New Zealand
Skilled Migrant Category
New Zealand moved to a six-point system. Points from qualifications, occupational registration and income do not add together — you claim from one category and add New Zealand work experience.
- Typical timeline
- 6–12 months
- Government cost
- NZD 4,890 for a resident visa application
How New Zealand actually selects people
New Zealand rebuilt its skilled route around a deliberately simple idea: instead of scoring dozens of attributes against each other, the Skilled Migrant Category awards points for a small number of clearly defined things, and you need a modest total to qualify.
Points come from a recognised qualification, from occupational registration where your profession requires it, or from income measured against the national median. Skilled work in New Zealand adds to the total. The design is intended to be predictable — you can usually tell in a few minutes whether you qualify, which is not true of most systems.
Almost every applicant reaches residence through work first. The Accredited Employer Work Visa is the usual entry point: the employer must be accredited by Immigration New Zealand, the role must pass a job check, and you must meet the requirements for it.
What this means for you
- Employer accreditation is the gate. As in the UK, an employer who wants you but is not accredited cannot hire you from overseas. Confirm accreditation before investing in a process.
- Occupational registration is not optional where it applies. Nurses, engineers, teachers, electricians and many trades must be registered with the relevant New Zealand body, and registration is assessed on New Zealand standards rather than on the qualification's home reputation.
- Median-wage thresholds move. Income-based points are measured against a figure that is updated periodically, so a salary that qualified last year may not this year.
Where it goes wrong
Scale is the honest caveat. New Zealand is a small country with a small intake, and settings are adjusted more often and more sharply than in larger destinations. Treat any figure you read as current only until the official source says otherwise.
The Skilled Migrant Category changed on 24 August 2026
New Zealand rebuilt its points system, and any score calculated before that date is out of date. A recognised bachelor's degree moved from 3 points to 4. Occupational registration is now scored across four bands rather than one. Qualifications gained in New Zealand and qualifications gained abroad no longer score identically, which matters for almost every applicant applying from India.
The other number to know is the wage threshold: NZ$35.00 an hour from 9 March 2026. Skilled employment below it does not count towards the six points a job is worth, whatever the job title says.
What this means in practice
New Zealand is the simplest of the major systems to model and the least forgiving of a near miss. There is no ranked pool as in Canada — you either reach six points or you do not.
At a glance
Points to apply
6 of 9
Typical time
6–12 months
Government fee NZD 4,890 for a resident visa application
Programmes we handle for New Zealand
Skilled Migrant Category
Six points from one category — qualification, registration or income — plus New Zealand work experience. They do not stack.
- Typical time
- 6–12 months
- Government fee
- NZD 4,890
- Pass mark
- 6 of 9
Who handles New Zealand
What decides a New Zealand application, beyond points
Most applications do not fail on a score. They fail on one of these — and none of them is something a points total can make up for.
Do I need occupational registration to migrate to New Zealand?
If your occupation is regulated in New Zealand, yes, and registration comes before the visa rather than after it. It is assessed separately from your qualification, so holding the degree is not the same as holding the registration.
Does any job offer count for the New Zealand Skilled Migrant Category?
No. Skilled employment must pay at or above a published wage threshold before it counts towards the points a job is worth. A role with a senior-sounding title that pays below the threshold contributes nothing, so the pay rate matters more than the job title.