The Skilled Work Experience Pathway to Residence

The Skilled Work Experience Pathway to Residence

The Skilled Work Experience pathway is a new route to New Zealand residence opening on 24 August 2026. It needs five years of relevant skilled work experience in total, including two years in New Zealand paid at 1.1× the median wage — NZ$38.50 an hour. No qualification and no points are required.

Quick Facts

All figures as at August 2026. This pathway had not opened when this page was written — re-check every figure on INZ on or after 24 August 2026.

What this pathway is for

Until 24 August 2026, the Skilled Migrant Category has one currency: points. Points come from a qualification, an income level, or an occupational registration. If you have none of those three at a high enough level, the category has nothing to offer you — however long you have worked, and however skilled the work was.

The Skilled Work Experience pathway is the answer to that. It ignores qualifications entirely and asks a different question: have you done this work, at a skilled level, for long enough, at a good enough rate of pay?

For a lot of experienced workers — people who came up through a job rather than a university, people whose overseas degree does not map onto New Zealand's framework, people whose income sits above average but below the 1.5× median points band — this is the first realistic route to residence the Skilled Migrant Category has offered.

The wider restructure is covered in what changed in the Skilled Migrant Category. Its sibling route for tradespeople is the Trades and Technician pathway.

The experience requirement, both ways it is described

INZ describes this requirement in two different places in two different ways, and both are correct.

The news release version: five years of relevant skilled work experience, including two years in New Zealand.

The detailed policy page version:

Three plus two is five, which is why both descriptions are accurate. The policy page simply separates the general experience from the New Zealand-specific component and puts a recency window on each.

The windows are the part that actually disqualifies people. Ten years is a long look-back and most careers fit inside it. Four years is not. Two years of qualifying New Zealand work has to sit inside the four years before you apply — so a person who worked here, left, and came back after a gap may find the earlier period no longer counts.

Treat the detailed policy page as the operative version, and verify it against INZ's published instructions once they are live on 24 August 2026.

The pay requirement: NZ$38.50 an hour

The New Zealand component of the experience has to be paid at 1.1 times the Skilled Migrant Category wage threshold.

The immigration median wage has been NZ$35.00 an hour since 9 March 2026, based on Stats NZ June 2025 data. One point one times that is NZ$38.50 an hour.

On INZ's own annualisation convention of a 40-hour week, NZ$38.50 an hour is roughly NZ$80,080 a year. That is INZ's convention, not a guarantee about how any particular contract is assessed.

Two things about this multiplier are worth noticing.

It is deliberately modest. The points pathway's income bands start at 1.5× the median (NZ$52.50 an hour). This pathway asks for 1.1×. The trade-off is time: you are proving five years of experience instead of a high salary.

It is higher than the plain threshold. The Trades and Technician pathway asks for the plain median wage with no multiplier. This one adds 10%. If you are close to the line, that 10% is the difference between the two routes.

Which year's threshold applies

From 24 August 2026 a fairness rule applies across the Skilled Migrant Category: you need to meet the wage threshold that was in force when you started gaining the relevant experience, not today's rate. A 5-month grace period also applies where the threshold rose between the grant of a work visa and the day work actually started.

This matters here more than anywhere else, because this pathway is built on several years of history and the median wage has moved during that period. SMC wage thresholds explained sets out how the rule works.

Who cannot use this pathway

Three exclusions, and each one is absolute.

Red list occupations. A red list of 6 occupations is barred from this pathway entirely: beauty therapist (451111), hair or beauty salon manager (142114), hairdresser (391111), hospitality/retail and service manager nec (149999), massage therapist (411611) and retail manager, general (142111). See the SMC red list and amber list occupations.

ANZSCO skill level 4 and 5 occupations. The current job must be in an ANZSCO skill level 1–3 occupation. Skill levels 4 and 5 cannot use this pathway at any rate of pay. ANZSCO is the occupation classification New Zealand still uses for skilled residence — see what ANZSCO is and ANZSCO vs NOL skill levels.

Self-employment. Time spent working for yourself cannot be counted. This route is built on employment, and contracting arrangements where you are effectively your own employer will not carry the experience claim.

Amber list occupations — 14 of them, the hospitality, accommodation and ICT-support cluster including chefs, bakers, café and restaurant managers, hotel managers, office managers and ICT support roles — are not barred, but face a harder version of the test: 1.2× the wage threshold (NZ$42.00/hr), 3 years of relevant skill level 1–3 experience gained in New Zealand, and a further 2 years of skilled New Zealand experience at 1.2×. The standard test accepts relevant experience gained anywhere; the amber version requires all five years to be in New Zealand.

What it costs

The immigration levy is charged per application, not per person, so a partner and dependent children included in the same application do not each trigger another NZ$3,570. The International Visitor Levy does not apply to residence visas. Fees are not refunded if an application is declined.

Full comparison in what New Zealand residence actually costs.

Step 1: Check your occupation is eligible

Find your occupation's ANZSCO code and skill level. If it is skill level 4 or 5, this pathway is closed to you regardless of pay or experience. Then check the red and amber lists on INZ.

