How do you get 160 points for SMC residence?

To some this might seem like a big impossibility, in reality it just needs a bit more careful planning. Until recently the problem was that you could apply in theory with just 100 points, you probably wouldn't get an ITA, but at least you could apply and feel like you had a chance. As we have been reporting recently, the percentage of applicants who were given and Invitation to Apply (ITA) was averaging around 46% only. What this means is that even though there were many people applying, less than half of them were invited to apply for residence, and this could even be only the ones who had more than 140 points.

If this is true, there may not actually be that big a change, it just means that now there is less false hope. There were certainly a reasonable number of people who were given an ITA without a job offer, so definitely people in this same situation will be affected, but to get an ITA without a job offer would require a very high level of qualification and work experience anyway, which means that these same people should still have a chance under the new instructions. 

What do I need?

There are many combinations of points available, but lets look at a common example perhaps.

Our client has a a skilled job offer (=50 points), outside of Auckland (=30 points). He has 4.5 years experience doing this type of work in his own country (= 15 points), he hasn't worked in NZ before (= 0 points) but he has a university degree which NZQA have assessed as being equivalent to NZ Level 7 (= 50 points). Our client is  32 years old (= 25 points) and is single.

Our example client here has 170 points, which is above the threshold and hives him a good chance at success in both his residence application and in living in NZ.

What combination of points are possible?

There are many combinations, and it is all a trade off. If you have a job offer in Auckland you will lose 30 points, so you will need to make them up somewhere else, perhaps your partner has a high level qualification or you are working in an area of future growth, you have NZ work experience or something like that. The 160 points threshold doesn't make it impossible, it just requires more planning