Interested in applying for an Essential Skills work visa? Do you want to set yourself up for success from the start?

Then you have to do two things:

1. Get an assessment done to see if you are eligible for an Essential Skills visa.
2. If you are, enter the process prepared.

As for the assessment, you can book it right here and one of our advisers will contact you.

To ensure that you have completed all the requirements for your visa application, keep the checklist below handy:

1. Secure a job offer

The Essential Skills work visa allows New Zealand employers to hire foreign workers. As such, you must have a job offer in order to be eligible for the Essential Skills work visa.

What must this job offer look like?

• A written, full-time job offer.
• Your remuneration is in line with your occupation’s ANZSCO level.

What do you need?

• Your occupation must be on the essential skills list and you must have skills and/or qualifications that’s necessary to perform the role.

All is not lost if your occupation isn’t on the essential skills list. You may still be able to apply under the Essential Skills category, it might just take a bit more work by the employer during the application.

2. Submit an Employer Supplementary Form

The New Zealand employer must complete and submit an Employer Supplementary Form. This form provides proof of the fact that attempts were made to recruit New Zealand citizens and residents.

The form asks for:

• Reasons why the particular job specifications are necessary for the role.
• Details of any New Zealand applicants who were considered for the role and who were not suitable or available.
• Reasons why New Zealand applicants could not be readily trained for the job.

3. Prove that you have the required skill level for the job that’s offered to you

This is not as easy as listing your skills on your CV. It is in fact a formal process that evaluates your qualifications, training and experience against what’s asked for by ANZSCO (the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations).

4. Obtain professional or trade registrations

You must get professional or trade registrations for certain occupations in order to take up your role in New Zealand. This means if you don’t have the registrations, you won’t be able to work.

That’s it – the four essential things to have for an Essentials Skills work visa

Your checklist items are essential, definitely, but the not the only requirements for an Essential Skills visa. You’ll still need to meet general requirements too, such as health and character requirements. It’s only when you meet all the criteria that you stand the best chance of getting your work visa.

Our advisers have picked up something during their daily dealings with clients. Many people enquiring about working in New Zealand assume that both the Skilled Migrant visa and Essential Skills visa offer permanent residency.

This is not the case.

Only the Skilled Migrant visa offers permanent residency to skilled workers. The Essential Skills visa offers temporary residency instead.

The outcome of your assessment will determine which visa you qualify for.

Skilled Migrant vs Essential Skills

Let’s elaborate on what we’ve just said:

How is it decided which visa you qualify for?

You’ll become eligible for a Skilled Migrant visa when you score 160 points or more in your points score. Points are awarded for:

• Skilled employment.
• Qualifications.
• Relevant work experience.
• Age.
• Your partners score.
• Certain bonus points.

Be mindful of the fact that you’ll also still have to meet all the basic criteria.

What if my points score is less than 160 points?

When you don’t score 160 points or more in your New Zealand Skilled Migrant points score, you might still be eligible for an Essential Skills work visa. This is of course subject to also meeting the requirements of this visa:

• You must be in possession of a written full time job offer from a New Zealand employer.
• Your occupation must be on the essential skills list and you must possess the required skills and experience to carry out this occupation.
• Immigration New Zealand must be satisfied that there is no suitable New Zealanders for the position.
• You must have the necessary skills and/or qualifications to perform the role you have been offered.
• Your remuneration must be according to the ANZSCO level of your occupation and the newly published remuneration bands.

All is not lost if it’s residency you want

It happens from time to time that applicants assessed for Essential Skills work visas find they meet the required points score for Skilled Migrant visas.

Hence, get an assessment done as the first step in pursuing your dream of working in New Zealand. You never know what your points score might reveal.

Important too is to deal with a licensed adviser. It’s the only way to be sure that you’re dealing with a person who has all the latest knowledge on requirements and points.

Let’s recap residency when working in New Zealand

1. The Skilled Migrant visa offers permanent residency, while the Essentials Skills visa offers temporary residency up to 5 years.
2. To qualify for the Skilled Migrant visa, you must get 160 points or more..
3. It might still happen that you apply for an Essential Skills visa and find out you do in fact qualify for a Skilled Migrant visa.

How do I get my points score?

The best way to find out what your points score is, is to have an assessment done by a licensed immigration adviser. Insist on seeing an IAA license number. No license to show? Then move along swiftly!

Are you studying in New Zealand or do you want to study in New Zealand? Then you might find the Post Study visa for New Zealand very interesting.

This visa enables international students, who have qualified in New Zealand, to gain work experience in a job related to their studies.

Depending on what you study, you may be able to work in New Zealand for up to three years. You could even gain residency.

It’s a two-step process

The Post Study Work visa is a two-step process that involves applying for a:

1. Post Study Work visa (Open); and then a
2. Post Study Work visa (Employer Assisted).

1. Post Study Work visa (Open)

The Open visa allows you find a job, but you must do so within 12 months. While you’re job hunting you’re allowed to work in any job to support yourself.

The main conditions are:

• You have an acceptable qualification.
• You must have sufficient funds available to support yourself.

Please note:

• You can only apply for this visa once, unless you complete a second higher qualification that is either a New Zealand bachelor’s degree or post-graduate qualification. You would need to spend at least 30 weeks in New Zealand studying for this qualification.
• You can’t include a partner or dependent children in your visa application. However, partners and children can apply for visas based on their relationship to you.

2. Post Study Work visa (Employer Assisted)

Once you’ve secured a job, you apply for the Employer Assisted Post Study Work visa.

This visa allows you to stay in New Zealand and work for two years. This becomes three years if work experience is required as part of your professional registration.

The exciting thing about the Employer Assisted visa is that it could lead to permanent residency down the line.

The main conditions are:

• The job you take must be in a field related to your qualification.
• The job must be a full-time position.

Please note:

• This visa relates to a specific job with a specific employer.
• You can be granted this visa more than once, but you’ll need to complete another acceptable qualification each time you apply.
• You can’t include a partner or dependent children in your visa application. However, partners and children can apply for visas based on their relationship to you.

Recapping the Post Study Work visa for New Zealand

The Post Study Work visa is a two-step process that allows you to gain work experience in New Zealand after your studies.

You must have studied in New Zealand towards an acceptable qualification and the job you take must be relevant to the qualification you achieved.

The first step in the process is applying for a Post Study Work visa (Open) and the second step, once you’ve secured a position, is applying for a Post Study Work visa (Employer Assisted).

Find out if you qualify

Intergate does not have a list of qualifications which are considered ‘acceptable’, but universities in New Zealand and the New Zealand Qualification Authority (NZQA) are able to advise on ‘acceptable’ courses.

Once you’ve established that the course you’d like to study is recognised, you can contact us to assess you for the Post Study Work visa for New Zealand.