New Skilled Migrant Category Pathways: Important INZ Clarifications Before 24 August 2026

Major changes to New Zealand's Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa will take effect on 24 August 2026. Alongside the existing Points-based Pathway, two new pathways will become available: the Skilled Work Experience Pathway and the Trades and Technician Pathway.

Immigration New Zealand has issued further answers and amendments explaining how the new rules will work in practice. The clarifications show why an assessment cannot be based only on a person's current occupation and pay rate. Work visa dates, employment history, changes in remuneration, the points combination claimed and the timing of an Expression of Interest can all affect eligibility.

This article explains some of the most important points for prospective applicants.

Three pathways under the Skilled Migrant Category

From 24 August 2026, the Skilled Migrant Category will include:

1. Points-based Pathway - applicants must obtain six points from one eligible skill category, or from a combination of one skill category and qualifying skilled work experience in New Zealand.

2. Skilled Work Experience Pathway - intended for experienced migrants in eligible skilled employment who meet the applicable occupational, remuneration and work-experience requirements.

3. Trades and Technician Pathway - intended for people working in specified eligible trades and technician occupations who meet the relevant qualification and work-experience requirements.

Applicants must apply under the pathway for which they are invited to apply. A careful assessment should therefore identify the most appropriate pathway before an EOI is submitted.

1. When is the applicable SMC wage threshold set?

The applicable wage threshold is not necessarily determined only by the rate in force when the residence application is submitted.

Depending on the pathway and the circumstances, the relevant threshold may be linked to when the applicant first began accruing the skilled work experience being claimed. A five-month grace-period rule may allow the threshold in force on the work visa grant date to apply where qualifying employment began within five months after that visa was granted.

INZ has confirmed that this grace-period rule may apply to any work visa, including an Accredited Employer Work Visa or an open work visa.

The exact dates are crucial. The date of the Job Check is not necessarily the controlling date. For the grace-period provision, it is the work visa grant date and the date qualifying employment commenced that must be considered.

Applicants must also maintain remuneration at or above the threshold that applies to them. If their pay falls below the required threshold, their skilled work experience will stop being counted, whether or not they have changed employers.

2. Wage-threshold and work-experience look-back periods are different

INZ has clarified that the period used to establish the relevant wage threshold is different from the period within which skilled work experience must be counted.

The threshold-setting period is measured back from the date of the Invitation to Apply. The period for counting skilled work experience is measured back from the date the residence application is submitted.

This distinction allows a person to submit an EOI with greater certainty about the wage threshold while continuing to accrue the required experience before submitting the residence application. It can also mean that an earlier period helps establish a threshold but later falls outside the period in which experience can actually be counted.

The dates of the EOI, Invitation to Apply and residence application must therefore be planned carefully.

3. An ITA may be issued before all required experience has been completed

INZ has confirmed that an applicant may, in some circumstances, receive an Invitation to Apply before completing the full period of skilled work experience required for the pathway.

The applicant may continue accruing qualifying experience until the residence application is submitted. However, the required experience must be completed by that point and must fall within the applicable look-back period.

This does not mean an applicant should submit an EOI prematurely without checking the timing. The period available to lodge the residence application, likely completion date of the required experience, ongoing pay and immigration status all need to be considered together.

4. Applicants do not always have to claim their highest available qualification points

An applicant holding multiple qualifications may claim the points combination that best suits their circumstances. They do not necessarily have to claim the maximum points potentially available for their highest qualification.

For example, a person with sufficient skilled work experience may choose to claim fewer qualification points and combine them with points for qualifying New Zealand skilled work experience. Depending on the circumstances, this could also affect which historic wage threshold applies.

Applicants cannot overclaim points or add work-experience points that are not required by the selected combination. Someone claiming all six points from a single skill category must satisfy the SMC wage threshold applicable at the time they are invited to apply.

This makes pathway and points planning particularly important. Claiming the highest qualification points is not automatically the best strategy in every case.

5. Work experience does not always need to be consecutive

Qualifying work experience may be made up of separate periods rather than one uninterrupted period, provided all periods fall within the applicable time window and meet the relevant requirements.

However, the same period cannot be counted twice where the Skilled Work Experience Pathway requires both directly relevant work experience and skilled work experience in New Zealand.

