This paper presents a comprehensive numerical study on the surface relief technique implemented in nitride Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) emitting in the 414-nm range. We calculated the threshold currents and optical modes in VCSEL structures with and without a surface relief. A standard structure was based on the first continuous-wave nitride VCSEL reported to operate at room temperature. We analysed the effect of higher order modes suppression in such devices.