Skilled migrant residence queue starting to move

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We reported in July what the criteria was for “priority” and “non priority” skilled residence applications – see article Stuck In a Visa Queue.

This criteria for an application getting onto the desk of an Immigration Officer for assessment and a decision has not changed.

What has changed?

Priority applications are being allocated quickly after they are lodged. No queue.

The oldest application in the non-priority queue at the time of going to press was late February 2019. We have seen some applications lodged in December 2019 allocated but this is rare. All things being equal Immigration NZ will make headway on this queue over the next few months.

There are over 3200 Expressions of Interest in the Skilled Migrant pool. The last selection from the pool was made back in March 2020. We do not expect any selections until after October’s election and once a new Minister of Immigration is appointed. There is potential for the rules to change before selections restart. Our advice remains lodge an EOI now if you have a confirmed assessment of 160 points or more and a skilled job offer.

Read about the most recent changes to the Skilled Migrant category.