New Zealand offers skilled migrant visas through a point-based system; check it out

If you wish to reside in New Zealand and you’re not a citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand or Australia, you would need a visa that allows you to work in the country.

These work visas can also lead to permanent residency, providing you with the right to live, study and work in the country indefinitely. To apply, you need to have the skills, experience and qualifications that are needed for the New Zealand workforce.

The work visa is called the skilled migrant resident visa which is for foreign nationals who are 55 years old or under and have a skill that will contribute to the economy.

Skilled Migrant Resident Visa

Before you can apply, you will need to send an expression of interest (EOI), that details your work experience and qualifications.

Also, you need to:

• Have a job offer from a New Zealand employer
• Come for a specific work-related purpose or event
• Have a partner, and you want to join them and work
• Be from a country that has a special work scheme, or
• Have been studying in the country and want to work there

Things to note

• You need to apply based on a points-based system to assess expressions of interest.
• Find out how many points you can claim
• Currently, only EOIs with 180 points or above are being selected
• This visa isn’t designed for self-employed people. If you want to work in your own business, you may instead wish to apply for an Entrepreneur Resident Visa

Other points to note

To summarize further, to be eligible for this visa, you need to:

• Be of good character, be of good health, be aged 55 years and under and speak English
• Have current employment or an offer of employment that is skilled
• Have a recognized qualification for points
• Have been invited to apply for residence
• Include your partner and any dependent children aged 24 years or less in the application.
• Claim at least 100 points under the points system if your Expression of Interest is entered into the Pool
• You can use the Points indicator tool to get an idea of how many points you may be able to claim.

Find out more here

About New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific and home to around 4.5 million people. The country is about 2,000 kilometres east of Australia. It is a diverse country with a history of Māori, European, Pacific Island, and Asian immigration. English is the official language.

New Zealand is famous for its national rugby team, its indigenous Maori culture and its picturesque landscape. Its capital city is Wellington and Auckland is one of its most popular cities.

New Zealand’s largest companies

Here are some of New Zealand’s largest companies. It is worth checking their careers page for openings to make an application.

• Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
• Careers page
• Meridian Energy
• Careers page
• Xero
• Careers page
• Ebos Group
• Careers page
• Mercury NZ
• Genesis Energy
• Ryman Healthcare
• Vector Limited
• Fonterra