Skilled Migrant Category changes confirmed

Skilled Migrant Category Applications under the new settings open October 2023

On the 21^st June 2023, Immigration New Zealand has announced new policy for the Skilled Migrant category. The changes implemented create a streamlined points system where you must be able to claim 6 points to be eligible. Points will be allocated based on qualifications, occupational registrations, renumeration and time spent working in NZ.

New Zealand Shores will be releasing a webinar next week in regards to the changes in detail. Please keep an eye on our website and social media channels for more information.

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New policy Start date

New policy will be active from the 9^th October 2023. The last Expression Of Interest (EOI) selections under current Skilled Migrant policy will be on the 19^th July 2023 and 16^th August 2023. If you wish to have your application assessed under the current policy, you must submit your EOI no later than 11.59pm on the 15^th of August 2023.

Eligibility criteria

You can claim 3 to 6 points from your:

New Zealand occupational registration
qualification (Bachelor’s degree or higher), or
income from your job or job offer (earning at least 1.5 times the median wage in New Zealand).

You can only claim points from 1 of the 3 skill indicators.

Occupational Registration in New Zealand

You will be able to claim points for a New Zealand Occupational Registration if your occupations features on the list of eligible occupational registrations

Open the list

Registrations that require more training are worth more points.

6 points - A minimum of 6 years of training is required to gain registration
5 points - A minimum of 5 years of training is required to gain registration
4 points - A minimum of 4 years of training is required to gain registration
3 points - A minimum of 2 years of training is required to gain registration

Important note

This 'years of training' is a general consideration and is not related to how much experience the applicant has. For instance, Teachers are deemed as requiring 5 years of training and thus NZ Teaching Council registration is worth 5 points. But this is regardless of how much experience the applicant actually has, whether 2 years or 10 years' post-qualification.

Qualifications points

If your qualification has been obtained outside New Zealand, you will need to undertake a qualification assessment with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) in order to claim points if your qualification is not automatically recognised in Immigration New Zealand policy. You may be able to claim points as follows:

6 points - Level 10 Doctoral Degree
5 points - Level 9 Master's Degree
4 points - Level 8 Bachelor Honours Degree or Postgraduate Diploma
3 points - Level 8 Postgraduate Certificate & Level 7 Bachelor’s degree

Income points

When applying under the Skilled Migrant Category, you must have a job offer with an Accredited Employer, be guaranteed a minimum of 30 hours per week and have either a permanent offer of employment or a contract for 12+ months.

You must also be paid a minimum of the median wage (currently $29.66) or the market rate (if higher than median wage) for your role.

In addition to the above, you can claim the points for income 1.5, twice, or three times the median wage.

6 points - Job at 3 times the median wage (currently NZD $88.98 an hour) or more.
4 points - Job at 2 times the median wage (currently NZD $59.32 an hour) or more.
3 points - Job at 1.5 times the median wage (currently NZD $44.49 an hour) or more.

You can also claim 1 point for each year of skilled work in New Zealand, up to a maximum of 3 points (3 years). The points you claim from skilled work in New Zealand can be combined with points from your New Zealand occupational registration, qualification or income. In order to claim points for skilled work experience in New Zealand, the experience must be in a full-time role (at least 30 hours/week).

You can claim points for skilled work experience in New Zealand from:

3 points - 36 months of NZ experience during the 60 months before you apply
2 points - 24 months of NZ experience during the 48 months before you apply
1 point - 12 months of NZ experience during the 24 months before you apply

There is also a wage threshold depending on the ANZSCO level of the job:

People in ANZSCO level 1 to 3 roles must earn the median wage or above ($29.66/hour)
People in ANZSCO level 4 to 5 roles must earn 1.5 times the median wage or above ($44.49/hour)

Some requirements aren’t changing….

Whilst there is a lot of change with this category, there are still some things which remain the same. The following has not changed:

Character requirements
Health requirements
English language requirements
Age requirements (you must be 55 or under when applying)

Skilled Migrant Residence Interim Visa

If you are applying under the new skilled migrant category and your work visa expires, Immigration New Zealand will grant you an interim work visa to remain in New Zealand whilst your residence application processes. Please note, this doesn’t apply to those who apply for the Skilled Migrant category under current policy.

Other residence pathways

Depending on your occupation there are other pathways to residence including:

We understand that the upcoming changes to the Skilled Migrant Category will create uncertainty for people. New Zealand Shores is here to help you through understanding how the changes may affect you. Please either reach out to your current Immigration Adviser, or complete our eligibility assessment (link) and we can map out your new pathway to immigrate to New Zealand.