NZ's 6-Point SMC System, Explained With 3 Worked Examples

The Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) Resident Visa uses a simple rule: you need 6 skilled resident points. You get 3 to 6 points from one skill category (your New Zealand occupational registration, your qualification, or your income) and you can add up to 3 more points from skilled work experience in New Zealand.

Points are necessary but not sufficient. You must also be 55 or younger, meet health, character and English requirements, and (critically) have a skilled job, or a job offer, with an accredited employer. That job must be at least 30 hours a week, permanent or fixed-term for 12+ months (or contracts of 6+ months), and paid at or above the wage threshold for its ANZSCO level.

This guide reflects the rules in effect from 24 August 2026. For a detailed old-vs-new comparison, see SMC points changes 2026; two new pathways outside the points system also opened on the same date — see New SMC pathways 2026.

The three skill categories (choose one)

1. New Zealand occupational registration: 3 to 6 points

If your occupation requires registration that is on INZ’s eligible list, the points depend on how much training or experience the registration requires:

Registration requires	Points
6+ years of training/experience	6
5 years	5
4 years	4
2 years	3

From 24 August 2026, accountants who can undertake the work of a Qualified Statutory Accountant in New Zealand and are CPA Australia members can claim 6 points via occupational registration.

If you top up with NZ work experience, only experience gained after you got the registration counts.

2. Qualification: 4 to 6 points

From 24 August 2026, qualification points distinguish between qualifications completed in New Zealand vs overseas, and some higher-level qualifications require a supporting bachelor’s degree:

Qualification	Points	Supporting bachelor’s required?
Doctoral degree	6	No
NZ master’s degree (30+ weeks of full-time study in NZ) + bachelor’s	6	Yes
NZ master’s degree	5	No
Master’s degree gained outside NZ	5	Yes
NZ honours degree, postgraduate diploma or postgraduate certificate	5	Yes
NZ bachelor’s degree	5	Not applicable
Honours degree, postgraduate diploma or postgraduate certificate gained outside NZ	4	Yes
Bachelor’s degree gained outside NZ	4	Not applicable

This covers New Zealand qualifications, overseas qualifications with an IQA-confirmed NZ equivalent, and qualifications on the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment (LQEA). Overseas qualifications generally need an IQA from NZQA unless on the LQEA; a supporting bachelor’s does not need an IQA, but you must provide its certificate and academic transcript (transcript only for combined master’s degrees).

If your IQA recognises your qualification on the NZQF but cannot confirm a NZ equivalent, the points drop: level 10 → 5, level 9 → 4, level 8 → 3. This reduced track was not changed by the 2026 amendments. Non-degree qualifications at level 7 or below earn nothing.

3. Income: 3 to 6 points

Based on your current NZ job or job offer, measured against the SMC wage threshold (median wage, NZD $35.00/hour since 9 March 2026):

Your pay	Hourly (2026)	Points
3× median wage	$105.00	6
2× median wage	$70.00	4
1.5× median wage	$52.50	3

If you top up with NZ work experience, your pay throughout the experience period must stay at or above the threshold in effect when you started that experience — from 24 August 2026 the threshold locks at that point (with a 5-month grace period), and later increases no longer follow you. See the wage threshold lock guide.

New Zealand skilled work experience: up to 3 points

From 24 August 2026, less experience is needed for the same points:

• 3 points: 2 years of skilled work within the 4 years before you apply
• 2 points: 1.5 years within the last 3 years
• 1 point: 1 year within the last 2 years

The work must meet the wage threshold for its ANZSCO level: at or above the median wage for level 1–3 jobs; at or above 1.5× the median wage for level 4–5 jobs.

Three worked examples

Example 1: the PhD. Amara has a doctoral degree (level 10) and a job offer from an accredited employer. Her qualification alone is worth 6 points. She can apply with no New Zealand work experience at all.

Example 2: the Master’s graduate. Wei has a Master’s degree (5 points) and works in Auckland in a skilled job. After 1 year of skilled NZ work experience he reaches 5 + 1 = 6 points.

Example 3: the high earner. Priya’s job pays $72/hour: above 2× the median wage (4 points). She needs 2 more points — now achievable with 1.5 years of skilled NZ work (previously 2 years), paid at 2× the median wage throughout, to reach 6.

Common misunderstandings

• You cannot mix categories. A Master’s degree (5) plus a 1.5× income (3) is not 8 points: it is still 5, plus whatever NZ experience points you have.
• Your job offer earns no points. It is a prerequisite, not a point source.
• Overseas experience earns no points. Under the Points-based pathway, only skilled work in New Zealand tops up your score.
• English, age, health and character are separate gates. Meeting 6 points does not waive them.

Use our SMC Points Calculator to model your own situation: it applies exactly these rules and shows your gap if you are short.