EOIs made on or after 9 October 2023
If you submitted your EOI on or after 9 October 2023, use this guide to help you plan and submit your Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa application in time.
Organise to get documents translated
What to do
For your application you must provide:
- certified English translations of any documents in your application that are not in English
- scanned copies of the original documents.
Translating supporting documents into English
As you gather your evidence, make a note of any documents that need to be translated.
Check if your qualifications need assessment
Relates to visa criteria: Qualifications
This guidance is for visa applicants who have claimed points for their qualifications.
What to do
Make a list of any qualifications you are claiming points for
- Check that you have evidence of your qualifications.
- If you do not have evidence of your qualifications, ask your education provider how to get them.
- Make sure that your qualification is recognised.
A qualification is recognised if it:
- is a New Zealand qualification recognised on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework (NZQF)
- is on the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment (LQEA), or
- has had an International Qualification Assessment (IQA) from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA).
Check if you need to apply for an International Qualification Assessment
Book medical appointments
Relates to visa criteria: Health
Timeframe: If you require a medical appointment, schedule it for no earlier than 3 months before you plan to submit your application.
What to do
Check if you are required to have a medical examination and chest X-ray.
Who needs an X-ray or medical examination
You do not need to have a new medical examination if you have sent us a medical certificate as part of a previous application and the certificate is less than 36 months old.
You need to have a new chest X-ray if you have spent more than 6 months in a row in a country that does not have a low incidence of tuberculosis since your last X-ray.
If you need to have a medical examination or chest X-ray:
- find an INZ panel physician for your medical examination and chest X-ray
- book an appointment.
Find a radiologist or doctor near you
If the 'panel physicians near you' tool shows there are no INZ panel physicians in your country, you can go to any registered, licensed medical practitioner. Take to your appointment:
- a printed copy of the General Medical Certificate form for your doctor to complete
- 3 passport-sized photos.
Apply for police certificates
Relates to visa criteria: Good character
Timeframe: Your police certificates must be less than 6 months old when you submit your application. Allow time to get certificates from some countries.
What to do
Make a list that includes:
- all your countries of citizenship
- every country you have lived in for at least 12 months over the last 10 years. You do not need to have spent all 12 months in 1 visit.
Apply for a police certificate from each country on your list.
If you are a Chinese citizen who has lived in Samoa for the last 12 years, and you have also spent 3 months in Fiji for each of the last 5 years, your application must include a police certificate from all 3 countries.
Do this for everyone in your application aged 17 or older.
Organise proof of skilled job or job offer
Relates to visa criteria: Skilled job or job offer
What to do
Gather your:
- detailed job description
- employment agreement.
If you have a contract for services you must prove you have:
- a history of contract work and
- completed 12 months of skilled work experience in New Zealand.
Evidence of your employment agreement
Your employment agreement needs to show us:
- whether your position is full-time (at least 30 hours a week)
- whether your employment is permanent, fixed-term for at least 12 months or a contract for services of at least 6 months
- a job title
- a detailed job description
- your salary or wages.
If your job is an ANZSCO level 1 to 3 occupation you must be paid the current median wage or more. If your job is an ANZSCO level 4 to 5 occupation you must be paid 1.5 times the median wage or more. Your job title and job description should mostly match the ANZSCO job title and description, but it does not have to be exactly the same.
Organise proof of your New Zealand occupational registration
Relates to visa criteria: New Zealand occupational registration
This guidance is for visa applicants who have claimed points for their New Zealand occupational registration.
What to do
Gather evidence that confirms:
- your registration authority
- the name of your registration
- that you meet any other requirements to qualify for points for your registration.
List of eligible occupational registrations
Find out what New Zealand occupational registrations are eligible, and the points awarded for each registration.
Claiming skilled resident points from occupational registration
Points claimed for skilled work experience in New Zealand
If you have also claimed points for skilled work experience in New Zealand, you can only claim points for skilled work experience that you gained after getting your occupational registration.
Organise proof of income from your job
Relates to visa criteria: Income
This guidance is for visa applicants who have claimed points for their income.
What to do
Gather your:
- employment agreement
- job description for your role.
The evidence you provide must show your occupation, hours and pay.
Points claimed for skilled work experience in New Zealand
If you also claimed points for skilled work experience in New Zealand, you must show that you met the wage threshold throughout the skilled work experience period.
| Points | Wage threshold |
|---|---|
|
6 |
Job or job offer in New Zealand at 3 times the median wage (currently NZD$94.83 an hour) or more. |
|
4 |
Job or job offer in New Zealand at 2 times the median wage (currently NZD$63.22 an hour) or more. |
|
3 |
Job or job offer in New Zealand at 1.5 times the median wage (currently NZD$47.41 an hour) or more. |
For example, if you are claiming 4 points for being paid 2 times the median wage, you must earn this wage during your 2 years of skilled work experience in New Zealand.
You must provide evidence that you met the wage threshold at both the beginning and end of your skilled work experience period.
