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Doing a master's in New Zealand? How the six-point change could cut a year off your route to residence

Visa guide · 2026-09-05 · 4 min read

For a UK graduate thinking about postgraduate study abroad, New Zealand has just become a more interesting option. Immigration New Zealand has changed the Skilled Migrant Category resident visa so that a New Zealand master's degree can now carry you all the way to the points threshold. That could save a year on the road to residence. It does not, however, remove the need for a job.

How the points used to add up

The Skilled Migrant Category uses a points system with a six-point threshold. Until the change, a master's degree was worth five points, so most graduates had to put in at least one year of skilled work in New Zealand to make up the last point.

Now a full-time New Zealand master's degree can be worth all six points by itself. You no longer need that extra year of work experience to reach the threshold.

The conditions behind the six points

To get the full six from your degree, you need to tick every one of these:

1. a bachelor's degree as well as the master's
2. at least 30 weeks of full-time study in New Zealand for the master's
3. qualifying skilled employment or a job offer from an accredited employer
4. pay at or above the Skilled Migrant Category wage threshold, generally around $35/hour for ANZSCO skill level 1–3 roles
5. health, character and English language requirements

The degree fills the points gap. It does not stand in for the job.

Why the change matters

Immigration New Zealand has been clear that completing a master's there does not on its own secure residence. What the change does remove is a frustrating holding period. Graduates often spent a year in entry-level work, sometimes well below their skills, just to collect points their qualification should already have earned. When students compare New Zealand with Australia, Canada or the UK itself, a compulsory year like that counts against it, so shortening it makes a difference to where people choose to enrol.

The job is still the hard part

Advisers watching the rollout agree on one thing: the hardest step, finding a qualifying job, has not changed. International graduates face a market where:

• a noticeable share of roles are open only to citizens or residents
• experienced professionals who have recently been made redundant are going for the same jobs
• employers are often unwilling to pay a new graduate at or above the median wage, which is roughly what the visa threshold expects

So the filter has moved. The six points are easier to reach; the job that makes them count is not.

Interest is already strong

By the end of August, Immigration New Zealand had received 1,101 applications under the revised Skilled Migrant Category, most of them through the points-based route. Advisers reported lodging dozens of expressions of interest on the first day of the new settings, with more than half from master's graduates. Some firms say client applications have gone up by about half since the change.

A checklist for UK graduates

• Choosing a course: make sure it is a full-time master's with at least 30 weeks of study in New Zealand, and that your UK bachelor's degree is on record. Both are essential for the six-point route. UK degree certificates and transcripts are already in English, though certified copies may be needed.
• Near graduation: start job hunting early and aim for roles with accredited employers that pay at or above the median wage.
• Working but below the threshold: you are not ruled out, but the threshold does not bend for a strong degree, so watch pay growth in your role or look for a better-paid position.
• Comparing countries: New Zealand's international student numbers are already above pre-pandemic levels, and roughly a third of current students are on master's programmes, so competition for the same accredited-employer jobs is growing.

The full requirements are on Immigration New Zealand's visa pages. If you already have work experience and would rather go straight into a job, our jobs page lists roles in New Zealand and Australia open to UK applicants.

#skilled migrant category #new zealand #master's degree #residence #international students #study in new zealand