Final details confirmed for Skilled Migrant Category changes – effective 24 August 2026

Immigration New Zealand has released the final details of the changes to the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) Resident Visa, which will take effect on 24 August 2026. These updates complete the policy package first announced in 2025 and confirm how the new pathways and settings will operate.

Overview of the changes

The updated SMC introduces:

Two new pathways
- Skilled Work Experience pathway
- Trades and Technician pathway
Increased points for New Zealand qualifications
Reduced New Zealand skilled work experience required under the Points‑based pathway

Final details released by INZ

INZ has now confirmed the following:

Clarification of how wage thresholds are applied across the pathways
Updated evidential requirements for qualifications
Removal of the 120‑credit requirement for Trades and Technician pathway qualifications gained overseas
Confirmation that New Zealand Trades and Technician pathway qualifications must total at least 120 credits, which may be made up of multiple qualifications where one is a prerequisite for another
Confirmation that self‑employment cannot be counted as directly relevant work experience under the two new pathways
Strengthened settings to support genuine skilled employment

Work to Residence Visa alignment

Changes are also being made to the Work to Residence Visa pathways in August 2026 to align with the updated SMC wage settings.

Applicants will not be required to meet a higher wage threshold if the median wage has increased since they began counting their skilled work experience.

This applies to: