Can you migrate under the new Skilled Migrant Category?

Only professionals who can demonstrate an exceptionally high capacity for their successful settlement will qualify for permanent residency in New Zealand.

To qualify for a Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa

  • You must have an acceptable job or job offer in New Zealand.
  • You will need six points.
  • You must also meet all of the standard visa requirements.
be 55 years or underbe of good characteracceptable standard of healthhave english language capabilities

Self-Assessment | Points Guide

Check for yourself if you fulfil the 3 key requirements of the SMC policy and find out how we can help you boost your chances of success.

Do you have an acceptable job or job offer in New Zealand?

Your employment must be with an accredited employer (an employer approved by Immigration New Zealand to employ workers on the Accredited Employer Work Visa, AEWV) and either full-time and permanent, for a fixed term of at least 12 months or a contract for services of at least 6 months.

Can you claim the necessary six points?  

Check your points score under the new policy settings. You can claim

6 points for

  • either New Zealand occupational registration in a specified occupation, requiring at least 6 years of training; or
  • a PhD or Doctorate; or
  • income from a New Zealand job or job offer that pays 3 times the median wage in New Zealand.

5 points for

  • New Zealand occupational registration in a specified occupation, requiring at least 5 years of training; or
  • a Master’s degree.

4 points for

  • either New Zealand occupational registration in a specified occupation, requiring at least 4 years of training; or
  • an Honours Degree or Post-graduate Diploma; or
  • income from a New Zealand job or job offer that pays 2 times the median wage in New Zealand.

3 points for

  • ‍either New Zealand occupational registration in a specified occupation, requiring at least 2 years of training; or
  • a Bachelor’s degree or Post-graduate Certificate; or
  • income from a New Zealand job or job offer that pays 1.5 times the median wage in New Zealand.

Do you meet all of the following standard visa requirements?

  • you must be under the age limit of 56 years
  • you must be of good character
  • you must have an acceptable standard of health
  • you must have proven English language capabilities

The Skilled Migrant Category is complex...

The points system of the new Skilled Migrant Category is more complicated than it might appear at first glance and far-reaching errors occur when it comes to establishing whether qualifications, work experience and job offer match up and you qualify for the necessary points.

Key questions you have next:

  • How can I find a job or obtain a job offer in New Zealand?
  • How many points can I claim?
  • How can I increase my points score?
  • How can I gain work experience in New Zealand?

We can help you answer your key questions:

How can I find a job or get a job offer from a New Zealand employer?

Working with us will boost your job search success.

Our Job Seeker Service will make a huge difference to your job hunt in New Zealand. Working with a local job search professional and starting well before your arrival in New Zealand will make you a strong candidate for the New Zealand job market.

Our Licensed Immigration Advisers will ensure that your job search goes in the right direction. They will give you and your Job Search Consultant visa specific advice to make sure that you only target and apply for roles that will align with immigration requirements. If your New Zealand employer requires assistance with their accreditation, we will be able to support them.

Together both services will help you overcome the Catch-22 dilemma: You need a job to get a visa and a visa to get a job.

How many points can I claim and how can I increase my points score?

The good news is that you can improve your points score!

If your current point score is three, four, or five, you can increase it by providing evidence of your work experience in New Zealand.

Each year of work experience in New Zealand earns you one point, with a maximum of three points for three years of work experience.

Your Licensed Immigration Adviser will guide you right from the start, to ensure that you will be on the right track and have the right visa while you gain New Zealand work experience towards your goal of securing permanent residence in New Zealand.

If you are 56 years or older and have already reached the age limit for the Skilled Migrant Category, one of New Zealands other visa policy might be an option for you. If you give us some details in our Free Assessment form we will assess your background and let you know if we think that you might qualify for a visa under any of the other visa policies.

To find out how you can start your immigration process and how we can help you get through the different stages, please visit our Immigration and Job Hunt Webinar. You can join by registering your interest below.

