2012-Apr 05: Pilot licences

5 April 2012

The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) has advised that they are unable to assess overseas pilot licences when there is no formal qualification involved. Although a licence may be valid within the aviation industry, NZQA can only provide an International Qualification Assessment (IQA) if the licence was gained by completing a formal qualification (e.g. diploma in aviation).

Skilled Migrant Category (SMC)

There are only a small number of SMC applications for pilots, however branches need to be aware that a licence alone will not be eligible for qualification points as a licence is not a recognised qualification in terms of SM14 Recognised qualifications.

If a branch has a case which they consider to be high value (e.g. the person has a job offer and the overseas licence has been recognised by the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority) please consider escalating the application to Operations Support.

If the applicant has a job offer with an airline which is an accredited employer, a pathway to residence may also exist via Work to Residence instructions.

Please pass this information to SMC teams.