Pacific Quotas Programme

Samoan Quota & Pacific Access Category

Under the 2022-2023 Pacific Quotas Programme employers can hire up to 2950 Pacific people granted residence under the Samoan Quota (SQ) and Pacific Access Category (PAC) visa schemes.

Valid for

1 year

Cost

NZD $0

Processing times
Within
6 weeks
With this programme you can
  • Employ workers drawn from the ballot for permanent employment of business activity – you do not have to check if any New Zealanders are available to do the work first.
  • Hire people within the annual quota from: Samoa 1,650, Fiji 500, Tonga 500, Kiribati 150 and Tuvalu 150.
Things to note
  • The PAC quotas have increased from Fiji 250, Tonga 250, Kiribati 75, and Tuvalu 75 for the 2022 and 2023 ballots.
  • The SQ quota has increased from 1100 for ballots between 2022 and 2025.
  • The annual Pacific Quotas Programme are usually set at 1750 places. Quotas are higher only for this year and for the next few years. This accounts for unused places from 2020 and 2021 when the schemes were closed due to COVID. 
  • There is no requirement for a labour market test.
  • There is a minimum income threshold of NZD$51,734.80 a year for workers with dependent children.
  • Minimum hours per week must be at least 30 hours.
  • Applicants selected in ballot need to meet health and character requirements, English language requirements, be aged between 18 and 45 years.