Join our popular Immigration & Job Hunt Webinar!

Everything you need to know about migrating to New Zealand as a Skilled Migrant.

register your interest

Join our Principal Licensed Immigration Adviser Dr. Carsten Hallwass as he explains the process of migrating to New Zealand as a skilled migrant in a straight forward and easy to understand manner:

Following this detailed overview, you will have a chance to ask questions and also hear answers to questions put forward by fellow participants of the webinar.

By the end of the webinar you will have a good understanding of the immigration process and know how you can get started.

You will feel empowered to make a solid decision on your move to New Zealand!

Feedback we have received from Immigration and Job Hunt Webinar attendees:

"Thank you so much for the information on the webinar. You guys really are the definition of Informative. It was well presented, any questions asked were answered at one's doorstep. I am feeling confident that this is what I would like, to better my future not only for myself but for my family." K.P South Africa
"Fantastic webinar and most fruitful discussion I have seen so far for NZ immigration as compared to my previous experience. It was a free webinar where i paid nothing but all my questions were answered in a very smooth manner and In addition they committed to help us look for potential Job for NZ."
"The in-depth knowledge of the speakers was awesome and very relevant to the immigration process and further the presentation slides prepared by the team were fantastic, giving every key information to aspirants. I would definitely recommend New Zealand Immigration Concepts for any advice related to work visa, skilled migrant visa."
"I really enjoyed the webinar! There was so much information and the two advisers were very responsive to all of our questions. It was quite impressive and give us an insight of your expertise and control of the subject." M.M. France
"Thanks a lot for the insightful webinar, there were many doubts that got cleared after attending it. The webinar was well structured and had all the major topics covered."
"Thanks again for your support, I haven't come across such a professional team that goes well beyond customer service." M.S India
"We loved the webinar yesterday, I had joined one before but for my wife it was her first. We love the "vibe" of the topic "Immigration" into NZ." A.H Germany
"We wanted to thank you for the very informative webinar yesterday! Finally feeling optimistic about this transition process and our situation after attending yesterday and I appreciate that, especially in these times of such uncertainty."
"The webinar session was extremely good, helpful and it cleared many doubts which I had in mind and the Immigration Adviser's knowledge on immigration process was perfect." R N India
"I found the webinar very informative and I was impressed with your Advisers knowledge and professionalism too!" R.S (South Africa)
“Thank you for the webinar, it was definitely fruitful. I was highly impressed by the clarity in which guidance was provided in today's webinar by yourself and Dr. Carsten. It gave a boost to my confidence in the pathway towards NZ.” H.M
" It was very useful to get an overview about the most important topics. Also the opportunity to ask some questions during the presentation was very good." N. W (Germany)
"The webinar was informative indeed -.We are glad that we joined in." A.R


Read more about visa requirements:

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“In contrast to another Immigration consultancy that we contacted, your company offered a free webinar and an assessment, warm, approachable staff that communicates openly with potential customers. I understand that your company is a fee for services provider, but that has not been conveyed as a prerequisite during the decision making process.”

CJ
USA
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At first, Maj kindly explained the whole process and what to expect. I was coached and introduced to New Zealand job market by their Job Search team, and getting assistance until I got a job in the country. The Visa team would also follow me up on my pending documents, so I never felt left out. Truly recommended for those seeking out an option to live in New Zealand. Big thanks from me and my whole family for things NZIC did for us..!

AF
Indonesia
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NZIC helped me in my way to get a Visa and job search. They were always available to talk to and were open to all sorts of questions. No matter how random they were. Very friendly staff. And even when they had changes in employee and advisors, they always stayed professional and up to date. I can only say good things and recommend them highly.

CK
Germany
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Very pleased and satisfied with the service we received from NZIC. They assisted me and my family from start to finish. Always willing to assist, and communicated our progress every step of the way. With their assistance we managed to obtain permanent resident visa status.

BV
South Africa