Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa — Support a candidate's visa application
The Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa can be useful if you want to fill a specialist, technical or managerial role that requires particular qualifications or work experience.
What an employer needs to do
Visa status
You must check the people you hire are allowed to work in New Zealand.
Before your employee starts working for you, you must check they are allowed to work in New Zealand.
Check if someone can legally work for you
Employer accreditation
You must be an accredited employer.
You must be an
Employer Accreditation for the AEWV
Job offer
Your applicant must have a job offer.
You are allowed to offer a job to someone who does not have a visa but your offer should be conditional on that person getting a visa.
We use a points system to decide who we invite to apply for residence under the Skilled Migrant Category.
For your candidate to be able to claim points for their job offer, it must be for:
- a skilled occupation
- full-time work (at least 30 hours a week)
- permanent employment for 12 months or more, or on a contract basis, if your candidate can show us they have a history of consistent contract work, a current contract for services, and that the work is likely to be ongoing
- an employer who has good workplace practices and complies with immigration, employment and other laws.
Employer responsibilities and obligations
You must meet minimum rights and obligations under both employment and immigration law.
As an employer, this means:
- paying the same market rate you would pay a New Zealander to do the work
- meeting holiday and leave requirements
- providing a safe workplace.
Employee rights and responsibilities — Employment New Zealand
What happens next
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Step 1: Provide a job offer
If you want to bring a skilled migrant to New Zealand to work for you, they will first need to send us an expression of interest (EOI).
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Step 2: Candidate sends us an expression of interest
We use a points system to assess EOIs. We award your candidate EOI points for their qualifications, income from their job, New Zealand occupational registration and skilled work experience in New Zealand.
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Step 3: Candidate is invited to apply for residence
If your candidate’s EOI qualifies for enough points, we invite them to apply for residence.
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Step 4: Employee starts work
You have to make sure the people who work for you have the right to work in New Zealand.
Even if your employee is from an English-speaking background, it is a good idea to help them settle in.
If you are able to help your migrant employees to settle, they will be able perform well in your business, faster.
Check if someone can legally work for you
Prepare for when your workers from overseas arrive
Get organised before your new employee arrives in New Zealand. Put together information to help them settle into your workplace and life in New Zealand.From the first contact with your new employee to the time they arrive in New Zealand, be positive but realistic. Do not promise anything that you or New Zealand cannot deliver. You will only set migrants up for disappointment if life in New Zealand is not what they expected.
You can help your new migrant workers to prepare for work and life in a new country through giving them the information they need.
Some information is best provided before they leave and some when they arrive.
Much of this preparation will only need to be done once. If you hire migrant workers in the future, you will be very well prepared.
Where to start
If you are unsure of what things to consider, our checklist will prompt you with ways you can help your migrant employee. It includes things to do before they arrive, upon their arrival and during their first days at work.
Prepare information for your new staff
It pays to prepare some tailored content for your new migrant staff. If you don’t already have it, you may want to create:
- an orientation programme to introduce your workplace
- a welcome kit with local information about the region, accommodation and transport information.
You could also prepare existing staff for your new migrant employee by announcing their upcoming arrival on your website or staff communication channels, for example, noticeboards.
Use our resources to help your new staff
Send your new staff links to our tools and online resources to help your them plan their move before they leave their home country.
NZ Ready planning tool
Moving to a new country can be a daunting task for your new employee. The best way to help your new employee with their move is to guide them to NZ Ready, Immigration New Zealand’s free online planning tool. This tool asks a series of questions that will help them to create a comprehensive personalised to do list to follow.
Get ready for New Zealand — NZ Ready
Cost of living calculator
What it costs to live in New Zealand may be quite different from a migrant's home country. This tool helps migrants to understand the cost of living in various parts of New Zealand.
Think beyond the workplace
Provide information about life in New Zealand during the recruitment process. Your new employee needs to know what to expect in relation to:
- basics of life in New Zealand such as housing and healthcare
- schooling and employment opportunities for their partner and children
- community support available.
A happy, settled family makes for a happy and productive employee who is more likely to remain loyal to you.