New Zealand Skilled Migrant visa 2024 ❤️ Cost + conditions

New Zealand Skilled Migrant

The Skilled Migrant Category aims to attract skilled migrants who have a proven capacity to contribute to New Zealand’s economic growth. You can apply for a resident visa under the Skilled Migrant Category if you have the relevant skills, qualifications, or experience that New Zealand needs you. The Skilled Migrant Category is a points system based on factors such as age, work experience, qualifications, and an offer of skilled employment. You must also be aged 55 or under, and meet English language, health, and character requirements. You do not directly apply for this visa; instead, you send Immigration New Zealand an Expression of Interest (EOI). It is a questionnaire aimed at assessing your suitability to meet the requirements. You claim points for skills, experience, and other factors in the EOI.

The working atmosphere and conditions for practitioners are so desirable in new Zealand. Many skilled migrants apply for visas every year to benefit from these unique facilities. Many factors are considered including high life expectancy, insurance, and fair working situation but the most remarkable one is for sure the salaries paid to the workers in this country. The lowest salary per hour in New Zealand is 21 NZD. The average monthly wage is around 5500 NZD but it is higher for specialized fields like healthcare and engineering positions. According to these wages, a skilled migrant in New Zealand can afford to live easily and pay the bills with no financial troubles.

The New Zealand Skilled Migrant points system is designed to allow Expressions of Interest to be ranked in order so that the New Zealand Immigration authorities can make invitations to apply for residence to those migrants who can offer the most to New Zealand. You can also include close family members in your application.

To apply for a Resident Visa under the Skilled Migrant Category, you must meet all of the following minimum requirements:

• Acceptable Standard of Health for New Zealand Migrants
• Where can I get a medical certificate to go to New Zealand?
  • The Character Requirements for New Zealand
  • Police certificate Character Requirements
  • English Language Capabilities
  • The English language requirements for family members
  • Pre-purchase of ESOL tuition
  • How many points can you claim in your EOI?
• Bonus points for skilled work experience:
  • Bonus points for Qualifications:
• Evidence of your age
• Application Process
• What to Do After You Receive Your Skilled Migrant Category Visa

Acceptable Standard of Health for New Zealand Migrants

If you want to apply for a resident visa under the Skilled Migrant Category, you have to demonstrate that you have an acceptable standard of health.  Any health issues must be declared in your Expression of Interest (EOI).

If your EOI is successful and you are invited to apply for residency, each family member included in the application must provide a General Medical Certificate and a Chest X-ray Certificate when the residence application is lodged with Immigration New Zealand.

Children under 11 years of age and pregnant women are not required to have an X-ray unless a special report is needed.

Where can I get a medical certificate to go to New Zealand?

You have to see a recognized medical practitioner obtain your medical clearance. In New Zealand, any medical practitioner holding a current annual practicing certificate issued by the New Zealand Medical Council may conduct a medical examination and complete the medical certificate.

In most countries outside New Zealand, there is a panel of medical practitioners, called panel doctors, or institutions that must be used for your medical examination.

Note: Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has now established medical in New Zealand. New Zealand-based medical and radiology clinics can use the electronic health processing tool to record immigration medical examinations.

A General Medical Certificate, Limited Medical Certificate, or a Chest X-ray Certificate (and associated reports) must be less than 3 months old at the time you lodge your application.

If you or any family member included in your application does not have an acceptable standard of health, your application will be declined, unless Immigration New Zealand will grant you a medical waiver.

You will not be able to obtain a medical waiver if you or any family member included in your application:

• requires dialysis treatment, or an Immigration New Zealand medical assessor has indicated that dialysis treatment will be required within 5 years from the date of the medical assessment, or
• has severe hemophilia, or
• has a physical, intellectual, cognitive, and/or sensory incapacity that requires full-time care, including care in the community, or
• currently has tuberculosis (TB) (any form including pulmonary, non-pulmonary, multidrug-resistant, and extensively drug-resistant TB) and has not completed full treatment for TB as outlined in the New Zealand Guidelines for Tuberculosis Control, or
• has a history, diagnostic findings, or treatment for multidrug-resistant or extensively drug-resistant TB, unless they have been cleared by a New Zealand respiratory or infectious diseases specialist upon review of their file or review of the applicant as outlined in the New Zealand Guidelines for Tuberculosis Control.

