Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa: What is New Zealand’s points system for immigration?

Permanent migration to New Zealand is in high demand. The Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa lets you live and work in New Zealand permanently.

New Zealand's Skilled Migrant Category has traditionally been New Zealand’s main permanent visa and is based on skills and employment. This visa is for people who have skills that will contribute to New Zealand's economic growth. Before you can apply, you will need to submit an expression of interest (EOI), that details your work experience and qualifications.

New Zealand has introduced a simplified points system with a clear, fair, and transparent eligibility threshold for skilled residence. We recommend learning more about these changes to understand how they may impact you.

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The Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa lets you live, work, and study in New Zealand.

After you have had a Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa for 2 years in a row, you can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa that lets you stay, travel in and out of the country indefinitely.

To apply for the Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa you must:

• be aged 55 or younger when you apply

• be working for, or have a job offer from, an accredited employer, and the job must be full-time

• have 6 skilled resident points from your skills and work

• speak and understand English

• meet the other requirements of this visa

For a New Zealand Skilled Migrant Category Visas, you must have specialist, technical or management expertise and meet the pay rate threshold to do skilled work in New Zealand. So, if you are interested, you will need to find the closest matching occupation for your current job or job offer on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupation (ANZSCO) register.

If your job is classified as skill level 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and you meet the required pay rate, you may be able to claim points for your EOI. Currently, you need this to be invited to apply for permanent skilled visas. The higher you score on points, the more likely you are to be invited. So, how do these points work?

When you start your process for a Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa, you need to meet a minimum pass mark in the Expression of Interest (EOI) phase. If you have a minimum number of points, may receive an Invitation to apply for a visa. Use this form to submit an expression of interest (EOI) for a Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa.

You must be able to claim 6 skilled resident points.

• You can claim 3 to 6 points based on your occupational registration, qualification, or income.

• You can claim up to 3 more points for skilled work experience in New Zealand.

You must also meet English Language requirements, such as a valid IELTS test report form. You can book IELTS on computer to get faster results.

In New Zealand, the primary visa applicant, your partner, and dependent children aged 16 and over must all speak and understand English.

IELTS Requirements for Immigration New Zealand

The New Zealand Government also accepts IELTS One Skill Retake (OSR) for visa applications. IELTS One Skill Retake lets you retake one component of the test (Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking) without having to re-sit the whole test, to give you a unique opportunity to improve your score.

IELTS is trusted and recognised by Immigration New Zealand. We offer a General Training test, which means you don’t have to sit an Academic English test. IELTS is the only English language test that offers this.

Get IELTS for migration to New Zealand

Legislation about immigration changes frequently. It’s important to check the Immigration New Zealand website for changes that may apply to you. If you are interested in a Student Visa, work visas, or looking to migrate permanently, you need to lodge an application with the New Zealand Government. You may want to consider getting support from a lawyer or migration agent. However, you can also get free advice for student visas.