Skilled Migrant Category Reopening in November

Yesterday the government made a long-awaited announcement about the reopening of two resident visa categories: the Parent Category and the Skilled Migrant Category. Expression of Interest (EOI) selections for these two categories have been on hold since 2016 and 2020 respectively, while the government has decided what the long-term direction of each category should be. We summarise the key points of yesterday’s announcement as it relates to the Skilled Migrant Category below; details on the Parent Category reopening will follow.

The Skilled Migrant Category is a two-step application process. Applicants must first prepare and submit an initial EOI, in which they provide information about their age, experience, employment and qualifications, and are awarded a certain number of points for each of these factors accordingly. Before the category was paused in 2020, EOIs would be submitted into a selection pool, which INZ would draw from every second Wednesday. EOIs that met a specific minimum points threshold would be selected and INZ would review the information provided at face value; and if all criteria appeared to be met, an invitation to apply for residence would be issued. At the time EOI draws were paused, the minimum point threshold was 160.

As stated in yesterday’s announcement, the Skilled Migrant Category will reopen under these same settings for one last EOI draw, set to take place on 9 November 2022. All EOIs with at least 160 points that are in the pool when this draw takes place will be selected and invited to apply for residence.

After this draw, EOI selections will again be temporarily suspended before resuming on 18 January 2023, at which point the minimum point threshold will increase to 180. All other criteria and requirements remain the same. EOI selections will take place once per month, on the third Wednesday of each month.

Today’s announcement will come as welcome news to many prospective New Zealand residents, particularly those who have missed out on the 2021 One-Off category or the recently-opened Green List residence pathways. However, time is of the essence – in particular for those who meet the 160-point threshold, but who may not be able to feasibly claim 180 points. Anyone in this position will need to act quickly to get their EOIs submitted to the pool in time for the 9 November draw. For an assessment of your eligibility under this category, and some information on how many points you may be able to claim, contact us.

More changes are still to come. While the Skilled Migrant Category is reopening in its current form for now, the Government has also released a plan for the future of the category, with more significant changes proposed. The plan at this stage is for a simplified points scale to be adopted, with a minimum threshold of just 6 points, gained through selecting one of three skill categories (professional registration, a qualification at bachelor level or higher, or earning at least 1.5x the median wage) plus additional points available for a set number of years of skilled work experience in New Zealand. These proposed settings are currently at the consultation stage; they are not yet set in stone, are subject to change depending on industry feedback, and there is no indication yet as to when they may be implemented.