New Zealand
Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa: total cost to complete
By Sam Parks · Last checked:
A source-linked budget for a single Skilled Migrant Category principal applicant after invitation: zero-fee EOI, INZ resident-visa application fee, skilled-job pay evidence, medical and chest X-ray, police certificates, English evidence, IQA, photos and translations.
What does the Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa actually cost?
Mandatory non-refundable costs are NZ$6,810-NZ$8,925. Refundable proof-of-funds requirements are tracked separately at NZ$72,800-NZ$109,200, because that money is shown or blocked rather than normally lost.
Verified against Immigration New Zealand - Skilled Migrant Category family English on 1 July 2026.
What it actually costs
A source-linked budget for a single Skilled Migrant Category principal applicant after invitation: zero-fee EOI, INZ resident-visa application fee, skilled-job pay evidence, medical and chest X-ray, police certificates, English evidence, IQA, photos and translations.
Money you don't get back
NZ$6,810-NZ$8,925
Mandatory fees, services and one month of insurance.
Proof of funds (returned to you)
NZ$72,800-NZ$109,200
Not a fee. Range annualises the current SMC skilled-employment pay references: NZD 35/hour for ANZSCO skill levels 1 to 3 and NZD 52.50/hour for skill levels 4 to 5. Income-point claims can require higher bands.
| Cost line | Amount | Type | When / who |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skilled Migrant Category Expression of Interest | NZ$0 | Gov fee | INZ states there is no fee to submit the SMC expression of interest. You still need enough points and details to submit it. Immigration New Zealand - Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa |
| Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa application | NZ$6,450 | Gov fee | Headline INZ application cost for the resident-visa stage after invitation. Submit and pay within 4 months of receiving the invitation to apply. Immigration New Zealand - Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa |
| Skilled job pay evidence | NZ$72,800-NZ$109,200annual salary at 40h/week | Proof of funds | Not a fee. Range annualises the current SMC skilled-employment pay references: NZD 35/hour for ANZSCO skill levels 1 to 3 and NZD 52.50/hour for skill levels 4 to 5. Income-point claims can require higher bands. Immigration New Zealand - Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa |
| Medical examination and chest X-ray· indicative | NZ$350-NZ$700 | Service | Residence applicants generally need current health evidence unless recent acceptable certificates are already on file. Panel-physician and radiology prices vary by country and clinic. Immigration New Zealand - Skilled Migrant Category documents |
| Police certificates· indicative | NZ$0-NZ$150 | Service | Character evidence is required where INZ rules require police certificates. Costs vary by country; some certificates are free while others charge issue, fingerprint, translation or courier fees. Immigration New Zealand - Skilled Migrant Category documents |
| English-language evidence· indicative | NZ$0-NZ$450 | Service | All principal applicants need evidence they can speak and understand English; the cost is zero if citizenship, study or qualifications satisfy INZ, or a test fee if they do not. Immigration New Zealand - Skilled Migrant Category documents |
| International Qualification Assessment· indicative | NZ$0-NZ$750 | Service | Conditional. Most overseas qualifications need a NZQA IQA when used for qualification points, but New Zealand qualifications, some engineering degrees and qualifications on the exemption list may not. Immigration New Zealand - International Qualification Assessment guidance |
| Acceptable visa photo· indicative | NZ$10-NZ$25 | Service | INZ requires one acceptable photo at residence-application stage. Local photo prices vary. Immigration New Zealand - Skilled Migrant Category documents |
| Certified translations· indicative | NZ$0-NZ$400 | Service | Required only for documents not in English. INZ requires certified English translations plus copies of the original documents. Immigration New Zealand - Skilled Migrant Category documents |
| Occupational registration or practising certificate(optional)· indicative | NZ$0-NZ$2,000 | Service | Conditional on profession and points strategy. Healthcare, teaching, engineering and other regulated roles can require registration before the SMC claim is usable. Profession-specific New Zealand regulator - verify before filing |
| Family-member English lessons or evidence(optional)· indicative | Variableper adult family member if required | Service | Optional family-scaling line. INZ says partners and dependent children aged 16 or older must show English or pay for English classes in New Zealand. Immigration New Zealand - Skilled Migrant Category family English |
Baseline sunk cost is the zero-fee EOI, INZ resident-visa application fee, medical/X-ray range, police-certificate range, English-evidence range, IQA range, acceptable-photo range and certified-translation range for a single principal applicant. The skilled-job pay line is shown separately because it is salary evidence, not money paid away. Occupational registration and family English/class lines are excluded unless the applicant needs them. Last checked 1 July 2026.
Cite or reuse this dataset
This cost model is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite Visa Atlas for the compiled sunk/refundable split and cite each linked authority or provider source for the underlying line item.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa cost-to-complete model", https://visaatlas.org/cost-to-complete/new-zealand-skilled-migrant-category. Last verified 1 July 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/cost-to-complete
FAQs
What does the Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa actually cost to complete?
Mandatory non-refundable costs are NZ$6,810-NZ$8,925 in the current model. Separately, refundable proof-of-funds requirements are NZ$72,800-NZ$109,200. The line table explains each item and source.
Is proof of funds a sunk cost?
No. Proof of funds is money you must show, hold or block. It can still be a cash-flow barrier, but it is different from application fees, document costs and insurance payments that you do not normally get back.
Why are some lines marked indicative?
Some third-party costs vary by country, provider and document count. Those lines use a range and are marked indicative so they are not confused with a single government tariff.