New Zealand Immigration Regulations at a Glance

Applying under skill categories has always been the most popular visa class for permanent residency in New Zealand.
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 Immigration New Zealand

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,cluster or absolute skill shortages. Bonus points are also available for employment outside Auckland and for New Zealand qualifications. If you would like to find out the current points threshold please click here.

Applicant Pooling
Expressions of Interest are pooled and then ranked by Immigration New Zealand. Those with the highest number of points will be invited to lodge an Application for Residence in New Zealand. It is not on a first in, first served basis. Applicants will then need to send all the necessary documents to support the claims made in their 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 greater likelihood of being selected and invited to apply for residence. Applicants are strongly advised to engage the services of a recognised migration consultancy with a jobsearch 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.

If you are interested in migrating as a skilled migrant and you would like to find out if your occupation is listed on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) as a skilled occupation please see the following link click here.

For a FREE initial assessment of your eligibility under this visa class please click here to proceed to our free Rapid Eligibility immigration assessment form.

The Long-term Business Visa (LTBV)/Entrepreneur visa pathway is generally open to business owners, senior managers/company directors or those applicants with a successful history of self-employment or business ownership.

For a FREE initial assessment of your eligibility under this visa class and all other visa classes, please click here to proceed to our free Rapid Eligibility immigration assessment form.

To immigrate to New Zealand under this class, there is no minimum capital or past business ownership requirement. Instead applicants must prepare a viable, well-researched business plan and possess sufficient funds and relevant business experience to establish or purchase the proposed business in New Zealand. It is important that the business must be of benefit to New Zealand, in terms of creating employment for New Zealanders, increasing foreign exchange earnings or exports, revitalizing an existing business, or introducing new products, services or technology into the New Zealand market place.

Visa Process
The process to immigrate to New Zealand on this pathway involves two visa applications.

1. You will be issued with a long-term business (work) visa, for an initial period of nine months to enter New Zealand to establish or purchase your business. Upon satisfying the visa officer of this, you will then be issued a further work permit for up to a maximum period of 3 years, allowing you to continue establishing and running your business.

2. Permanent residence is applied for under the Entrepreneur Class once the business has been successfully established in New Zealand for at least 2 years and meets the prevailing criteria.

For a FREE initial assessment of your eligibility under this visa class and all other visa classes, please click here to proceed to our free Rapid Eligibility immigration assessment form.

The success of the first stage (LTBV) largely depends on the quality of your business plan, so make sure that you seek professional advice from a Migration Consultant on this aspect.

For a FREE initial assessment of your eligibility under this visa class please click here to proceed to our free Rapid Eligibility immigration assessment form.

• Global Investor –this is the top category for high value investors needing to invest $20 million with at least $5 million in active investment

For a FREE initial assessment of your eligibility under this visa class and all other visa classes, please click hereto proceed to our free Rapid Eligibility immigration assessment form. 

• Professional Investors –the second priority category with applicants needing to invest $10 million with at least $2 million in active investment

For a FREE initial assessment of your eligibility under this visa class and all other visa classes, please click hereto proceed to our free Rapid Eligibility immigration assessment form. 

• General (Active) Investors –this is the third category for applicants investing a minimum pf $2.5 million.  This category is points tested.  The points will be allocated on the basis of their potential contribution to New Zealand business, taking into consideration financial and human capital, the benefit of active investment, and the value of export linkages, technology transfer, and entrepreneurship and management skills.

For a FREE initial assessment of your eligibility under this visa class and all other visa classes, please click hereto proceed to our free Rapid Eligibility immigration assessment form.

The major advantage of this class is that there is no requirement to actively own and operate a business in New Zealand.

All applicants are required to satisfy English language requirements, health, character, police and credibility checks, and a range of other criteria.

For a FREE initial assessment of your eligibility under this visa class please click hereto proceed to our free Rapid Eligibility immigration assessment form.