Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa

The Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa is New Zealand's main points-based pathway to permanent residence for skilled workers. It is the destination that many people on the Accredited Employer Work Visa are working toward.

New Zealand operates a streamlined six-point system for the SMC. Points are awarded for a combination of qualifications, occupational registration and income, with skilled work experience in New Zealand contributing additional points. The model is deliberately simpler than older versions of the system: candidates broadly accumulate points from recognised qualifications or registration, top up with points for income, and add points for New Zealand skilled work experience.

A distinctive feature is the Green List - a curated set of in-demand occupations. Roles on the Green List offer faster or more direct routes to residence, either straight to residence or through a work-to-residence sequence, reflecting acute shortages in healthcare, engineering, trades and other priority fields. In 2026 the SMC remains the principal way for skilled migrants already contributing to New Zealand's economy to convert their work into a permanent stake in the country.

You must score the required points under the six-point system, drawing on a recognised qualification, occupational registration, or income, combined with skilled work experience in New Zealand. You generally need a skilled job or job offer in New Zealand that meets the relevant pay and skill standards.

You must meet health and character requirements, and demonstrate English language ability at the standard set for the SMC. Age limits apply - the SMC is targeted at working-age applicants. Occupations on the Green List have their own specific criteria, sometimes including registration with a New Zealand professional body. Because the points settings and pay thresholds are reviewed in response to labour-market needs, always confirm the current requirements with Immigration New Zealand before lodging.

Start by establishing how you accumulate points under the six-point system - most commonly through a recognised qualification, occupational registration, or income level - and confirm whether your occupation appears on the Green List, which can change the pathway entirely.

Get your qualifications recognised where required, and if your occupation needs registration with a New Zealand professional body, begin that process early because it can take time.

Most SMC applicants build their points through skilled work in New Zealand, typically while holding an Accredited Employer Work Visa. Once you have enough points and the required New Zealand skilled work experience, you submit an SMC resident visa application to Immigration New Zealand.

Your application must evidence every point you claim: qualification recognition, registration certificates, employment agreements, payslips and tax records. Immigration New Zealand assesses the points claim, verifies your skilled employment, and conducts health and character checks for you and included family members. Once approved, the SMC grants resident status, allowing you and your family to live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely.

The SMC resident visa application carries an Immigration New Zealand fee plus an Immigration Levy, with the cost covering the principal applicant and included family members. Before lodging, budget for qualification recognition assessments and, where your occupation requires it, professional registration fees with a New Zealand body, which can be substantial. Health examinations and chest x-rays, police certificates from each country you have lived in, and certified translations are all payable. If you use a licensed immigration adviser, professional fees are additional. Many SMC applicants also factor in the earlier costs of the AEWV that built their points.

Processing of the SMC resident visa is handled by Immigration New Zealand within its published indicative timeframes for residence applications, which are generally longer than temporary work visa timeframes given the permanence of the outcome. A complete application - with verified qualifications, clear registration evidence, and full proof of New Zealand skilled work experience - moves through fastest. Green List occupations can follow more direct or expedited routes. Applications missing point evidence or with unverified work history attract requests for further information that extend the timeline significantly.

The SMC grants resident status, so you and your included family members can live, work and study anywhere in New Zealand indefinitely with no employer or regional restriction.

As a resident you can access publicly funded healthcare and enrol children in state schools on the same basis as other residents. Your initial resident visa typically includes travel conditions for a set period; before they expire you can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa, which removes travel limits and lets you re-enter New Zealand at any time.

Residence also opens the longer path to New Zealand citizenship, available after meeting the required period of residence and presence. Settle into the tax system through Inland Revenue, and if you used skilled work to build your points, maintaining stable employment after grant remains sensible while you transition fully into permanent life in the country.