Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) Resident Visa Application Guide

The Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa (SMC) is a type of New Zealand resident visa which you can apply for if you currently work or have a job offer from an accredited New Zealand employer and qualify for 6 points for your skills and work in New Zealand. You submit an expression of interest (EOI), and if it is accepted, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) will invite you to apply. No documentation is required for the EOI stage, but quality documentation is crucial to success in the application stage.

Understanding the Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa

• What is a skilled migrant category resident visa, and what are the eligibility requirements?

• Skilled Migrant Category Residence Visa Points System Explained

• Understanding the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) Resident Visa Processing Times

• Green List Residence & Work to Residence Visas - An Ultimate Guide

Planning For Your Application

Quality documentation is key to the successful and efficient processing of an SMC application. Documentation must be uploaded to INZ’s online system in electronic (in most cases PDF) format and any documents that are not written in English should be accompanied by a certified English translation.

The documentation required for an SMC application broadly covers four and potentially five key areas depending on your circumstances.

Identity, medical and character documentation

Applicants must provide copies of documentation relating to their identity, including, for example, passport bio page, birth certificate, passport-sized digital photograph, national ID card, family card, and potentially additional INZ forms relating to national security checks etc. They must also provide a medical certificate and chest x-ray less than 3 months old (unless one has been provided to INZ previously and remains valid), police clearances that are less than 6 months old (unless these have been provided to INZ with a previous application and remain valid) for the applicant’s country of citizenship and for each country in which the applicant has lived for 12 months or more during the past 10 years. 

Skilled Employment documentation 

Applicants must provide evidence of their “current skilled employment” or “offer of skilled employment” with a New Zealand employer that holds a valid accreditation with INZ.  

Quality documentation is particularly important for this critical part of the application. Amongst other requirements, this documentation must demonstrate that:

• INZ’s minimum / acceptable employment requirements are met; e.g. that it’s full-time (minimum 30 hours per week) , with an employer that’s accredited, permanent or fixed term for at least 12 months, genuine, complies with New Zealand employment and immigration law, etc.;

• The employment is “skilled” and the income requirements are met, in that they are paid at least the equivalent of either the median wage if their occupation is listed at '“ANZSCO” (see explanation below) skill level 1-3 or 1.5 times the median wage if their occupation listed at ANZSCO skill level 4-5, or not included in the ANZSCO;

• The applicant is suitably qualified for the role.

Documentary evidence with respect to the above should include a copy of the employer offer letter, employment agreement (including any addendum or variation of its terms letter), job/position description, and ideally, a letter from the employer in support of the application. 

INZ uses the Australian New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) to determine both a role’s skill level and whether the applicant is suitably qualified for the role. Specifically, INZ will determine whether the applicant’s employment is substantially consistent with the ANZSCO ‘Occupation’ (6-digit) level job title and description for that occupation, and they may undertake a “substantial match assessment”. A role’s skill level assessment is a particularly crucial part of an SMC application’s processing, because if INZ assesses the employment as being lower skilled (i.e. either an ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5 occupation), the applicant must receive remuneration of at least 1.5 times the median wage to potentially qualify under the SMC. 

Therefore, the job description should accurately reflect both the role requirements as well as demonstrate the role to be a “substantial match” with an ANZSCO occupation. Documentary evidence should also be provided to show the applicant either holds a relevant qualification at the level stipulated in the relevant ANZSCO occupation or holds the requisite number of years of relevant work experience, which the ANZSCO stipulates may substitute the relevant qualification (evidence of this should include employer reference letters, copies of employment agreements, job descriptions etc in relation to that work experience). 

6 Points documentation 

Applicants must provide documentation to show how they meet the 6 points requirements; for example:

• If claiming points for their income, evidence of this will normally be set out in the employment documentation outlined above with respect to the applicant’s current skilled employment or offer of skilled employment.

• If claiming points for a qualification, a copy of the qualification certificate and academic transcript must be provided plus an ‘International Qualification Assessment’ from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority if it’s an overseas qualification (unless the qualification appears on the INZ’s List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment).

