Skilled Migrant Residence Category

(Effective from 24 August 2026)

Criteria:

  • Be aged 55 or younger
  • Proficiency in English (equivalent to an IELTS score of 6.5)
  • Secure a skilled job from an Accredited Employer
  • Include your partner and dependent children, aged 24 and younger, in your application.
  • All applicants meet health and character requirements

Five Major Categories:

  • 6-point Skilled Migrant Category (SMC)
  • Straight to Residence Category (STR)
  • Work to Residence Category (WTR)
  • Trades and technician pathway
  • Skilled work experience pathway

6-point Skilled Migrant Category (SMC):

The principal applicant may qualify for the following points from one skill category (income, qualification, or New Zealand registration):

OR

OR

In addition to one skill category, applicants may qualify for the following points for their skilled work experience in New Zealand:

Migrants will only need to meet the SMC median wage in effect when they start gaining skilled work experience and maintain at least that rate when applying for residence. They will no longer be required to meet a higher wage threshold when they apply for residence.

A grace period will now apply to situations where the SMC median wage increases before a migrant starts work. If a migrant begins skilled work experience within 5 months of their work visa being granted, the wage threshold that applied on the day the visa was granted will be used, even if the median wage has increased since then. 

Skilled Work Experience Pathway:

To apply under this pathway, you must:

  • work in a skilled role (ANZSCO skill level 1 to 3), and
  • have at least 5 years of directly relevant skilled work experience (self-employment experience is not recognised), including 2 years in New Zealand paid at or above 1.1 times the median wage.

Red list occupations will be excluded from the new Skilled Work Experience and Trades and Technician pathways.

Amber list occupations (such as Accommodation and hospitality manager, Hotel or Motel Manager, Hotel Service Manager, ICT Customer Support Officer, ICT Support Technician, Office manager, Chef, Customer service manager, Café/restaurant manager) will have additional eligibility criteria to access the Skilled Work Experience pathway:

  • at least 3 years of directly relevant work experience in New Zealand, and 2 years of skilled work experience in New Zealand paid at least 1.2 times the SMC median wage.

Trades and Technician Pathway:

To apply under this pathway, you must:

  • work in 1 of the specified trades or technician roles (ANZSCO skill level 1 to 3), and
  • have a relevant Level 4 or higher qualification (of at least 120 points) (Overseas qualifications must have an IQA that assesses the qualification as Level 4 or higher and the 120-credit requirement does not apply to relevant overseas qualifications), and
  • have at least 4 years of post-qualification directly relevant skilled work experience (self-employment experience is not recognised), including 18 months in New Zealand paid at or above the median wage.

Red list occupations (such as Retail manager, Beauty therapist, Massage therapist, Hairdresser, Hair and beauty salon manager) will be excluded from the new skilled work experience and trades and technicians pathways.

Green List: Straight to Residence (STR):

Positions on the Green List are primarily spread across six categories:

  • Business Professionals (Internal and External Auditor)
  • Construction (Construction Project Manager, Building Project Manager, Project Builder, Quantity Surveyor, Site Foreman, Surveyor)
  • Engineering (Engineer)
  • Health and Social Services (Doctor, Nurse, Pharmacist, Therapist, Teacher, Social Worker, etc.)
  • ICT, Electronics and Telecommunications (ICT Project Manager, Programmer, Software Engineer, etc.)
  • Science (Food Technologist)

Green List: Work to Residence (WTR):

Positions on the Green List are primarily spread across six categories:

  • Agriculture (Dairy Farm Manager, Dairy Herd Manager, etc.)
  • Civil Machinery Operators
  • Construction (Crane Operator)
  • Health and Social Services (Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teacher, School Principal, Special Needs Teacher)
  • ICT, Electronics and Telecommunications (Telecommunications Technician)
  • Trades (Automotive Electrician, Electrician (general), Motor Mechanic (General), etc.

Migrants will only need to meet the SMC median wage in effect when they start gaining skilled work experience and maintain at least that rate when applying for residence. They will no longer be required to meet a higher wage threshold when they apply for residence.

A grace period will now apply to situations where the SMC median wage increases before a migrant starts work. If a migrant begins skilled work experience within 5 months of their work visa being granted, the wage threshold that applied on the day the visa was granted will be used, even if the median wage has increased since then. 

Care Workforce: Work to Residence:

  • Hold a work visa or a Critical Purpose Visitor Visa with work conditions at the time the residence application is made; and
  • Have current employment or a job offer in an eligible Care Workforce sector occupation; and
  • Be paid at or above $28.25 per hour or the equivalent salary in an eligible Care Workforce sector occupation; and
  • Have completed 24 months of New Zealand work in an eligible Care Workforce sector occupation within the 30 months before submitting the residence application.

Transport Sector: Work to Residence

  • Hold a work visa or a Critical Purpose Visitor Visa with work conditions at the time the residence application is made; and
  • Have current employment or a job offer in an eligible Transport sector occupation; and
  • Have completed 24 months of eligible New Zealand work in a Transport sector occupation within the 30 months before submitting the residence application.