Work experience must also have been obtained lawfully. A period worked in breach of visa conditions may need to be excluded.

6. Full-time work is required

INZ has confirmed that part-time employment cannot be accumulated to create an equivalent period of full-time skilled work experience. The claimed skilled work experience must satisfy the full-time requirement under the applicable instructions.

Applicants paid a salary should also examine variable-hours provisions in their employment agreement. Where a maximum number of hours is specified, INZ may use that maximum to calculate the effective hourly remuneration. This calculation could affect whether the relevant wage threshold is met.

7. Amber List requirements depend on the applicant's skilled employment

For the Skilled Work Experience Pathway, the occupation of the applicant's current skilled employment determines whether the Amber List requirements apply, including:

• whether directly relevant work experience must have been gained in New Zealand or may include overseas experience; and

• whether skilled work experience must meet 1.1 or 1.2 times the SMC wage threshold.

For an applicant whose skilled employment is in an Amber List occupation, the required three years of directly relevant work experience must be gained in New Zealand. INZ has also clarified that there is no separate remuneration threshold for the directly relevant work-experience component itself, although the other pathway requirements continue to apply.

8. Offshore work experience: alternative evidence may be accepted

INZ recognises that tax records are not available in every country. From 24 August 2026, an applicant who cannot provide overseas tax records may be able to provide a certificate of service from the previous employer together with other information supporting the claimed overseas work experience.

This alternative applies to overseas work experience. A certificate of service cannot be used in place of the required evidence for New Zealand work experience.

INZ has also clarified that job descriptions are required as part of the evidence of relevant overseas employment. The evidence must allow INZ to assess the role, duties, period of work and other relevant details.

9. ANZSCO remains central to SMC assessments

The new SMC pathways will initially continue to use ANZSCO version 1.3, rather than the National Occupation List.

Applicants must identify the ANZSCO occupation that best matches their employment. INZ will consider whether the role is substantially consistent with the tasks, responsibilities and skill level of the claimed occupation. The job title alone will not determine the assessment.

Where a role is not in ANZSCO, an applicant using the Points-based Pathway may indicate this, but the employment will be treated as an ANZSCO skill level 5 occupation for the relevant assessment.

10. Qualification and English-language clarifications

An overseas master's qualification without a supporting bachelor's degree will not qualify for points under the Points-based Pathway. The applicant may need to consider another skill category or pathway.

INZ has also clarified that an applicant claiming qualification points does not generally need the bachelor's degree to be relevant to the current skilled employment or claimed skilled work experience.

For English-language tests, the new five-year validity provision is limited to qualifying applications under the SMC instructions and depends on the applicable occupational-registration requirements. For example, an Early Childhood Teacher relying on registration must hold the required registration and a Full 1 or Full 2 practising certificate; a person holding only a provisional practising certificate cannot rely on that registration basis and may need a test result issued within the usual two-year period.

11. Draft EOIs will be deleted before the new rules begin

INZ has advised that draft EOIs remaining in the system will be deleted at midnight on 23 August 2026. A draft created under the previous settings cannot simply be retained and submitted after the new rules take effect.

Anyone intending to apply from 24 August should ensure their eligibility is reassessed under the new instructions and should not assume that information entered into an earlier draft will be preserved.

Why a professional assessment matters

The new rules create additional residence opportunities, but they also involve detailed timing and evidential requirements. A current hourly rate by itself does not establish eligibility.

A proper assessment may need to consider:

• the applicant's current occupation and actual duties;

• ANZSCO skill level and any Amber List requirements;

• qualification or occupational-registration points;

• work visa grant and employment commencement dates;

• pay history and any periods below the applicable threshold;

• the work-experience look-back period;

• whether the proposed points combination is the most suitable; and

• the intended timing of the EOI and residence application.

Trusthaven Immigration Services can assess your circumstances and advise whether you may qualify under the Points-based, Skilled Work Experience, Trades and Technician, or another skilled residence pathway.

Get a professional assessment, be prepared for 24 August and avoid the rush.

This article provides general information based on Immigration New Zealand Q&A material and immigration instructions available as at 10 August 2026. Immigration policies and operational procedures may change. The information is not immigration advice tailored to your circumstances.