Live in New Zealand Lane Neave Lawyers

The main category of New Zealand residence is the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC). Under this category, residence will be granted to people who demonstrate that they:

  1. Have the skills to fill identified needs and opportunities in New Zealand.
  2. Are able to transfer those skills to New Zealand in line with local needs and opportunities.
  3. Are able to demonstrate an ability to contribute to New Zealand both economically and socially.
  4. Are able to demonstrate an ability to successfully settle in New Zealand.

It is also important to note that the SMC is not a passive application for New Zealand residence. This means that an application for New Zealand residence cannot be made directly to the INZ office and the application processed. An initial electronic application must be submitted to INZ for their review. A decision will be made by INZ as to whether or not to actually invite you to apply for New Zealand residence.

Accordingly, a successful application for New Zealand residence under the SMC requires a two stage process.

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

The first stage of a successful application for New Zealand residence under the SMC is the submission of an Expression of Interest (EOI) to INZ.

The Live in New Zealand team completes, in full, all EOIs to be submitted to INZ on behalf of our clients.

It is imperative that the information and advice provided in the EOI is accurate and complies with INZ policy, as the EOI itself will form the basis of the decision of INZ to invite the applicant to apply for New Zealand residence. It is imperative to understand that if an EOI is declined, there is no right of appeal.

Completed EOIs are submitted and enter a “pool”, as long as the applicant has (correctly) claimed a minimum of 100 points.

Depending on the points claimed and the circumstances of the applicant the EOI submitted to the SMC pool will be ranked in the following order or priority:

  1. Type A – applicants claiming 140 points or more that includes either current or an offer of skilled employment.
  2. Type B – applicants claiming 140 points or more although their application does not include current or an offer of skilled employment.
  3. Type C – applicants claiming 100 to 135 points that includes current or an offer of skilled employment.
  4. Type D – applicants claiming at least 100 points that includes a claim of at least six years of full time work experience in an area of absolute skill shortage.
  5. Type E – applicants claiming at least 100 points which includes a claim of at least two years of work experience in an area of absolute skill shortage.
  6. Type F – applicants claiming at least 100 points that includes a claim for points for a recognised qualification in an area of absolute skill shortage.
  7. Type G – every other EOI claiming the minimum of 100 points.

SELECTION FROM THE POOL

EOIs of type A, B, and C will be selected from the SMC pool on every draw (every second Wednesday).

Type D, E, F, and G applications may be selected and invited to apply for New Zealand residence based on additional selection criteria that is set by INZ every six months.

The New Zealand Government operates strict immigration criteria and controls the numbers of individuals applying for and obtaining New Zealand permanent residence per year. The number of EOIs then selected from the SMC pool, and ultimately invited to apply for New Zealand residence, depends directly on the numbers of applications for New Zealand residence being processed in the system and whether or not the New Zealand Government is close to reaching their migration target.

Type A, B, and C applications are most desirable, in order, for an individual to qualify for New Zealand residence. Type D, E, F, and G (in that order) are ranked, and a decision is made by the Government every selection date as to what types of application are accepted.

For example, individuals with type D applications in most instances will be selected from the SMC pool to undertake further verification. However, type D, E, F, and G applications are not guaranteed to be selected from the SMC pool for verification.

These additional selection criteria ranks, in descending order, the priority of EOIs selected from the SMC pool.  In essence, the lower the type of your application, the less likely you will be selected from the SMC pool to receive an invitation to apply for New Zealand residence.

Currently, the additional selection criteria are as follows:

  1. Type D - applications claiming six or more years of work experience in an area of absolute skill shortage (in descending order of their points total). If there are more available places, then:
  2. Type E - applications claiming two years of work experience in an area of absolute skill shortage (in descending order of their points total). If there are more available places, then:
  3. Type F - holding a qualification in an area of absolute skill shortage (in descending order of their points total). If there are more available places, then:
  4. Type G – all other applications left in the pool (in descending order of their points total).

For obvious reasons, an individual who is in a type G application, claiming a minimum of 100 points is not in a favourable position.

EOIs submitted to the SMC pool are valid for a period of six months. If the EOI is not selected within that six month period, the EOI lapses and a second application would need to be made in order for the application to be submitted to the SMC pool for further draws.

