Applying
under skill categories has always been the most popular
visa class for permanent residency in New Zealand. Substantial
changes to the skill category were announced, which saw
a new Skilled Migrant Category introduced in December 2003.
All applicants
for this visa class must be under 56 years of age and are
required to meet a minimum of 100 points and meet the health,
character and English language prerequisite before an Expression
of Interest can be lodged with the New Zealand Immigration
Service.
Enhanced points System
Points are awarded for an offer of employment in New Zealand,
work experience, qualifications and age. Bonus points are
available for employment in areas of identified future growth
or absolute skill shortages.
Bonus points are also available for employment outside Auckland
and for New Zealand qualifications.
Applicant Pooling
Expressions of Interest are pooled and then ranked by the
New Zealand Immigration Service. Those with the highest
number of points will be invited to lodge an Application
for Residence in New Zealand. It is not a first in, first
serve basis. Applicants will then need to send all the necessary
documents to support the Expression of Interest.
The key to success under this class is meeting the prerequisites
as outlined above and arranging a relevant, valid skilled
job offer in New Zealand.
Recent changes to the SMC policy now mean that applicants
with skilled jobs in New Zealand or an offer of skilled
employment prior to applying have a great likelihood of
being selected and invited to apply for residence.
Applicants are strongly advised to engage the services of
a recognized migration consultancy with a job search or
employment office in New Zealand, as they will be able to
assist you with the lodgement and processing of your visa
application as well as the co-ordination of job leads/interviews
in New Zealand.
Past experience has shown that this is the most successful
approach which will lead to the required written job offer
and ultimately the granting of permanent residence visas.