Organise proof of skilled work experience in New Zealand
Relates to visa criteria: Skilled work experience in New Zealand
This guidance is for visa applicants who have claimed points for skilled work experience in New Zealand.
What to do
Gather your:
- previous and current employment agreements
- job descriptions for any roles you are claiming points from
- summary of earnings or tax statement from Inland Revenue if you are a contractor, that confirms the period of work and any income over that period.
The evidence you provide must show:
- whether your positions were full-time (at least 30 hours a week)
- whether your employment was permanent or fixed-term
- a job title
- a detailed job description
- your salary or wages.
If you claimed 3 points for skilled work experience in New Zealand you must show 3 years of skilled work experience during the last 5 years.
If you claimed 2 points for skilled work experience in New Zealand you must show 2 years of skilled work experience during the last 4 years.
If you claimed 1 point for skilled work experience in New Zealand you must show 1 year of skilled work experience during the last 2 years.
Wage threshold
ANZSCO level 1 to 3 occupations must be paid the median wage or more. ANZSCO level 4 to 5 occupations must be paid 1.5 times the median wage or more.
Changes to the median wage
You must meet the wage threshold at the beginning of the skilled work experience period you are claimed points for. If the median wage increases during your skilled work experience period your income does not need to increase, as long as you stay in the same job. If you change jobs you must meet the new wage threshold applicable at that time.
Organise proof of identity
Relates to visa criteria: Identity
Timeframe: Your photo must be less than 6 months old.
What to do
Provide a photo for your visa:
- You need to include acceptable photos of everyone in your application.
- Read our requirements to see what your photo should look like.
Acceptable photos for a visa or NZeTA
If you are applying from a country without INZ panel physicians, you also need to take 3 passport-sized photos to your medical examination.
Provide a copy of your passport
Make sure everyone in your application has a valid passport.
Organise proof of English language ability
Relates to visa criteria: English language
Timeframe: English language test results must be no more than 2 years old.
What to do
Provide evidence of your English language ability. This can be either:
- an acceptable English language test result, or
- a recognised qualification from a qualifying English-speaking country.
You do not need to provide evidence of your English language ability if you are a citizen of certain English-speaking countries and have worked or studied there for at least 5 years. You may need to show us evidence of the time spent working or studying.
Gather evidence for partner and children
What to do
If you are including family
Relates to visa criteria: English language for family
If your family members do not meet the 'English language for family' criteria, you must buy English language classes in New Zealand.
You can buy English language lessons as part of your visa application.
Learning English after you come to New Zealand
We cannot approve your application until you pay their English class fees.
If you are including a partner
Relates to visa criteria: Partner and dependent children
If you are including your partner on your application:
- make a list of the evidence you have of your partnership
- gather the evidence on your list
- request any documents you might not have, like bank statements.
We need to see that you and your partner:
- have lived together for 12 months or more
- are currently living together.
If you lived apart from your partner for any significant time during your relationship, you must also provide:
- evidence of the length of any periods of separation
- reasons for these periods of separation
- how you maintained your relationship during them.
There is guidance on how we define and assess partnerships, and examples of evidence.
If you are including dependent children
Relates to visa criteria: Partner and dependent children
You may need to provide birth certificates as evidence of your relationship with dependent children, if you are including them in your application.
If you are including an adopted child on your application, we need to see evidence of the adoption.
Legal adoption
Include your child’s adoption papers.
Adoption by custom
Prepare a written declaration stating:
- that you adopted the child
- the date of adoption
- the country where the adoption took place.
Gather proof of custody arrangements
If you are separated and including a child aged 16 or younger on your application, we need to see that you have the right to take the child from their country of residence.
This evidence could be either:
- a court order allowing you to remove the child from their country of residence, or
- legal documents showing that you have custody of the child and the sole right to decide where they live, without visitation rights being granted to the other partner, or
- legal documents showing that you have custody of the child and a signed, witnessed statement from the child’s other parent which confirms that they agree to allow the child to live in New Zealand if your residence application is approved.
Getting ready to submit your application
What to do
Once you have gathered all your evidence, do a final check of your application and supporting documents.
We also have a Skilled Migrant Category evidence checklist available. You can print this and tick off each step to make sure you have everything you need.
Skilled Migrant Category evidence checklist PDF 301KB
Application form
Make sure you have:
- checked that the information from your expression of interest is correct
- matched names on the form to names in passports
- included all dates of birth in the day/month/year format
- provided details of all direct family members you are not including in your application.
Supporting documents
Make sure you have certified English translations of all supporting documents that are not in English.
Scan copies of all original documents and make sure all scanned copies are clear and readable.
Final documents
You should have:
- your completed application form
- scanned copies of all supporting documents
- your visa photos
- your passport or identity document
- police certificates
- medical certificates, if these have not been submitted already to INZ
- evidence of your job or job offer in New Zealand
- evidence of your English language ability.
If these apply to you, you must also include evidence of your:
- skilled work experience
- training and qualifications, including any NZQA assessments
- occupational registration
- partnership
- relationship to your child
- child’s adoption
- child’s custody arrangements
- family member’s English language ability.