The Character Requirements for New Zealand

As a general rule, Immigration New Zealand carries out character checks on everyone 17 years or over included in residence applications or applying for temporary entry for 24 months or longer.

They may also undertake a character check on anyone else that they consider may not meet the character requirements for New Zealand.

You will probably be refused residence in New Zealand on character grounds if:

• you have been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for 5 years or more (this applies even if any of your offenses have later been taken off the record)
• in the past 10 years, you were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for 12 months or more
• you are subject to a period of prohibition on entry to New Zealand under section 179 or 180 of the Immigration Act 2009
• you have been deported or removed from New Zealand under any enactment (whether before or after the commencement of the Immigration Act 2009)
• you are excluded from New Zealand under any enactment
• you have, at any time, been removed, excluded, or deported from another country
• you have been involved in terrorist activities, or belonged to or supported any organization involved in terrorist activities
• it is believed you are likely to commit – or to assist others to commit – criminal or drug offences, or an act of terrorism, in New Zealand
• it is believed you are likely – due to any international circumstances – to be a danger to New Zealand’s security or public order
• it is believed you are associated with an organization or group that has criminal objectives or is engaged in criminal activities and for that – or any other reason – you are considered to be a threat to the public interest or public order of New Zealand.

Police certificate Character Requirements

Resident visa applicants:

To prove that you – and everyone in your family who is 17 years of age and older – meet the character requirements, you will need to provide police certificates from countries you have lived in:

• your country of citizenship and
• any country you have been in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years, whether in one visit or more.

Temporary entry visa applicants:  

You will need a police certificate from any country you have lived in for 5 or more years since turning 17.

English Language Capabilities

As new Zealand is an English-speaking country, naturally an English language certificate is needed to apply for the New Zealand skilled migrant program. The most common English language degree needed to apply is IELTS (with a minimum score of 6.5) while some other tests are acceptable. In some cases, if the applicant holds no certificate proving the English language knowledge, he/she may attend a preparatory class to obtain the required degree.

You will have to state your English language standard in your EOI. If you do not provide a plausible confirmation of the required minimum standard of English in your Expression of Interest, Immigration New Zealand will not invite you to apply for residence.

The minimum English language requirements are different for the principal applicant and partners and children included in the EOI.

Principal applicants meet the minimum standard of English under the Skilled Migrant Category if they can provide one of the following:

• an acceptable English language test result: IELTS, TOEFL, PTE, or FCE.

• evidence of citizenship in Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom (UK), or the United States of America (USA), and evidence of having spent at least 5 years working or studying in those countries, or Australia or New Zealand

• evidence of a recognized qualification gained in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, the UK, or the USA. The qualification must be comparable to a New Zealand bachelor’s degree. You must have studied for at least 2 years in any of those countries to get that qualification

• evidence of a recognized qualification gained in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, the UK, or the USA. The qualification must be comparable to a postgraduate New Zealand qualification. You must have studied for at least 1 year in any of those countries to get that qualification.

The English language requirements for family members

Partners and Children aged 16 and over can either meet the requirements above or pre-purchase English tuition, ESOL.

Please note that the acceptable level of English language is lower for partners and children than it is for the principal applicant.

Children under 16 do not have to meet English language requirements.

Pre-purchase of ESOL tuition

Instead of meeting the minimum standard of English, non-principal applicants may pre-purchase ESOL tuition.

ESOL tuition must be pre-purchased by paying the required charge to Immigration New Zealand, who collects this charge on behalf of the Tertiary Education Commission, TEC.

The amount of ESOL tuition to be purchased will be determined by the average IELTS score. It ranges from NZ$1,735 to 6,795. If the applicant has not submitted IELTS test results, the maximum charge applies.

Applicants must pay any ESOL charge before a resident visa is granted.

Note: The minimum English language requirements vary from one visa type to another.

Acceptable English Tests and minimum scores required for the Principal applicant of your EOI:

* A score of Grade B or higher in all four skills is required for the OET as there is no overall grade for this test.

Minimum scores required for partners and dependent children aged 16 and older:

* A score of Grade C or higher in all four skills is required for the OET as there is no overall grade for this test.

How many points can you claim in your EOI?

