If you are trying to choose among different countries and still do not know that New Zealand is the best of all the options, then read more about the country on our website.
Of all the developed English-speaking countries, the cost of living, study and immigration costs, as well as the time it takes to obtain residency, New Zealand will stand out from the rest. And all of this in a safe, incredibly beautiful and very friendly multi-ethnic country.
How To Immigrate To New Zealand
Immigration to New Zealand consists of several stages – obtaining or confirming education and work experience, and the availability of a contract from a New Zealand employer. All this will help to score points in the points-based immigration system and apply for permanent residence.
Immigration Through Education
The most popular and advantageous path to New Zealand is through study at a local university.
Most employers want their prospective employees to have work visas prior to hiring them. Very few want to bother with handling it themselves. After completing certain recognised courses of study in New Zealand, you may be eligible for a Post Study Work Visa. Not to mention, if you choose your university carefully, you can gain interesting and topical knowledge, strengthen the skills you already have, and acquire new ones which will help you find employment. Detailed information about immigration through study can be found on our website. You may also acquaint yourself with information on costs in the article “The cost of moving to New Zealand”.
Conditions Of Immigration To New Zealand
There may be several ways to immigrate; below you will find categories for which you could be considered. Please be aware that everything remains very individual and is dependent on your individual data.
At the moment, the Skilled Migrant Category is the main professional category of receiving Permanent residence in New Zealand. You would need to score 160 points in your application to be selected for the pool.
Below are the conditions from which your points are added together:
- Job Offer or current job
- Work experience
- Extra points for experience in New Zealand
- Extra points for work experience in a listed employment sector
- Additional points for work experience in identified future growth areas
- Education
- Additional points for study in New Zealand
- Extra points for studying subjects where there are current shortages
- Extra points for studies in identified future growth areas
- Age
- Additional points for partners if they pass IELTS with 6.5 points
More information on the latest changes and scoring can be found by following this link.
How can qualified specialists move to New Zealand?
If you are qualified in an in-demand industry, have experience in it, a IELTS certificate, as well as a partner with higher education and IELTS, you can try to get enough points (using the calculator from the official Immigration NZ website). This gives you an opportunity to immigrate to New Zealand using the Skilled Migrant Category without even coming to the country first.
This process can take from 6 to 12 months, but requires minimal investment.
Important! From October 2016, you need to score at least 160 points to ensure that your application will be considered (using the calculator from the official Immigration NZ website) In this article, you can count up points and read about the latest changes.
Can a specialist immigrate without a knowledge of the English Language?
Not every specialist for an industry in demand can also boast IELTS certificate of 6.5 points. And many also do not want to wait – therefore, a popular route is for the expert to simply attend English courses in New Zealand. Upon completion, one can obtain the desired IELTS certificate. In addition, it is often possible to find a job offer. This will allow you to get a working visa and additional points for working in the country, and further application toward residency n New Zealand.
The presence of your specialisation in the list of professions in demand indicates that when you receive your invitation to work, your prospective employer will not have to prove to the Immigration Service of New Zealand that he was not able to find such a professional among the existing citizens of the country. And this somewhat simplifies your job search too.
You can read more about the work visa on the Immigration NZ website.
At the moment there are three different types of skills in demand: Long-term, Short-term (Immediate) and a special list for the Canterbury region. Requirements for the specialisations can be found on the Immigration NZ website.
How to move through obtaining a higher qualification?
When you already have a higher degree, there is an opportunity to come to New Zealand for further training or confirmation of your current education. This path is one of the most reliable, as it allows you to get the actual knowledge, experience and understanding of the domestic market of New Zealand. For the duration of your studies, you will have the right to work part-time, and having studied for at least one year (in some cases two), the graduate receives an open annual Working visa. This greatly facilitates the search for work in your specialisation and obtaining permanent residence.
For study at university, as a rule, IELTS is also needed from 6.0-6.5 points and higher.
More information about the cost of training in various universities in New Zealand can be found in our article.
Familiarise yourself with the details of immigration by specialisation:
How to immigrate by obtaining a new qualification?
If you do not have a completed higher education, or you do not want to work in that area, there is an opportunity to obtain an education in New Zealand from scratch. It can be any speciality, depending on your personal taste.
For the duration of your studies, you will also have the right to work part-time, and after studying for at least two years (or 3 and more to Bachelor level), you not only receive an open work visa for 1 year to find a job by speciality but also acquire an education that is recognised all over the world. This method is an exceptionally effective investment for immigration to New Zealand.
For studying, the student needs to have IELTS of 5.5 points and higher.
More about the education system in New Zealand.
How to obtain a business visa?
Conditions for the business category have passed through several stages of change. Today, a businessman or an investor needs a certain level of English language proficiency, namely IELTS 4.0. To obtain the English language skills, as well as to analyse business and investment prospects, entrepreneurs from different countries attend language courses in New Zealand and assess their own prospects.
The rules for obtaining business visas are aimed at attracting high-profit enterprises and experienced businessmen. For this category, the minimum requirements for the amount of Capital investment is NZ $ 100 000, and this amount does not include working capital, necessary for doing business. In addition, for immigration in this category, a points system is also used, similar to the Skilled Migrant Category.
Read more about the Business category on the INZ website.
More information about the Investor Category is on the INZ website: Investor 1 and Investor 2.
Thus, no matter which path you choose, you need a certain level of proficiency in the English language. Language courses are really a good pathway to achieving this. You will be able to evaluate New Zealand as a country yourself, without anyone’s opinion, and analyse your prospects in this country. If you are happy with everything, after the English language courses you may proceed toward further steps for immigration.
You can also get acquainted with all types of visas to New Zealand used in different situations.
We will be happy to help you work out the way from start to finish to choose the most effective options specifically for your case.
Registration of visas is carried out by our licensed immigration consultants.