• If claiming points for ‘skilled work experience in New Zealand’, INZ will determine the ANZSCO skill level of that work experience (in the same way as outlined above for ‘skilled employment’), including whether the applicant’s work experience for which they’re claiming points is substantially consistent with the ANZSCO ‘Occupation’ (6-digit) level job title and description for that occupation, and INZ may undertake a “substantial match assessment”. Documentary evidence that should be provided includes employment agreements and job descriptions (previous and current), specifying the occupation, hours and remuneration of any employment and a summary of earnings or tax statement (for work on a contract for services) from the Inland Revenue confirming the period of work and income over any period of work.

• If claiming points for New Zealand registration, licensing, or certification, the applicant must provide a copy of the document which confirms their registration with the relevant organisation/body.

English language documentation 

Applicants must provide documentation to show they meet INZ’s minimum standard of English language requirements, such as a copy of a recent (less than two years old at the date of application) English language test result which meets INZ requirements or evidence to show they meet the English language requirement in one of the other ways listed in the relevant INZ Instructions, namely (as per INZ Instructions):

• citizenship of Canada, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States of America, provided the applicant has spent at least five years in work or education in one or more of those countries or Australia or New Zealand (applicants will need to provide documentary evidence of this work or education covering at least five years); or

• a qualification comparable to a New Zealand level 7 bachelor’s degree and gained in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States of America as a result of study undertaken for at least two academic years in one or more of those countries; or

• a qualification comparable to a New Zealand qualification at level 8 or above and gained in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States of America as a result of study undertaken for at least one academic year in one or more of those countries.

Where evidence of qualification is being used to meet English language requirements, INZ Instructions stipulate the applicant must submit a qualification from one of the countries listed above and provide an International Qualification Assessment from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority unless the qualification is included on the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment; or the applicant has been awarded full or provisional registration by a New Zealand organisation authorised by law to give occupational registration, and registration involves an assessment that their overseas qualification(s) is comparable with a New Zealand qualification that is included in the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment.

Documentation for any Secondary Applicants

If the principal applicant intends to include a partner and/or dependent children (“secondary applicants”) in their SMC application, documentation is required in respect of them, including the same identity documentation mentioned above. Secondary applicants must also demonstrate they meet INZ’s health and character requirements by providing a medical and chest x-ray and police certificates (although note that pregnant women and children under the age of 11 are not required to provide a chest x-ray, and applicants under 17 are not required to provide police certificates). 

Documentary evidence must also be provided to show that the principal applicant and their partner have lived together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 12 months. If INZ is satisfied the principal applicant and partner included in the application are living together in a partnership that is genuine and stable, but the duration of that partnership is less than the 12 months required, INZ Instructions stipulate that the immigration officer may decide to proceed with processing the principal applicant for the residence class visa but defer the final decision on the partner to enable the qualifying period to be met. The INZ Instructions further stipulate the partner could apply for a work visa for a period sufficient to enable the ‘12 months living together’ qualifying period to be met and any further assessment of their residence class visa application to be completed. As an aside, it should be noted these INZ Instructions allowing deferral only apply where a partner is a secondary applicant in their principal applicant partner’s residence visa application and not where the partner himself or herself is the principal applicant (for example, they are applying as a principal applicant for a Partnership Based Residence Visa on the basis of their relationship with a NZ citizen or resident visa holder), in which case the 12 months living together requirement must be met prior to the application’s lodgment, otherwise it will be declined.

Depending on the age of any children included in the application, evidence of their dependence on the applicant and/or their partner may be required (children up to 17 years of age are presumed to be dependent if they are single, and children aged 18 to 20 years of age are presumed to be dependent if they are single and have no child(ren) of their own). If any child to be included is under 16 years of age and their biological parents are separated or divorced, evidence of the right to permanently remove the child from their country of residence will also be required. 

The above discussion is an overview only and certainly not intended to be an exhaustive list of the range of documentation required for an SMC application, and INZ may require additional documentation depending on the applicant’s particular circumstances. For this reason, I would always recommend that an applicant seeks advice from a professional before commencing such a significant (and high cost) visa application.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in the Application Process

Read my detailed blog here.