Below is an outline of the process involved in the New Zealand Skilled Migration Category.

Before you begin your application you need to make sure you meet all of the requirements. You need to be between 20 and 55 years old at the time of your application, you must meet health and character checks, and your English language proficiency must be to a certain standard.

Expression of Interest (EOI)

The start of the process involves you lodging an EOI in which you claim points for your skills, experience, qualifications, age and family.

If you are able to claim 100 points or more your EOI goes into the EOI pool. Every fortnight, all EOI’s that have scored over 140 points are automatically selected for an Invitation to Apply (ITA). Then, EOI’s with lower scores are selected. These selections are based on certain factors such as skilled employment.

You will be required to pay a fee when lodging your EOI. Lodging a paper application will cost approx NZ$460, and lodging an online EOI is approx NZ$300.

Invitation to Apply (ITA)

When your EOI has been selected from the pool, you will be sent an ITA. This step involves you providing proof of the claims you have made on your EOI, such as police and medical certificates, proof of your skills and experience, and proof of your English language ability.

It is important to note that the date you make your application for Skilled Migration with immigration New Zealand determines the policy that your application will be assessed under. Therefore, the policy that was current when you submitted your EOI may not necessarily be the policy that you are assessed against.

A second fee is payable when you are invited to apply. This fee is different depending on where you are when you lodge your application, but will be approximately GBP £685 when lodging in the UK.

Full Assessment

When your application, along with all your documents, is received by immigration New Zealand it is checked to ensure that you meet all requirements and that your points claims are valid.

You may at this stage also be required to sit an interview. This interview is used to help determine your ability to settle in New Zealand successfully. If your application is sufficient this interview may be waived, but this is totally at the discretion of Immigration New Zealand.

Outcome

After your application has been fully assessed, if you meet all the criteria and it has been determined that you will settle successfully in New Zealand you will be offered a residence visa or permit.

If Immigration New Zealand determines that you may have trouble settling in New Zealand but think you have potential, you will be offered a work to residence visa or permit. This will allow you to obtain an offer of skilled employment for up to nine months; if you are able to do this your residence application will be approved.

If you do not meet the Skilled Migration policy criteria your application for residency will be declined.

A third and final fee is due once you have been approved. This is called the migrant levy. The levy is NZ$300 for each person getting a residence visa or permit, to a maximum of NZ$1200 for a family on one application.

To see if you are eligible under the New Zealand Skilled Migration Category fill out our New Zealand skilled migration free assessment and one of our registered migration agents will assess your emigration options and contact you.