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Skilled Employment vs Recognised Relevant Work Experience

The words ‘Skilled Employment’ are often used for both skilled employment and relevant recognised work experience. Both words are mainly used in resident visas instructions. What’s the difference then?

What about Work (temporary) visas, offers of employment and work experience?

Resident visa

Skilled Employment

Skilled employment is solely used in a resident visa context. It is used to determine if  a job offer from a New Zealand employer or your current employment with a New Zealand employer is skilled.

If you meet the criteria for skilled employment you are able to claim points for it under the Skilled Migrant Category (resident visa for people with certain skills).

Immigration New Zealand uses a list of skilled occupations and standard position descriptions for these occupations. Whether or not your occupation is considered skilled is determined by  your position description and the level that is assigned to the position.

There are 5 skill levels and only occupations that are level 1, 2 or 3 are considered skilled for the purposes of a resident visa. Your occupation has to be on the List of Skilled Occupations.

Your position description has to substantially match the description for that occupation (including core tasks) in the standard position description of that occupation.

Next to the criteria above employment is only considered skilled if you gained specialist, technical or management expertise obtained through:

  • the completion of recognised relevant qualifications; or
  • recognised relevant work experience; or
  • the completion of recognised relevant qualifications and work experience.


Relevant work experience 

Work experience is relevant to employment if:

  • your work experience is directly applicable to the employment; and/or
  • the offer of employment could not reasonably have been made or the employment could not reasonably have been undertaken if you did not have that work experience.


Recognised work experience 

Work experience is recognised and qualifies for points if the work experience is:

  • relevant to your  current skilled employment in New Zealand or offer of skilled employment in New Zealand; or
  • relevant to your recognised qualification; or
  • skilled, because it required, or enabled you  to gain specialist, technical or management skills and experience relevant to their occupation.


Work experience must also have been gained in a labour market that is comparable to the New Zealand labour market unless:

  • your work experience meets the requirements for work experience in an area of absolute skills shortage; or
  • you have current skilled employment in New Zealand or an offer of skilled employment in New Zealand.


Work visa

There are two factors Immigration New Zealand looks at when assessing a work visa application and the offer of employment:

  1. What is the skill level of the occupation in the offer of employment?
  2. Are you suitably qualified by training or experience? 


To assess the skill level Immigration will look at the same standard occupations as they use to determine if  employment is skilled for a resident visa. For a work visa application the skill level of the occupation in the offer of employment may be any level (1, 2 ,3, 4 or 5).
In general the rule applies that the lower the level (less skilled), the more difficult it will be to obtain a work visa.

You are suitable qualified by training and experience for a particular occupation when:

  • you hold a relevant qualification; or
  • you have relevant work experience (see above under resident visa); or
  • your employment is in an occupation included on the Essential Skills in Demand Lists and you meet the relevant requirements specified for that occupation.


There are many different types of work visa, such as Essential Skills, Silver Fern, Working Holiday, Post-graduate, Work to Residence (5 different types). Most require an offer of employment but some do not. The words ‘skilled employment’ are not used for work visa in general (not even for an Essential Skills work visa).

The words offer of Skilled Employment (as meant in Skilled Employment under resident visa) only appear in work visa instructions for a Silver Fern Practical Experience visa and the Skilled Migrant Category Job Search visa.

Feija van Bokhoven

Feija van Bokhoven

With over a decade of experience, Feija has been helping clients navigate New Zealand's immigration system after migrating there in 2010. Known for her expertise and personalized service, she assist with various visa applications, such as work, residency, or family visas. She understands the challenges of migration firsthand, offering guidance tailored to each client's unique needs. Reach out for professional assistance in achieving your immigration goals.

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40 Responses

  1. Is it possible to claim points for a work experience not listed in the LTSST (Skill level 1) that was gained in a country not listed in the comparable labour market, considering I have a skilled job offer (level 3) in NZ?

    I have 15 years of experience as External Auditor in Brazil and a skilled job offer in New Zealand in a different.

    According to the SM7.15 if I have a skilled job offer in NZ I could claim points for work experience, is that right?

    1. Hi Cassio,

      Yes, that is correct as long as the work experience was skilled too and you can prove it with independently verifiable documents.

      Kind regards,
      Feija

  2. I am a overseas student in newzeland i am doing diploma in advance cookery level 5 and currently doing a part time job as assistant Baker is this job is relevant to my study and in future can i claim this experience at time od residence Visa

    1. Hi Sanjay,

      Work experience as an Assistant Baker is only relevant if your course trains you to be a Baker or if that is the major you chose. Usually, cookery qualifications train you to be a Chef.

      You can only claim the work experience you gained after completing your qualification in a resident visa application.

      kind regards,
      Feija

  3. I have 10 years work experience as an engineer which includes 2 years as an Engineer in Training (on the job training). Can I claim 10 years skilled work experience or would it be 8 years?