Step 2: Map your experience against the two windows

Write out your work history with dates. You need 3 years of relevant skilled experience inside the last 10, and 2 years of New Zealand experience at 1.1× the threshold inside the last 4. Self-employed periods do not count towards either.

Step 3: Check the pay rate that applied at the time

For each period of New Zealand work you are claiming, identify which median wage rate was in force when that work started, and whether your pay met 1.1× of it. The current rate is NZ$35.00 an hour from 9 March 2026, giving NZ$38.50.

Step 4: Confirm the current job meets the job rules

The Skilled Migrant Category tests the job as well as the person: an accredited employer, at least 30 hours a week, and permanent or fixed-term for at least 12 months (or contracts of at least 6 months). See how to check if an employer is accredited.

Step 5: Submit an Expression of Interest

The Skilled Migrant Category runs through an Expression of Interest, and the SMC EOI carries no fee. If it meets the threshold, INZ sends an Invitation to Apply by email and you then have 4 months to lodge the full application. See the residence Expression of Interest, explained.

Step 6: Lodge the residence application

Evidence goes in at this stage: employment agreements, payslips, tax records — or, for overseas experience only, a certificate of service, which becomes an acceptable substitute from 24 August 2026. New Zealand experience still needs the usual records. Medicals, chest x-ray and police certificates less than 6 months old are also required.

The other requirements that still apply

This pathway replaces the points test. It does not replace anything else.

• Age. 55 or younger at the date of application — see the age limit for New Zealand skilled residence.
• English. An IELTS 6.5 or above requirement applies under the restructure. Test validity extends from 2 years to 5 for applicants holding an eligible occupational registration. See English requirements for New Zealand residence.
• Health. Medical examination and chest x-ray — see health requirements for New Zealand residence.
• Character. Police certificates less than 6 months old — see character requirements for New Zealand residence.
• The two-stage structure. You are granted a Resident Visa first. A Permanent Resident Visa is a separate application, usually available after 2 years.

How this compares with the other routes

If your occupation is on the Green List, the Green List routes are usually faster and simpler than any Skilled Migrant Category pathway — see Green List vs Skilled Migrant Category.

Before you rely on any of this

This pathway had not opened when this page was written. Every figure here comes from INZ's pre-launch policy pages and news release, and the binding immigration instructions publish on the day it opens. Re-check the experience windows, the wage multiple, the red and amber lists and the occupation rules on INZ on or after 24 August 2026.

And a limit worth stating clearly: this page explains what the pathway requires. It does not tell you whether your own work history satisfies it. Whether a particular period of employment counts as "relevant", whether a contracting arrangement reads as self-employment, and whether a gap breaks a recency window are all assessments of an individual's circumstances — which under New Zealand law is immigration advice, and can only be given by a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer. The public register is at app.mbieregisters.govt.nz.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get New Zealand residence without a degree?

From 24 August 2026, yes — the Skilled Work Experience pathway requires no qualification at all. It requires 5 years of relevant skilled work experience including 2 years in New Zealand paid at 1.1× the median wage, currently NZ$38.50 an hour, in an ANZSCO skill level 1–3 occupation that is not on the red list.

How much do I need to be paid for the Skilled Work Experience pathway?

1.1 times the immigration median wage. With the median wage at NZ$35.00 an hour since 9 March 2026, that is NZ$38.50 an hour — roughly NZ$80,080 a year on INZ's 40-hour convention.

Is it 5 years or 3 years of experience?

Both descriptions appear in INZ material and they mean the same thing. The total is 5 years: 3 years of relevant skilled experience within the preceding 10 years, plus 2 years of New Zealand experience at the required rate within the preceding 4 years.

Does overseas work experience count?

Yes. That is one of the main differences from the points-based pathway, where only New Zealand experience earns the top-up points. Here, the 3-year general component can be overseas experience — and from 24 August 2026 a certificate of service can substitute for tax records when evidencing it.

Can I count my own business or contracting work?

No. Self-employment cannot be counted towards this pathway.

Which occupations are excluded?

The 6 red list occupations — beauty therapist, hair or beauty salon manager, hairdresser, hospitality/retail and service manager nec, massage therapist and retail manager (general) — plus every occupation at ANZSCO skill level 4 or 5. The 14 amber list occupations are allowed but need 1.2× the median wage, 3 years of relevant experience gained in New Zealand, and 2 further years of skilled New Zealand experience at 1.2×.

What does this pathway cost?

NZ$6,450 for most applicants: a NZ$2,880 application fee plus a NZ$3,570 immigration levy, under the Skilled Residence fee line as at August 2026. Applicants from Pacific fee-band countries applying offshore pay NZ$1,860 plus the same levy.

How long does the application take?

The Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa averaged 10 weeks, with 80% decided within 4 months, as published on 20 August 2026. Those figures are updated weekly by INZ and cover the category as a whole — this pathway had no separate published time when this page was written.

Do I still need an Expression of Interest?

Yes. The Skilled Migrant Category runs on an Expression of Interest followed by an Invitation to Apply, with 4 months to lodge the full application after the invitation. The SMC EOI has no fee.