eligibility checker

Plain-English intake captures your existing qualifications, jurisdictions of admission, year of admission, and target jurisdiction. Marco identifies the applicable pathway in seconds.

Document pack assembly

Good-standing letters, character certificates, transcripts, evidence of QWE — Marco generates the request templates, tracks the responses, and assembles the application pack.

Application drafting

SRA SQE applications, NASBA IQEX registrations, state bar applications, ICAEW MRA forms, CPA Canada CRE registrations — all drafted from your intake, signed off by a Marco Reid mentor with the relevant credential.

Mentor matching

We pair you with a Marco Reid member who has already made the pathway you're attempting (NZ→UK SQE, AU→US bar, CA ANZ→ICAEW). Real-time guidance through the gotchas.

Audit trail

Every submitted document, every confirmation receipt, every regulator response logged in RegulatorFiling + AuditLog. If a year later the regulator asks why you submitted X, you have the answer.

Practice management once admitted

Once you're admitted in a new jurisdiction, your Firm tenancy in Marco Reid extends automatically. Trust accounts, court rules, sign-off rails — all keyed to the new jurisdiction.

Pathway content is informational. Each member of a regulated profession remains responsible for their own admission application + character + fitness disclosures. Marco Reid is a tooling vendor; the regulator decides admission.

Geographic monopoly is over.

An NZ-only practice is an NZ-only opportunity. Marco Reid turns one admission into four. Same client base, four times the revenue surface, identical sign-off discipline across every jurisdiction.

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