Skilled Migrant Category

The Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) provides you with the opportunity to move to New Zealand to live and work permanently, once the New Zealand Residence Visa has been obtained.

Who can apply for the Residence Visa NZ?

To apply for residence under SMC, you must meet the following criteria:

• be 55 or under
• be in good health
• be of good character
• speak English (IELTS 6.5 or equivalent)

A points system is used to determine who can apply. You receive points for age, experience, employability, and qualifications.

Highlights of the process

There are two stages of applying for residence under our Skilled Migrant Category:

Stage One – An Expression of Interest (EOI) must be completed. In this EOI, you can claim points for age, skilled employment, work experience, qualifications, etc. Your points total will help to determine whether to submit your EOI to INZ for a selection process. At this stage, no evidence or documentation is required.

Stage Two – if your EOI is selected from the EOI Pool, INZ will assess if you will be invited to apply for residence in New Zealand, based on the information you have provided.

• The Invitation to Apply (ITA) will contain instructions and a list of documents/evidence that will need to be submitted to the nearest office
• Once the residence application (with full list of requested documents) is submitted, an immigration officer will determine if residence will be granted. They will communicate with the applicant if further information is required.
• The timeframe for residence processing is generally 6-9 months. However, this can vary from branch to branch.
• You should assess your eligibility for the Skilled Migrant category before you decide to complete your Expression of Interest.

Main Steps Towards Residence Visa New Zealand

Please get acquainted with a standard procedure of getting a residence visa NZ to be completely aware of the process every applicant should undergo.

1. Requirements

To apply under the Skilled Migrant Category, you must meet our criteria. You need to be aged 55 or under. You must meet our standards of health, character, and English language ability before you start the process.

2. The Expression of Interest

This is the first step towards making an application for the residence visa NZ. If you qualify, you can submit an Expression of Interest (EOI), in which you claim points for skills, experience, and other factors.

3. The EOI Pool and the Pool Draw

If you have claimed 100 points or more on your EOI, you can submit them into the pool. Every second week, all EOIs with 160 points or over are automatically chosen, and the information is assessed. If the information presented is validated, the candidate is sent an invitation to apply (ITA).  At this stage, lower scoring EOIs with specific factors, such as skilled employment in New Zealand, are chosen.

4. Invitation to Apply

Once your EOI is drawn from the pool, INZ assesses it.  Once deemed credible, you will receive an ITA. You must provide proof of the claims made in your EOI, such as medical and police certificates, certified language ability, and any documentation or qualifications relating to your profession, skill set, experience, etc. 

The application form contains the information that you provided in your EOI. You will scrutinise the information to make sure it is accurate before returning it with your documentation, to INZ.

The date that you make your SMC residence application with Immigration New Zealand determines the criteria that your application will be assessed against. The criteria that were current when you submitted your EOI, or current when your EOI was selected from the pool, may change, and in this case, your application will be assessed against any new criteria.

5. Full Assessment

Once INZ receives your application and documents, the assessment process starts. They ensure that you meet all our requirements and that all the information you have given in your application is valid. INZ will also assess you on your ability to settle in New Zealand successfully. They may determine your ability based on your application but might also request an interview.

Resident Visas and Job Search Visas

If you meet the criteria, and INZ are satisfied that you will settle successfully, and contribute to New Zealand, they will offer you a residence visa NZ.

If INZ think you have good prospects but are not completely sure how well you will settle, they can give you a job search visa. This visa will allow you to legally obtain skilled employment in New Zealand for up to nine months. If you obtain skilled employment at this time, demonstrating your ability to settle and contribute, your residence application will be approved.

Please note that an SMC Job Search visa allows you to seek skilled employment in New Zealand, but it is not a guarantee of work, a job offer, or of residence. Immigration New Zealand advises against the sale of assets, the termination of children’s schooling, and the shipping of household items to New Zealand until an applicant’s residence status is fully approved.

INZ assesses your occupation as skilled if it:

• is described in the ANZSCO as a skill level 1, 2, or 3 occupations, and it
• mostly matches the ANZSCO description of that occupation
• meets the pay rate threshold of NZD $25.50 per hour (or equivalent annual salary) or more or is described in the ANZSCO as a skill level 4 or 5 occupations, and it
• mostly matches the ANZSCO description of that occupation
• meets the pay rate threshold of NZD $37.50 per hour (or equivalent annual salary) or more, or
• has no matching description in the ANZSCO and meets the pay rate threshold of NZD $38.25 per hour (or equivalent annual salary) or more.

You can claim points under SMC only for the offer of "skilled" employment. Skilled employment is described as employment, which is on the ANZSCO skill level 1,2, or 3 and meets the salary threshold.

If your occupation is ANZSCO skill level 1, 2, or 3 you must have:

• a relevant recognised qualification at or above the level described in the ANZSCO
• the relevant work experience that ANZSCO states can be substituted for a formal qualification — for any skill level 1 occupation you can substitute the ANZSCO qualification with 5 years of work experience, even if the ANZSCO does not state this
• a job or job offer on the Long Term Skill Shortage List and you meet its requirements, or
• a job or job offer that needs occupational registration in New Zealand, and you hold full or provisional registration for the job.

If your occupation is ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5 or does not have a matching ANZSCO description, you must have:

• a relevant recognised qualification at or above level 4 on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework, or a level 3 qualification included in the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment
• at least 3 years of relevant work experience
• a job or job offer on the Long Term Skill Shortage List and you meet its requirements, or
• a job or job offer that needs occupational registration in New Zealand, and you hold full or provisional registration for the job.

The position you are offered must meet the residence visa NZ requirements and be considered skilled employment for the Expression of Interest under the Skilled Migrant category.