    1. Hi Aaliya,

      It depends on your tasks and responsibilities in those first 2 years (whether you can clain the other 8 years of work experience also depends on the tasks an responsibilities). Without seeing more detailed information, I cannot answer your question.

      Kind regards,
      Feija

  4. Hi! In applying for EOI, in using my current work as skilled by meeting the requirement, can i use the same employment as a relative work experience since i am working for the same company for 6 years now?

    1. Hi Reston,

      In theory, yes, but this also depends on whether or not you have a relevant and recognized qualification. If you don’t, you may not be able to use all your work experience to claim points. You can contact me @ experienzimmigration.co.nz/contact-us/ to get into this in a bit more detail.

      Kind regards,
      Feija

  5. I am holding Batchelor of Technology in Civil Engineering (India 1993), Masters in Construction Law, Arbitration and Adjudication (UK distance NZQA PAR assessment outcome as Level 9), Chartered Quantity Surveyor (with RICS UK, 2008) and Student Member with NZIQS (Oct 2018).

    My 25 years of experience are in Quantity Surveying.

    For my Skilled Migrant Expression of Interest application, can I claim the following points?

    a) recognised qualification (NZQA PAR assessment outcome as Level 9) = 70 points
    b) skilled work experience (Quantity Surveying more than 10 years) = 50 points
    c) work experience (in India and the Middle East with Multinational Companies) in an area of absolute skills shortage (Quantity Surveying) = 15 points

    I look forward to receive your earliest positive reply.

    REgards

    Prasad

  6. Hi
    Istudied cookery level 4 and cookery level 5. Im working as a baker and started work 28oct to 17 dec 2017 as part time(7 weeks). Then from 19 dec to now working as full time.
    Do i can claim part time work experience So when my actually 2 years experience gonna done.

    1. Hi Maninderjit,

      You can claim part-time work experience in an Expression of Interest for the Skilled Migrant Category resident visa. However, you need to calculate the full-time equivalent.

      Kind regards,
      Feija

  7. I am from Bangladesh and 35 years old Completed Bachelor of Computer Science & Engineering in 2008 which NZQA level-6, Master of Business Administration (HRM)in 2012 which NZQA level-7 and Master of Information Technology in 2017 which is NZQA level -9, I have started my Job as Computer Network and System Engineer from 2008 which is demand list in Newzeland . Now I want to take help from a enlisted lawer for this process. It should be mentioned here is that I have completed ACS & TRA assessment from Australia and NZQA assessment from Newzeland.I am from Bangladesh and all qualification completed from Bangladesh. My spouse also Master in Political Science.

    1. Hi Sayeed,

      I’ve sent you an email as your question is too complex to answer here.

      Kind regards,
      Feija

  8. Hi,
    I’m applying for skilled immigrant but I have a problem for 3 years of my experience because my previous employer refuses to give me a detailed description of my duties and only give the job title and number years. will this reference be counted in my application?
    Thank you

    1. Hi Ahmed,

      No, this experience probably will not be counted. The onus is on you to prove your previous work experience. This includes proving your tasks and responsibilities. In addition, Immigration New Zealand will contact all previous employers where you claim points for work experience. They usually send out a questionnaire and if this is not returned (or the answers are less than satisfactory, the work experience will not be counted. This means you may lose points.

      Kind regards,
      Feija

  9. Hi Feija,

    I am a IT professional and could I claim point for another designation which able to claim points if I did most of the tasks under that occupation?

    Thanks & Regards,
    Heeth

    1. Hi Heeth,

      I’m sorry but I don’t really understand your question. Please feel free to contact me through the Ask a question form on the website (experienzimmigration.co.nz) and upload your cv as well so I have a bit more background information.

      Kind regards,
      Feija

  10. Hi Feija
    I currentlyb work as a restaurant manager๏ผŒjust have some concerns about working experience. I applied a 2- year working via with manager assistant title on May 2016. Then I signed manager contract on September the same year and applied voc within this 2-year working visa. Manager title visa started from Novmber 2016. Therefore I just wonder when is the skilled working experience starting from๏ผŸ Based on contract or voc visa start date๏ผŸ
    Thanks

    1. Hi,

      From the day your VOC was approved as you were not allowed to work in the new role until then.

      Kind regards,
      Feija

  11. Hi Feija,
    I have Diploma in Nursing from India and 2 years of work experience there.
    And I got my 1 year bachelor programme LEVEL 7 and 2 years of work experience in New Zealand. Can I claim my Indian work experience for residency. Altogether 4 years of experience
    Am a Registered nurse here in New Zealand.

