Points-Based Pathway to New Zealand Residence
Expert guidance for your points-based pathway application
I'll help you navigate the complexities of the Skilled Migrant Category points system and achieve your dream of living permanently in New Zealand.
What is the points-based pathway?
The points-based pathway is one of three ways to qualify for residence under the Skilled Migrant Category. It has been the main route historically, and the points themselves have changed over time – most recently on 24 August 2026 – becoming easier to reach for many people.
It works as a threshold test rather than a ranking. Immigration New Zealand scores a narrow set of measurable things: your occupational registration, your qualification or your income, plus skilled work you have already done in New Zealand. Reach 6 points, and you can be invited to apply for residence. Fall short and you cannot, however strong the rest of your case might look.
Nothing else counts. How long you have lived here, the ties you have built, how much your employer wants to keep you and your reasons for wanting to settle carry no weight in the calculation.
Eligibility Requirements
Points alone will not get you there. You also need to:
hold current skilled employment, or an offer of skilled employment, with an accredited employer
be 55 or under
meet the English language, health and character requirements
The employment has to be full-time, meaning at least 30 hours a week, and permanent or for a fixed term of at least 12 months. If you are working under a contract for services, different requirements apply: you need at least 12 months of completed skilled work experience in New Zealand, a consistent history of contract work, and a current contract or contracts totalling at least 6 months. Immigration New Zealand must also be satisfied that the contract work is likely to be sustained.
From 24 August 2026, the role must also meet INZ's requirements for “genuine employment”. This involves more than simply having a job or job offer. INZ can look behind the employment documentation and consider the circumstances surrounding the role, including the employer's genuine and ongoing need for it, whether the pay reflects the market rate, whether the job was offered by a family member, and whether there is a genuine need for the work to be based in New Zealand.
Immigration New Zealand looks at the substance of the role rather than the label on it. A senior-sounding job title does not settle whether your employment is skilled, and the duties you actually perform have to match the ANZSCO description for the occupation you claim.
What your job has to pay
Separate from any points you claim for income, the job itself has to meet a rate which is based on the New Zealand median wage and specific job skill multipliers.
The rate that applies to you is not always the current one. If claiming points for skilled work experience, it is generally the threshold that was in effect when you started gaining the skilled work experience you are relying on (so a later increase does not raise the bar underneath you), or it could be the threshold in effect at the time your current work visa was granted, if you started gaining the skilled work experience within 5 months of your work visa being granted and the threshold rose in between.
How the 6 points are made up
You claim 3 to 6 points from one of three skill categories: a New Zealand occupational registration, a recognised qualification, or your income. You cannot combine them. If you hold a bachelor's degree and also earn well above the threshold, you claim whichever gives the higher result. Trying to add them together is the most common error I see.
If your category does not get you to 6, you can add points for skilled work completed in New Zealand, up to a maximum of 3. The amount of experience needed for each point was reduced on 24 August 2026, so check the current figures on Immigration New Zealand's website before counting anything up. That experience also has to fall within a look-back period measured from the date you apply.
Occupational registration
Your registration has to be on Immigration New Zealand's list of eligible registrations.
The scope of practice recorded on your registration matters more than your job title, and provisional or limited registrations are treated differently. If you top up with skilled work experience, only skilled work experience gained after the registration was granted counts. Accountants who are members of CPA Australia and can undertake the work of a Qualified Statutory Accountant here can claim 6 points.
Qualifications
A recognised qualification at bachelor's degree level (level 7) or higher can attract points, with more points available for higher-level qualifications.
If your qualification was gained overseas, you will usually need an International Qualification Assessment from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. An IQA is NZQA's formal comparison of your overseas qualification against the New Zealand framework. Getting one takes time, so it is worth starting early if you are relying on an overseas degree.
Income
Income points are calculated as a multiple of the SMC wage threshold rather than as a fixed dollar figure, starting at 1.5 times the threshold. The threshold is updated periodically, so check the current rate on Immigration New Zealand's pay rates page rather than relying on a figure quoted elsewhere.
Your job title is not the test
Immigration New Zealand looks at the substance of the role, including the duties you actually perform, your pay and your employment conditions. A senior-sounding title on an employment agreement does not settle whether your employment is skilled.
