Skilled Migrant Visa Category NZ

Skilled Migrant Category NZ

The Skilled Migrant Visa New Zealand is for people who have the relevant skills and qualifications to contribute to New Zealand’s economic growth. You don’t apply for Skilled Migrant Visa NZ directly. Instead, you send INZ an Expression of Interest claiming points for your age, skilled employment, skilled work experience and qualifications.

Eligibility Criteria for the Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa

• You must be 55 years of age or under
• You must meet the English language requirements
• Your current employment or offer of employment must be skilled
• Your qualifications must be recognized
• Your work experience must be skilled
• You must meet the health & character requirements

Points-Based System

A points-based system is used to assess the Expressions of Interest NZ. Currently, EOIs with 180 points or more are being selected from the pool. If you have EOI NZ points 180 or more, your EOI selection NZ will be done from the pool and you will be sent an Invitation to Apply (ITA).

Benefits of the Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa

• This visa enables you to live, work & study in New Zealand.
• Your partner and dependent children aged 24 years & below can be included in your residence visa application
• This visa allows you to stay in New Zealand indefinitely

Common mistakes

The process of getting a Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa can be complicated and applicants making costly mistakes is not uncommon. Some of the common mistakes applicants make are claiming points for unrecognized qualifications, unskilled work experience or claiming bonus points but not meeting those requirements.

For example, if you are claiming points for your qualifications, they need to be either on the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment or have been assessed by NZQA. Similarly, if you are claiming points for work experience, it must be in the same field as your job/ job offer. In case you don’t have a job or a job offer, your work experience needs to be in a comparable labour market or at skill level 1, 2 or 3 of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).

The mistakes can result in fewer points being calculated by the case officer which in turn can result in you falling short of the 180 points threshold.

Expression of Interest

What is an Expression of Interest (EOI)

An EOI is an opportunity to provide important information to demonstrate your interest & suitability for something.

If you want to migrate to New Zealand under the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC), you must inform Immigration New Zealand (INZ) of your wish. To do so you can do so by submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI) by filling the EOI NZ form

Validity of an EOI

An EOI is valid for 6 months from the date of submission only if no EOI selection has taken place within that period. Once the EOI selection is done, the EOI is no longer valid. You can submit another EOI once the previous one has expired.

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