Bonus points for skilled employment or offer of skilled employment

Area of absolute skill shortage	10
A region outside of Auckland	30
Partner's skilled employment or offer of skilled employment in New Zealand	20
High remuneration (introduced under the new policy)	20

Skilled Work experience

2 years	10
4 years	20
6 years	30
8 years	40
10 years or more	50

Bonus points for skilled work experience gained in New Zealand 

1 year or more

10

Bonus points for work experience in an area of absolute skills shortage

2 to 5 years	10
6 years or more	15

 

Recognised Qualifications

Recognised level 3 qualification (if included on the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment) introduced under the new policy	40
Recognised level 4-6 qualification	40
Recognised level 7 or 8 qualification	50
Recognised level 9 or 10 qualification	70

 

Bonus points for qualifications

2 years of full-time study in New Zealand completing a recognised New Zealand Bachelor degree (level 7)	10
1 year of full-time study in New Zealand completing a recognised post-graduate New Zealand qualification	10
2 years of full-time study in New Zealand completing a recognised post-graduate New Zealand qualification	15
Partner qualification- recognised level 7 or 8	10
Partner qualification - recognised level 9+	20

 

Age

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

Bonus points for Family Support and Bonus points for employment in Identified Future Growth Areas will no longer be granted under the new Skilled Migrant policy.

Please note that our Points Guide can only give you a very first overview. 

 

You reach a point score of 100 or more? Great!  

If you score 100 points or more and meet health, character, language and age requirements, you can submit your Expression of Interest (EOI) and might subsequently be eligible to apply for a Permanent Resident Visa under the Skilled Migrant Category.

However, while it may look relatively simple to just add up your points, the devil really lies in the detail. 

Feedback from our Licensed Immigration Advisers:  "Over 50% of all self-assessments are incorrect and clients overestimate the number of points they might be able to claim in their Expression of Interest."

To fulfil immigration requirements, your professional background - qualifications, work experience and job offer - need to be aligned very carefully. This is where most errors occur.

Our advice: To avoid being rejected from the pool, ask our Licensed Immigration Advisers to confirm your points score before you submit your Expression of Interest! 

 

 

What happens if you do not reach the minimum point score of 100? 

Don't give up yet! You may still have a good chance of applying for a Residence Visa under the Skilled Migrant Category, or maybe one of the other immigration policies could be an option for you.

In many cases a job offer in New Zealand is needed that will give you the additional points for your Expression of Interest to ultimately be successful.

Ask our Job Search Professionals how we can help you find a job that will entitle you to those all deciding extra points!

  

 

* Does a point score of 100 guarantee you that your EOI will be successful?  Unfortunately not. 

So how many points will you actually need, to have a realistic chance for your Expression of Interest to be selected?

At the end of 2016 Immigration New Zealand announced that only Expressions of Interest with a points claim of 160 or more would be selected from then onwards!

As a point score of 160 is potentially out of reach for many candidates, the already heated competition in the Pool amongst all EOIs is now even stronger. 

The only way to find out how many points you will most likely need is by looking up the latest Selection Results to find out how many points were actually required for an Expression of Interest to be selected during the last Selection.  

 

---

 

Read more about becoming a New Zealand resident through the Skilled Migrant Category:

• How can we help you with finding a job in New Zealand?
• The resident visa application process under Skilled Migrant Category
• Will you be able to claim points for your qualifications?
• Will you be able to claim bonus points for your professional expertise?
• Is your profession on the Long Term Skill Shortage List?
• Do you have to be registered in New Zealand? 
• Will you meet the English language requirements?
• Have you reached the age limit of the SMC?

---

Find out more about working in New Zealand:

• Can we guarantee you that you will find a job in New Zealand if you are using our Job Search Service?
• Can you come to New Zealand to look for a job?
• Will you be able to find a job if you do not have a visa yet?
• Nailing the Job Interview
• The 28 best interview replies!
• Tactics for accessing the Hidden Job Market
• What is the next step once you have a job offer?
• Find an Accredited Employer
• Skill shortages in New Zealand
• How much will you be able to earn?
• Your job must be "skilled" to give you points

Find out about our proven track record: Happy Clients!