Skilled Migrant Visa Category

Skilled Migrant Visa Category

You can apply for a visa under this category if you have the relevant qualifications and skills to contribute to New Zealand’s economic growth. You don’t directly apply for this visa; instead, you send Immigration New Zealand an Expression of Interest (EOI) claiming points for your age, skilled employment, skilled work experience, and recognised qualification. You must also be aged 55 or under, and meet English language, health, and character requirements.

Currently, EOIs with 160 points or above are only being selected from the pool. So, if you have 160 points or more, your EOI will be selected from the pool, and you may be sent an Invitation to Apply (ITA). An ITA will offer you the opportunity to apply to live and work in New Zealand indefinitely.

The process of getting a Resident Visa via the skilled migrant category route can be complicated and applicants making costly mistakes is not uncommon. Some of the common mistakes applicants make is to claim points for unrecognised qualification, work experience not comparable, not meeting bonus points requirements, etc.

For example, if you’re claiming points for your qualifications they need to either be on the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment or have been assessed by NZQA. Similarly, if you’re claiming points for work experience, it must be in the same field as your qualification and job/job offer. Suppose you don’t have a job or job offer. In that case, this experience also needs to be in a comparable labour 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.

These mistakes can result in fewer points being recognised by the assessing officer of Immigration New Zealand, which in turn can result in your points falling short of the 160 points threshold.

You can include your partner, and dependent children aged 24 and under, in your residence application.

If you would like to know more about Skilled Migrant Visa Category process, assessment criteria and the pitfalls that you should be aware of, please call us today on +64 9 379 0219 or email contact@nzimmigration.info