This is where engaging the services of a Licensed Adviser can make a real difference. Your personal adviser can guide you through the process and verify that your job offer meets the aforementioned requirements.

Work to Residence Visa New Zealand

For those seeking temporary visas via this route, there are two options. You can secure employment with an accredited employer, or your occupation might be on the Long-Term Skills Shortage list.

There are two types of work to residence visas:

1. Work to Residence: Long-Term Skills Shortage

If you are qualified and skilled in an industry that New Zealand has an ongoing skill shortage in, you may be eligible for a work visa under the Long-Term Skill Shortage List Work Category.  If so, you’ll need to meet the age, health, and character requirements. All these occupations are listed on the Long-Term Skill Shortage List (also called the LTSSL), which is updated annually.  If you are successful, you will be eligible for a work visa for up to 30 months. Please check if your occupation is on the Long-Term Skills Shortage List before applying for this type of the Work to Residence visa NZ.

If your occupation is listed on the Long-Term Skills Shortage list, your visa application may be processed markedly faster and lead to a residence class visa.

Conditions

An offer of full-time employment will be needed, for at least 24 months, and work in that skill shortage occupation for the duration of your contract. Your visa will also clearly identify a specific employer and place of work, based on your job offer. After completing 24 months of work visa, you can apply for a residence visa New Zealand.

2. Work to Residence: Accredited Employers (Talent)

If you have a job offer from an accredited employer in New Zealand, you can apply for a work visa for up to 30 months under the Talent (Accredited Employers) Work Category. When you have worked for a New Zealand accredited employer for two years, you can apply for a residence visa NZ.

Accredited employers are employers that Immigration New Zealand has pre-approved, and who need skilled or talented workers from overseas. To become accredited, employers must prove to Immigration New Zealand that they are financially viable, that they are committed to training and employing New Zealanders. They also need to have sound human resource and workplace policies and practices in place. Find out more about Talent (Accredited Employers) Work Category requirements.

You must be 55 years old or under.  You can apply for Residence from Work after 24 months in the job. This visa is normally processed faster than other work visas because your employer has already ‘passed’ many INZ requirements to become accredited.

Conditions

You will need to be offered full-time employment for at least 24 months, at or above NZD $79,560 per annum (or NZD $38.25 per hour). You will have to work in that same position, for the specific employer, and in the specific location (city, region) that was given in your work visa application.

Partnership Residence Visa NZ

If your partner is already in New Zealand, or you and your partner are applying for a visa to come to New Zealand together, you may be eligible for a New Zealand resident visa based on your partnership.

Immigration New Zealand defines partnership as two people of the opposite or same sex, who live together in a genuine and stable relationship in any of the following:

• legal marriage
• civil union
• de facto relationship.

To apply for a residence visa NZ, you and your supporting partner must:

• be aged 18 or over, or if they're aged 16 or 17 years, have the consent of their parents or guardians
• have met each other before applying for a visa based on your partnership
• not be close relatives
• must meet the partnership requirements listed below

Partnership Requirements for the Residence Visa New Zealand

You must be able to show INZ that you're living together in a genuine and stable relationship before INZ can grant you a visa based on your partnership.

A partnership is genuine if it has been entered into on a long term and exclusive basis. A partnership is stable if it is likely to endure.

Living together means sharing the same home as your partner, which doesn’t include:

• spending time in each other’s homes while you each maintain your own home
• sharing accommodation while on holiday
• flatmate arrangements.

Partnership Assessment

To grant you a residence visa for New Zealand, INZ assesses your partnership based on:

• how long you’ve been together
• how long you've been living together as a couple
• your living arrangements
• whether you support each other financially
• how you share financial responsibilities
• how committed you are to a life together
• whether you own property together and/or share your property
• any children you have together, including your arrangements for their care
• whether you share common household tasks
• whether other people recognise your relationship.

Evidence of Partnership

In case you want to apply for a Partnership residence visa NZ, you and your partner must provide enough evidence to show INZ that you're living together in a genuine and stable relationship.

Your evidence will be more credible if it's from official sources. For example, a joint tenancy agreement showing the date that you and your partner started renting a property together is better than your friend writing us a letter to tell us how long you've been living together.

You don’t have to provide all of the documents listed as examples, but the more evidence you provide, the easier it will be for INZ to make a decision about your application.

Evidence to show that you're in a genuine and stable relationship while applying for a New Zealand resident visa can include:

• marriage or civil union certificates
• birth certificates for any children you share
• cards, letters, emails, and social media conversations
• photos together
• evidence that others recognise your relationship
• evidence you make decisions and plans together
• evidence that you parent together
• evidence you spend leisure time together
• a joint rental agreement or home loan
• mail addressed to you together at the same place and time
• joint bank accounts
• evidence that you own assets together
• joint credit cards or hire purchase agreements
• joint utility accounts, like power or phone bills.
• time spent living apart

If you and your partner have spent time living apart, you should provide information about your separation, including:

• the reasons you were living apart
• how long you were living apart
• how you kept in touch while apart.

Supporting Partner - Character Requirements

Your partner must provide a police certificate from any country they have spent 12 months or more in over the last 10 years. This applies to whether the time was spent in one or more visits. Your partner will not meet our character requirements if they have any convictions for domestic violence or sexual offences. If your partner does not meet INZ‘s character requirements, INZ will consider whether they are eligible for a character waiver.

Eligible Supporting Partner

To be eligible to support your resident visa application, your partner must not:

• have supported a successful residence application for more than one previous partner
• have supported a successful residence application for a previous partner in the last 5 years
• have included a previous partner in a successful residence application in the last 5 years
• have been included as a partner in a successful residence application in the last 5 years
• be liable for deportation, or have their deportation liability suspended.