What changed on 24 August 2026
The Skilled Migrant Category was reworked on 24 August 2026. The points-based pathway remains, and the 6-point threshold is unchanged, but parts of it were adjusted, including:
A level 7 bachelor's degree and certain types of level 8 qualifications gained outside New Zealand now attract 4 points, up from 3.
Additional points are available for qualifications gained in New Zealand.
Less New Zealand skilled work experience is needed to pick up the additional work experience points.
Accountants who can undertake the work of a Qualified Statutory Accountant in New Zealand and who are members of CPA Australia can now claim 6 points.
English language test results are valid for 5 years instead of 2 for applicants with an eligible occupational registration, and for a partner included in the application.
Claiming points for some higher-level qualifications now requires evidence of a supporting bachelor's degree, not just the higher qualification itself.
The wage threshold rules were simplified. You now generally only need to meet the threshold that applied when you started gaining your skilled work experience, rather than clearing a threshold twice.
If you submitted an expression of interest before 24 August 2026, different rules may apply to your application. Draft expressions of interest that had not been submitted by that date were deleted. If yours was affected, you will need to start again using the current form.
If you cannot reach 6 points
Two further pathways opened on 24 August 2026. All three sit alongside each other, and you only need to meet the requirements of the one you apply under.
Skilled Work Experience pathway, for people with a strong work history who may not have the qualifications or income to reach 6 points.
Trades and Technician pathway, for people in eligible trades and technician occupations with a relevant qualification.
Some people qualify under more than one. There are also residence pathways outside the Skilled Migrant Category, including the Green List pathways.
How the application process works
This pathway starts with an expression of interest, not with a residence application. You submit an EOI setting out your claimed points and your employment. If it is accepted, Immigration New Zealand invites you to apply for residence, and you then lodge the application with your supporting evidence.
The invitation is not the decision. Your claimed points are properly tested at the application stage, and an application can be declined if the evidence does not support what was claimed in the EOI. Payslips, employment agreements, job descriptions, transcripts and certificates all need to line up, and inconsistencies between them cause problems.
How I can help
I can assess your circumstances and tell you where you actually stand, which is not always where people assume they stand. That means working out which skill category gives you the strongest points claim, whether your employment meets the skilled employment requirements, whether your qualification or registration will be recognised, and whether one of the other pathways would suit you better.
If you are already eligible, the work is in preparing an application that is properly supported and evidenced. If you are not eligible, knowing precisely what is missing lets you plan around it rather than guess. And if an application has already been declined, I can advise you on the options available to you, including appeal rights where they apply.
Discuss your situation with me
If you are working towards residence and want to know whether the points-based pathway is realistic for you, I can assess your circumstances and explain your options.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Six. You need 6 points under the Skilled Migrant Category, plus skilled employment or an offer of skilled employment with an accredited employer.
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No. Occupational registration, qualification and income are alternatives, and you claim from one of them only. The exception is skilled work experience in New Zealand, which can be added on top of whichever category you claim from.
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Yes. You need current skilled employment or an offer of skilled employment with an accredited employer at the point you submit your EOI. This is not a pathway you can complete before finding work in New Zealand.
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No. The Green List pathways are separate residence routes with their own requirements. The points-based pathway is open to occupations that are not on the Green List, provided the other requirements are met.
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Not for the points top-up, which is for skilled work experience gained in New Zealand. You can claim 1 to 3 points depending on how much qualifying New Zealand work experience you have.
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Many people applying under this pathway are already working in New Zealand on an AEWV. Because that visa requires an accredited employer, the employment will often satisfy that part of the requirement, though the role still has to meet the skilled employment and wage requirements, and applicants must still of course meet the points requirement.
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Your partner and dependent children aged 24 and under may be eligible to be included in your application. However, there are separate and specific requirements for both partners and dependent children, so advice is recommended. Additionally, they will need to meet health and character requirements.
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Immigration New Zealand's fees for this visa vary over time, and are separate from legal fees and the cost of an IQA, medicals and police certificates. Check the current fee on Immigration New Zealand's website, as fees are reviewed periodically.
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Not under the Skilled Migrant Category, which has an age limit of 55 and under. Other residence categories do not all carry the same age restriction, so it is worth getting advice on what else may be open to you.