Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa

The Points-based pathway requires 6 points. You can claim points from one skill category — qualification, income, or eligible New Zealand occupational registration — and may add 1 to 3 points from skilled work experience in New Zealand if needed. You cannot combine qualification, income, and registration points with one another.

Examples from the current points table: a recognised doctorate gives 6 points; a New Zealand master's with the required bachelor's evidence and at least 30 weeks of full-time New Zealand study gives 6; a New Zealand bachelor's gives 5; an overseas bachelor's recognised at level 7 gives 4. Other master's and level-8 qualifications have specific conditions. Income gives 3, 4 or 6 points at 1.5, 2 or 3 times the applicable wage threshold. Use only one skill category, then add eligible New Zealand work experience to reach 6 in total.

The Points-based pathway does not use a single general occupation list. The Skilled Work Experience pathway has Amber and Red List rules, and the Trades and Technician pathway requires an occupation on its current eligible list. All SMC applications still require the job to be assessed against the applicable occupation and skill-level rules.

You must qualify for one of the three pathways, have a qualifying skilled job or job offer with an accredited employer, be 55 or younger, and meet the applicable pay, English, health, and character rules. The Points-based pathway requires 6 points; the other pathways have their own work-experience, qualification, occupation, and pay requirements. Residence is granted indefinitely, subject to the visa conditions.

Yes: you need qualifying skilled employment or a job offer from an accredited employer. You do not necessarily need to hold an AEWV first. Whether you must already have New Zealand work experience depends on your pathway, points claim and employment arrangement; income points can be based on an eligible job offer.

The EOI is free to submit. INZ lists the resident visa application from NZD 6,450; use its fee finder for your circumstances. Budget separately for any required English test, medical examinations, police certificates and qualification assessment.

INZ's resident-visa wait-times page, updated weekly, currently reports a 9.5-week average for SMC applications and says 80% are completed within 4 months. This is the processing time after the residence application is submitted; time needed to qualify, submit an EOI, receive an ITA, and gather evidence is separate.

Yes. Your partner and dependent children aged 24 or under can be included in the resident visa application. They must meet the applicable relationship, health, character, and English requirements; check INZ's current family and English guidance for the evidence needed.

The current SMC has three pathways. The Points-based pathway requires 6 points from one skill category, with up to 3 points from New Zealand skilled work experience if needed. The Skilled Work Experience pathway requires an eligible skill-level 1 to 3 role, relevant experience, and additional skilled work experience in New Zealand. The Trades and Technician pathway requires an eligible role, relevant level 4 or higher qualification, and the specified post-qualification work experience. Pay and occupation rules differ by pathway.

The Skilled Migrant Category age criterion is generally being 55 or under at the time of application, so applying in your early forties is within the typical age range. Being over 55 is a common reason applications are refused. Always confirm the current rules with Immigration New Zealand.

The principal-applicant standard includes IELTS 6.5 overall or an accepted equivalent. Qualifying citizenship, work and study evidence can be an alternative, but being a native speaker is not itself an automatic exemption. Tests normally must be no more than two years old; the current SMC rules allow up to five years for a person holding occupational registration eligible for SMC points. Family members have different requirements.

The current system has Points-based, Skilled Work Experience, and Trades and Technician pathways, each with its own requirements. Six points is the test for the Points-based pathway, not every SMC applicant. If your invitation to apply was issued before 24 August 2026, the transition provision assesses the resulting residence application under the instructions in force on 23 August 2026. An old draft EOI is not the same as an earlier invitation.