In reality, however, no EOI application should be tendered to the SMC pool unless it will be selected and the individual invited to apply for New Zealand residence. No EOI submitted by this firm to the SMC pool has ever lapsed.

The main issue with EOI applications is individuals miscalculating their points allocation, as they do not hold  the required understanding of the policy that applies in terms of the points criteria. It is in your interest to get the application right the first time. If we believe you will not be selected from the SMC pool and invited to apply for New Zealand residence we will not accept instructions from you to assist in the immigration process.

INVITATION TO APPLY FOR NEW ZEALAND RESIDENCE

After your EOI has been selected from the SMC pool, INZ will undertake a preliminary verification of the information supplied to ensure that the points allocation has been calculated correctly and to be satisfied that there is a prima-facie case for New Zealand residence.

Once the verification process is undertaken, an invitation to apply for New Zealand residence is issued. Although, it is very important to understand that receiving an invitation to apply for New Zealand residence is not a guarantee that New Zealand residence will be granted.

An invitation to apply for New Zealand residence allows an applicant to tender their formal application for New Zealand residence under the SMC to INZ, although the application will be processed against full SMC policy criteria. It is at this stage of the process that the applicant will be required to objectively prove information recorded in their EOI.

Once an invitation to apply has been issued and the applicant has submitted a full SMC application, the next stage of the process for INZ will be to decide whether or not the individual has demonstrated an ability to settle and contribute to New Zealand. This is a very important part of the process.

Applicants who are deemed by INZ to have demonstrated an ability to settle and contribute to New Zealand will be granted permanent residence outright. In order to be granted New Zealand permanent residence outright, an individual must either:

  1. Hold an offer of skilled employment or be in current skilled employment in New Zealand, or
  2. Have undertaken full-time study for at least two years in New Zealand that resulted in:
    1. the award of a Doctorate or Masters Degree; or
    2. a qualification in an area of identified future growth or relevant to an occupation in shortage.

Applications that have not been able to demonstrate an ability to settle and contribute to New Zealand by one of the above means are required to undertake a further assessment of their ability to realise their potential to successfully settle and contribute to New Zealand.

There are three outcomes at this part of the assessment:

1.     RESIDENCE GRANTED
If an applicant is able to demonstrate that he or she has high potential to readily obtain skilled employment in New Zealand, residence will be granted (subject to conditions to be applied, if any).

2.     12 MONTH DEFERRAL
If an applicant has not demonstrated an ability to settle and contribute to New Zealand, INZ will grant a 12-month work visa in order for the individual to travel to New Zealand and obtain full time employment in New Zealand as they have demonstrated a potential to settle and contribute.

3.     RESIDENCE DECLINED
If INZ believe that the applicant has failed to demonstrate either an ability to settle and contribute or having the potential to settle and contribute, the application will be declined. This is very rare.

In most instances, where a further assessment is undertaken for clients of our firm, INZ will grant residence.  Whilst INZ can offer a 12 month open work visa to allow the main applicant to travel to New Zealand to source a full time offer of skilled employment, in practice our knowledge of the internal further assessment process and advice and guidance provided to migrants often sets their applications apart from individuals who are normally granted a work to residence visa rather than residence outright. The entire goal of a further assessment process is to obtain the grant of residence outright to avoid any uncertainty in relation to the migration move to New Zealand and also to allow all individuals concerned to be in the position to accept any offer of employment in New Zealand (whether skilled or otherwise) to set their migration foundation.

COMPLEXITY

The information provided above regarding the SMC provides a general summary regarding selection criteria, although it does not provide any detailed advice as to how an individual can claim the points required in order to reach the most desirable type of EOI/SMC application.

The information contained in this website, and also the INZ website, will lead you to the logical conclusion that there is far more to submitting an SMC application than merely filling in a form. Likewise, there is much more that our Live in New Zealand team will assist with than merely filling in the forms.  Anybody can do that.

If you would like our firm to undertake an initial free assessment as to whether or not you do have a chance of securing New Zealand residence we would encourage you to complete our free online assessment form.

We will respond to you within five working days with our initial opinion as to whether or not you potentially qualify for New Zealand residence.  We refer you to the testimonials/case studies on this website from individuals who we have assisted through the immigration process.  We have, on many occasions, had to step in and correct many applications from individuals who have instructed an immigration consultant or tried to process their applications themselves. It is much more difficult and expensive to repair something after it has been broken.