SETTLE IN NEWZEALAND

New Zealand General Skills Immigration Visa: To be considered under this category you need to be of good health, good character, have a reasonable standard of English and be no older than 55 years of age. You will also need to meet the threshold of 100 points to register an Expression of Interest. Expressions of Interest submitted over a number of weeks will be pooled and ranked from highest to lowest points. It is not a case of first in, first served. NZIS will prioritize Expressions of Interest in terms of points claimed and, following some checking. Those with the top points will be invited to lodge an application for residence visa. If your Expression of Interest is not selected from the pool the first time it will remain in the pool for three months. If it is still unsuccessful, NZIS will tell you that your Expression of Interest has been withdrawn from the pool. You can lodge another Expression of Interest if you wish to. The points system is designed to allow Expressions of Interest to be ranked so that the New Zealand Immigration Service (NZIS) can extend invitations to apply for residence to those who have the most to offer New Zealand. Points are available for skilled employment in New Zealand, work experience, qualifications and age. Bonus points are available for employment, work experience and qualifications in identified areas of growth or absolute skill shortage or within identified clusters. Bonus points are also available for employment outside Auckland and for New Zealand qualifications gained in New Zealand over at least two years. Your partner’s employment and qualification can also gain bonus points. NZIS will assess your application for residence against Government residence policy and look at your ability to settle successfully and make a real contribution to New Zealand's social and economic development. NZIS will also undertake further verification of some of the information you have provided in your Expression of Interest. Depending on how you are able to demonstrate your ability to settle in New Zealand successfully, your application can be approved with a residence visa or permit or a visa or permit which enables you to move from work to residence. It is then over to you to confirm your decision to come to New Zealand. Points for work experience are calculated on the basis of 1 point for every 2 complete years' work experience that is relevant to the qualification claimed. Note that the work must be relevant, in the mind of the immigration officer, to the qualification for which points have been claimed. Work experience must be full-time which, for immigration purposes, is considered to be 30 hours or more per week. Work experience at less than 30 hours per week can be accumulated to the point that it equates to a full-time equivalent. Extra work experience points can be claimed for work experience in New Zealand. In terms of the General Skills and Business Investor Category, if you have claimed points under the settlement category for assets, then the level that you have claimed for, must be transferred to New Zealand; it will be either $NZ 100,000 or $NZ 200,000. Other than that, there is no requirement for you to transfer funds to New Zealand, but you must be aware that new changes to New Zealand law mean that as a new arrival, you will not be entitled to welfare or unemployment benefits for 2 years from the date of your arrival. New Zealand does not have a "retirement" policy. As the Principal Applicant under the General Skills category you must be aged 55 years or younger while Principal Applicants in the Investor category may be 84 years or younger to apply. NZQA stands for New Zealand Qualifications Authority. The NZIS provide independent evaluations of overseas qualifications. An assessment of your qualifications generally takes approximately 12 weeks. Processing times vary greatly with each branch of the NZIS and depend on staff workloads at the time your application is received. The NZIS target is approximately three months however we would advise you to be prepared for the assessment process to take up to 6-12 months. As a non-resident, a person may buy property in New Zealand up to 1.25 hectares in area size. Over that size, Overseas Investment Commission approval must be obtained, before the purchase will be allowed. As a New Zealand resident, there are no restrictions on property purchases. As a resident you retain your country’s citizenship, after you have resided in New Zealand for a minimum of 3 years you may apply for New Zealand citizenship. (top)

New Zealand Business Immigration Visa: The objective of the business immigration policy is to attract migrants who will contribute to economic growth through, increasing New Zealand's level of human capital, encouraging enterprise and innovation, and fostering external links. There are currently four business categories available. Investor Category which is a points based system. This means you score points based on a number of factors such as age, business experience and investment funds. Your application will only be successful if you score sufficient points to meet the pass mark. Under Entrepreneur Category, You may apply under the Entrepreneur Category if you have successfully established a business in New Zealand for a period of at least two years. You may apply for a Long Term Business Visa/Permit if you are interested in applying for residence under the Entrepreneur Category. You may also apply under this category if you are interested in establishing a business in New Zealand but do not wish to live permanently in New Zealand. This is not a residence policy. You will be granted a work visa or permit for up to three years if your application is successful. You may apply under the Employees of Relocating Businesses category if you are a key employee of a business relocating to New Zealand. This category is set up to assist the promotion of New Zealand as a place in which to invest and locate business, by facilitating the granting of residence to employees of businesses relocating to New Zealand. (top)

New Zealand Family Migration Visa: The objective of Family Category Policy is to strengthen families and communities, while reinforcing the Government's overall objectives in immigration policy. The Family Category is available to you if you are in a genuine and stable marriage or de facto relationship (whether heterosexual or same sex)with a New Zealand citizen or resident who sponsors their application or have immediate family members who are New Zealand citizens or residents and who live permanently in New Zealand and are the dependent children of New Zealand citizens or residents. The number of visas given is controlled under quota announced every year.

Click here to see the NewZealand's Immediate Skills Shortage List

Click here to see the NewZealand's long Term Skills Shortage List

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