Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa for New Zealand

This visa is intended for those who possess abilities that can advance New Zealand's economy. Before applying, you must submit us an expression of interest (EOI) that includes information about your qualifications and employment history.

• You can infinitely on this visa.
• An applicant can apply till the age of 55

Eligibility Criteria

These are the requirements you must fulfil after receiving your visa.

Entry authorization

 You must get entry authorization when you arrive in New Zealand. An arrival card that is provided to you on the flight to New Zealand can be used to accomplish this.

GETTING TO NEW ZEALAND

If any of the following apply to you, entry permission may be denied:

• Since receiving your visa, your circumstances have changed.
• you won't allow us to take your picture or give us your fingerprints or iris scan when we ask for them.

Work (if you have an offer of skilled job in Auckland)

If a job offer for a skilled position in Auckland earned you points, you must:

• begin working there within three months of arriving in New Zealand.
• keep the position for at least three months.
• maintain your pay for at least three months at or above the rate at which skilled employment points were granted to you.

You must show proof that you held your skilled occupation for at least three months within five years of your arrival in New Zealand as a resident.

If your address changes during this time, please let us know so we can contact you and verify your evidence.

Work (if you have an offer of skilled job outside of Auckland)

You must:

• Accept the job within three months of arriving in New Zealand if you received points for a skilled employment offer outside of Auckland.
• A minimum of one year should be spent in that position.
• Maintain your pay for at least a year at or above the rate at which you were granted skilled employment points.

You must show proof that you held your skilled occupation for at least a year within five years of your arrival in New Zealand as a resident.

If your address changes during this time, please let us know so we can contact you and verify your evidence.

Work (if you are currently employed in Auckland as a skilled worker)

Those who received points for their present skilled employment in Auckland and who have held that position for less than three months must:

• Continue working there for at least three months.
• Maintain your pay for at least three months at or above the rate at which skilled employment points were granted to you.

You must show proof that you held your skilled occupation for at least three months within five years of your arrival in New Zealand as a resident.

If your address changes during this time, please let us know so we can contact you and verify your evidence.

Work (if you have current skilled job outside of Auckland)

If you have been working in your present skilled occupation outside of Auckland for less than three months and you were given points for it, you must:

• Maintain your position for at least a year.
• Maintain your pay for at least a year at or above the rate at which you were granted skilled  employment points.

You must show proof that you held your skilled occupation for at least a year within five years of your arrival in New Zealand as a resident.

If your address changes during this time, please let us know so we can contact you and verify your evidence.

Maintain a current passport with your visa.

Your visa must be in a current passport if you want to travel.

You must ask to have your visa converted to a new passport if your passport is about to expire before you travel.

A NEW PASSPORT WITH MY VISA TRANSFERRED

Your visa must be transferred if you:

• Sending us your old and new passports,
• Applying for a transfer or confirming a visa by filling out an application, and
• Paying a transfer fee are all requirements.
• Until your travel constraints expire, you are free to travel often in and out of New Zealand.
• After that, in order to travel, you must apply for and receive one of the following:
• a Permanent Resident Visa;
• a modification of your travel restrictions that would let you to visit New Zealand at a later time.

Two years after the day you become a resident of New Zealand, your travel restrictions will no longer be valid.

Your visa will also expire if you are not in New Zealand when your travel restrictions do.

On this Visa you can:

• You are able to live, work, and attend school in New Zealand with this visa.
• On your application for residency, list your partner and any dependent children who are 24 years old or younger.

Important information

• We evaluate expressions of interest based on a points system.
• Discover the number of points you can earn.
• As of right now, we are only choosing EOIs with 160 points or more. After 13:00 on November 11, 2022, this will rise to 180 points (NZDT).
• Self-employed individuals are not eligible for this visa. Applying for an Entrepreneur Resident Visa may be preferable if you intend to work for your own company.

Visa for Entrepreneurs

Applications for 2021 Resident Visas will be handled more quickly than those for skilled immigration (Skilled Migrant, or Residence from Work category) because the application and assessment processes have been streamlined. The majority should be handled in less than 18 months.