Points Guide:

Current skilled employment or offer of skilled employment in New Zealand  50

Bonus points for skilled work experience:

Level 3 qualification (if included in the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment) 40

Bonus points for Qualifications:

The principal applicant can claim the following points for age in the Expression of Interest:

Evidence of your age

You can claim points for your age in your EOI without having to provide evidence at that stage, but you will have to provide evidence of your age when submitting your resident visa application.

Evidence of age may include but is not limited to, original or certified copies of:

1. a birth certificate;
2. a passport or other travel document;
3. an identity card (from countries that require an identity card and where birth details must be confirmed before one is issued).

Note: Principal applicants aged 56 and over will not be approved under the Skilled Migrant Category.

Please note that the Points Guide can only give you a very first indication of where you stand. The point system of the 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 qualify for the necessary points. According to INZ, over half of all self-assessments are incorrect: applicants overestimate the number of points they might be able to claim in their Expression of Interest.

Points for your qualifications are needed to be either on the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment or have been assessed by NZQA (New Zealand Qualifications Authority).

Points for work experience must be in the same field as your qualification and job/job offer. If you do not have a job or job offer, then this experience also needs to be in a comparable labor market, in an occupation on the Long Term Skill Shortage List (LTSSL), or for a multinational company. To claim work experience bonus points, you need to meet the strict requirements outlined on the LTSSL.

Immigration New Zealand uses this standard to classify skill levels:

• A skill level 1 occupation is considered highly skilled
• A skill level 2 or 3 occupations is considered mid-skilled
• A skill level 4 or 5 occupations is considered low-skilled.

You will currently need 160 points or above for your EOI to be selected from the pool.

You should also meet health, character, language, and age requirements.

The interest in New Zealand exceeds the capacity for accepting migrants by far and the competition among skilled migrants is strong.

In order to reach a points score of 160 or more, most applicants will have to have a job offer in New Zealand to claim those necessary extra points.

To secure a job offer you will need to understand the local labor market and have a competitive CV and cover letter, tailored to the New Zealand market. It will also be crucial for you to know how to successfully network and understand New Zealand’s workplace culture.

Applicants who score 160 or more points, and meet all of the SMC (Skilled Migrant Category) policy requirements but do not have an offer of skilled employees will have the opportunity to apply for SMC Job Search Visa.  This Job Search visa is valid for a period of 9 or 12 months. After this period, their application for residence under the SMC should be approved PROVIDED they hold a skilled job at the end of that 9 or 12 periods.

Application Process

Processing times for New Zealand Skilled Migrant Category Visas are long as it is an invitation-based process. Nonetheless, you can expect INZ to process your resident visa application in 5-14 months.

• Self-assessment

• Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI)

You can submit an EOI online.

• Receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA)

 If you have 160 points or more, your EOI will be selected from the pool, it is examined, and you may be sent an Invitation to Apply (ITA). You will then have to show proof of the claims made on your EOI. This means medical and police certificates, proof of English language ability, and documentation regarding your skills, experience, and other factors. An ITA will offer you the opportunity to apply to live and work in New Zealand indefinitely.

• Submit a resident application

• Receive your visa

If successful, you will be issued a resident visa

What to Do After You Receive Your Skilled Migrant Category Visa

New Zealand Skilled Migrant Category Visa requires that you satisfy the following conditions during your stay. Any breach in the visa terms may lead to the cancellation of your visa and make you liable for deportation. You must:

• Stay employed for 3 months or more in your skilled work if you are working in Auckland.
• Stay employed for 12 months or more in your skilled work if you are working outside Auckland.
• In both cases, your pay must not go below the rate determined by the points for your skilled work during this period
• Provide proof of the above in less than 5 years of residing in the country

You will be allowed multiple entries to New Zealand before your travel conditions expire, which is 2 years after you start residing in New Zealand. You must get a Permanent Resident Visa or apply for a variation in conditions to travel beyond that.

If you believe you are a skilled practitioner who can improve the working situation or salary in New Zealand (according to the unique conditions and facilities), never hesitate to apply for this priceless opportunity. The workers and practitioners are highly paid there, and the skilled migrants in New Zealand benefit from the secure and fair conditions of employment with many easy and free positions to occupy.

The Unican group with experienced staff in terms of skilled migrant affairs and process provides you with perfect services and consultation to guarantee your safe and quick application for a skilled migrant visa in New Zealand. The company offers the easiest and the most certain solution to implement your visa procedure and accompanies you in every step of the project.