NEW SKILLED RESIDENCE PATHWAYS

August 18, 2022

Near the end of July, the Minister of Immigration released a statement about three new skilled residence pathways, one of which will be ready for people to apply for from as soon as 5 September 2022. These three residence pathways are:

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• Straight to Residence (can apply from 5 September 2022)

• Work to Residence (can apply from September 2023)

• Highly Paid (can apply from September 2023)

For all pathways, applicants must:

• Be age 55 or younger

• Have sufficient command of the English language

• Have an acceptable standard of health

• Be of good character

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Straight to Residence and Work to Residence Pathways

Each of these pathways have different conditions which must be met for applicants to be accepted. Both the Straight to Residence pathway and Work to Residence pathway are available for occupations on the Green List.

The key difference between the Work to Residence and Straight to Residence pathways is that for the Work to Residence pathway, applicants must prove that they have worked in New Zealand in an occupation on the Green List for at least a 24-month period.

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Highly Paid Pathway

The Highly Paid pathway provides a way of getting New Zealand residence for people who earn at least twice the median wage over a 24-month period while working in New Zealand. Right now, this is NZ $55.52 per hour.

For both the Work to Residence and Highly Paid pathways, the work for the 24-month period can be backdated to 29 September 2021.

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To find out if you qualify for any of the new pathways to residence, or for assistance applying for residence, please contact BK Immigration Law NZ. We will do everything we can to make your residence visa application a success.