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What does it take to move to New Zealand? Processing, cost, job offer and permanent residence

2 pathways verified against an official source. Facts on this page come from those records — not from unsourced scores or blurbs.

Verified 2026-08-15 against Immigration New Zealand.

What language evidence and skills assessment does New Zealand name?

Language evidence: Skilled Migrant Category principal applicants: IELTS overall 6.5 or more (or TOEFL iBT 79, PTE Academic 58, B2 First 176, or OET Grade C+ in all 4 skills), in person and no more than 2 years old, unless a citizenship or study exemption applies.
Credential assessment: NZQA International Qualification Assessment (IQA) — required if you claim SMC qualification points and the qualification is not on INZ's List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment

How long do these New Zealand routes take, what do they cost, and do they lead to permanent residence?

Every cell is a sourced value or an explicit statement that nothing is stored. Amounts stay in the published currency.

Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa
New Zealand
Residency
Permanent residence on grant
Job offer
Required
Points
At least 6
Application fee
From NZD 6,450
Funds
Not stored
Processing time
No duration published; the authority points to a guidance tool
Source: Immigration New Zealand · verified 2026-08-15
Fee Paying Student Visa
New Zealand
Residency
Temporary — not a permanent-residence route on its own
Job offer
Not stated
Points
No threshold published
Application fee
From NZD 850
Funds
NZD 20,000
Processing time
No duration published; the authority points to a guidance tool
Source: Immigration New Zealand · verified 2026-08-15

Route	Residency	Job offer	Points	Application fee	Funds	Processing time
Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa New Zealand	Permanent residence on grant	Required	At least 6	From NZD 6,450	Not stored	No duration published; the authority points to a guidance tool
Fee Paying Student Visa New Zealand	Temporary — not a permanent-residence route on its own	Not stated	No threshold published	From NZD 850	NZD 20,000	No duration published; the authority points to a guidance tool

Which New Zealand routes grant permanent residence on the day they are granted?

Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa
New Zealand

Which New Zealand routes do not lead to permanent residence on their own?

Fee Paying Student Visa
New Zealand

Do I need a job offer for these New Zealand routes?

The authority says a job offer is required

Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa
New Zealand

The authority does not state whether a job offer is required

The verified record does not state whether a job offer is required. Absence of the field is not a no — check the official source below.

Fee Paying Student Visa
New Zealand

What these authorities do not publish

Union of the absences recorded on this destination's routes. Each row quotes the reason stored on that record.

Processing time

Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa
Resident-visa wait-times page (updated weekly): Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa average wait time 10 weeks (50% of applications) and most completed within 4 months (80%), calculated in working days. That is a recent-volume statistic, not a promised range, so no month range is stored. Previous stored 6–12 months was unsourced.
Source: Immigration New Zealand · verified 2026-08-15
Fee Paying Student Visa
Visa page Processing time: '80% within 8.5 weeks'. That is a percentile statistic, not a promised range, so no month range is stored. Previous stored 1–3 months was unsourced.
Source: Immigration New Zealand · verified 2026-08-15

Minimum education

Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa
A New Zealand level 7 bachelor's degree is one 3-point qualification path. Alternatives are occupational registration (3–6 points) or income at 1.5× / 2× / 3× the median wage (3 / 4 / 6 points). You cannot claim qualification points for a non-degree qualification at level 7 or below. Previous stored value 'bachelor' treated a degree as mandatory and has been removed.
Not yet verified against an official source
Fee Paying Student Visa
Page requires an offer of place on an approved course, including primary, secondary or tertiary study. No prior bachelor's degree is published. Previous stored value 'bachelor' contradicted that and has been removed.
Not yet verified against an official source

Compare across countries: all comparisons · How long these routes take · Which routes grant permanent residence on grant · Which routes lead to permanent residence later · Do I need a job offer

Verified pathways

Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa

Permanent Residence

Resident visa if you have a skilled job or job offer with an INZ-accredited employer and at least 6 skilled resident points from one skill category (occupational registration, a recognised qualification, or income), plus up to 3 extra points for New Zealand skilled work experience. An Expression of Interest is free; if invited, you have 4 months to apply. The visa lets you live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely. A later Permanent Resident Visa (after at least 2 years on a resident visa) mainly removes travel conditions — it is a separate application. From 9 March 2026 the median wage used for this visa is NZD $35.00 an hour (revised periodically). From 24 August 2026 INZ will add a Skilled Work Experience pathway and a Trades and Technician pathway and change how the wage threshold is applied.

Source: Immigration New Zealand · verified 2026-08-15

Fee Paying Student Visa

Study permit

Temporary visa to study full-time with a New Zealand education provider that is a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021. You need an offer of place and enough money for living costs, tuition and outward travel. The visa can be issued for a maximum of 4 years. It is not a residence visa. A later Post Study Work Visa is a separate temporary work visa and is not stored here.