    Regards
    Ainslie

    1. Hi Ainslie,

      Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to your question. Do you need the 2 years of work experience from India to meet the 160 point threshold? If not, I wouldn’t worry about it. It is not better to have more than 160 points. If you do need the work experience from India, I need more information to assess your situation. Please send a message via the homepage of the website (experienzimmigration.co.nz). A fee may apply (I’ll let you know upfront).

      Kind regards,
      Feija

  12. Hi Feija

    I graduated with a degree in microbiology in the US, but I did not have experience working field related to microbiology. I worked as a medical underwriter for insurance instead. Currently studying graduate diploma level 7 of business management. If I plan to apply to jobs related to microbiology in NZ, would i be granted a work visa?

    1. Hi Ling,

      If your US qualification is recognized in New Zealand and you (and your employer) meet all other requirements, yes, a work visa should be granted.

      Kind regards,
      Feija

  13. Hi, I am on Essential skills work visa applied under skill level 2 and recently I have applied for Resident visa under smc category. I have relevant experience as per anzsco oode and skilled employment at the moment. What is the criteria of assessment for smc application who already have essential skills visa under same anzsco code. Is it easier to get the smc visa or will be the same hard process which requires proving all the experience and skilled job.
    Thanks

    1. Dear Gaurav,

      The checking whether your occupation is skilled and if you meet the requirements is tougher for a resident visa than for a work visa. In the process that is followed, it doesn’t matter whether you already have an Essential Skills visa for the same occupation. The criteria for temporary visas are different than for resident visas.

      Kind regards,
      Feija

  14. Dears,

    I need to confirm regarding my experience points, I did

    BSc Computer Engineering-16 years (2005-2009)
    MS Total Quality Management-18 years (2010-2012)

    I am working since 2009 till date in 261313 code, I need to inquire whether my experience count from 2009 or after last degree(from 2012 onwards).

    Many thanks in advance ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Hi Hawk,

      I would be happy to provide you with a detailed assessment of how many points you can claim for your work experience (and other points) but a fee applies.

      Please complete the contact form on my webiste (www.experienzimmigration.co.nz) if you wish to learn more.

      Kind regards,
      Feija

  15. Hi Feija,

    For recognised work experience, if I have 1 year of NZ work experience and 0 elsewhere, will I be able to claim the points (5)?

  16. I have 8 years experience, but after completing degree I have 6 years experience. Will they calculate work experience after completing the degree?

    1. Hi Piraba,

      If your work experience is relevant to your skilled offer of employment or your qualifications (if you do not have a job offer) you may count all work experience. Please be aware that rules will change in August 2017. From then on only skilled work experience may be counted.

      Kind regards,
      Feija

  17. Hi i have 1 year indian experience relevant to my NZ qualificaton can i claim points for my experience
    Thank you

    1. Hi Khush,

      No, you need a minimum of 2 years work experience to claim points under SMC.

      Kind regards,
      Feija

    2. Hi feija thank you for your reply i mean to say that i have one year nz experience as well total 2 year experience relevant to my qualifications
      Can you please tell me which papers i need from india to prove my experience.
      Thank you very much
      Have a good day

  18. Hi Feija,

    My husband is a graduate in Engineering however after he graduated he did not practice his skills but went to work as an operations manager for 9 years running. Will he still be granted PR if he works at an office with his managerial skill instead of an engineer?

    Thanks!

    1. Hi Kara,

      Whether or not a resident visa will be granted depends on many factors. But in theory it is possible to get a resident visa on an occupation and job that are different from your qualification(s).

      I can look in more detail whether or not you would qualify for a resident visa if you wish. Please send an email to info@experienzimmigration.co.nz. Please upload a current cv of yourself and your husband.

      Kind regards,
      Feija

  19. Dear Feija
    I were born in 1981, a civil engineer with 10 year experience, considering the chances to get an off-shore Residence Visa and intend get more than 140 points of EOI. So, would you please help me to clarify these:
    – In order to prove my relevant experience of work outside NZ (10 years), can I use the reference letter from my current employer, whom I have been work for since 2004? They are very happy to give me this letter. And how can I claim for the experience in an area of absolute skills shortage to get bonus point?
    – I have a master degree in engineering (civil and environmental) from an Australian University (2year course in OZ). Is this certificate is evidence enough to prove that I am competent in English, and then no need IELTS of 6.5?
    – I have checked the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment, for my master certificate, it is said that “Master of Science in Engineering: Refer to NZQA for assessment”. So, it means that I need a NZQA assessment?
    – The last question is about my job offer. I’m in Long Term Skill Shortage List. And can get offer as a civil engineer or construction project manager. Do my NZ employer need to show that that they have genuinely tried to find a New Zealand worker to fill the position or not when they sponsor me?
    Your site is a great help. Please advise me above doubts
    Thanks in advance

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