New Zealand Immigration Concepts

Are you Eligible for a Permanent Residence Permit under the Skilled Migrant Category?

Our Self-Assessment Guide will assist you to evaluate your chances of obtaining a residence permit under the Skilled Migrant Category.

We are providing all the relevant information below, with further details and expressions explained on our website.

In our News section, which we are endeavouring to update following each Selection, you will be able to look up the latest developments of the Selection Point and, based on that, determine you chances of obtaining a residence permit.

The minimum requirements for an application under the Skilled Migrant Category are:

Some of the expressions used in the table below are explained in the column on the left hand side.

Bonus points for employment or offer of employment in:

an identified future growth area	10
an area of absolute skill shortage	10
region outside of Auckland	10
partner employment or offer of employment	20

Work experience:

2 years	10
4 years	15
6 years	20
8 years	25
10 years	30

Additional bonus points for work experience in New Zealand:

1 year	5
2 years	10
3 years or more	15

Additional bonus points for work experience in an identified future growth area:

2 to 5 years	5
6 years or more	10

Additional bonus points for work experience in an area of absolute skills shortage:

2 to 5 years	10
6 years or more	15

Qualifications:

recognised basic qualification (e.g. trade qualification, diploma, bachelors degree, bachelors degree with Honours)	50
recognised post-graduate qualification (Masters degree, Doctorate)	55

Bonus points for:

basic recognised NZ qualification or two years of full-time study in New Zealand towards a recognised NZ qualification	5
post graduate recognized NZ qualification (Masters or Doctorate)	10
qualification in an identified future growth area	10
qualification in an area of absolute skill shortage	10
partner qualifications	20

Family Support:

Close family support in New Zealand

Age (20 to 55 years):

20 - 29 years	30
30 - 39 years	25
40 - 44 years	20
45 - 49 years	10
50 - 55 years	5

If you score 100 points or more, you might be eligible to submit an Expression of Interest, EoI.

However, in order for your Expression of Interest to be successful, you need to claim as many points as possible, as only those EoIs with the highest points scores are selected from the Pool.

- How many points will you need for a successful application?

The Selection Point

The Selection Point is determined by two factors:

the number of Expressions of Interest in the Pool on the day your Expression of Interest is to be drawn and
the number of immigrants New Zealand is aiming to obtain during the current year.

History of the Selection Point and Additional Selection Criteria:

In early 2004 the Selection Point was at 195, permitting only candidates who were able to claim points for an offer of employment in New Zealand to apply for residency under the Skilled Migrant Category.

Until very recently the Selection Point was at the absolute low of 100, allowing skilled applicants to successfully submit their Expressions of Interest without necessarily having to obtain an offer of employment at that stage of the process, an advantage appeiciated by many immigrants.

In the meantime Immigration New Zealand has introduced additional selection criteria for selecting EoIs from the Pool.

These criteria apply when there are places available in the Pool after all applicants who score between 100 and 140 points and have a New Zealand job or job offer have been selected. When this happens, other EoIs may be selected on the basis of specific criteria which the Minister of Immigration sets every six months.

For the latest developments of the Selection Point, please check our News section, which is constantly being updated:

2. Find out what your chances are by asking us for an initial assessment:

"We are looking forward to hearing from you."