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SKILLED OVERHAUL

By Lawrence Johnston

AN INCREASE in some of the bonus points awarded to skilled people, is among a raft of measures contained in an overhaul of the skilled migrant category (SMC).
The increase concerns credentials related to IT, biotechnology and creative industries such as the movie business.
But while these three industries, which are the ones currently identified by the New Zealand government as future growth areas, will now carry extra weight in an application to migrate, the government is scrapping bonus points for the industrial clusters it had hitherto identified as warranting bonus points.
The clusters which will no longer carry bonus points are Film Auckland, Wellington Creative Manufacturing, Canterbury Software, BioSouth and Canterbury Neutroceuticals.
That means that while credentials such as skilled employment, a recognised qualification and work experience related to IT, biotechnology or creative industries, will carry extra bonus points, in future, similar credentials related to the five company clusters will earn no bonus points.
In the changes - most of which take effect on July 30 - bonus points will now be given for a post-graduate New Zealand qualification, such as a masters or a doctorate, and there is a reduction in the number of years of New Zealand work experience that are required to claim the bonus points applicable to that experience.
Another of the measures will enhance the prospects of couples. This change will increase the bonus points awarded for a principal applicant's partner's recognised qualification and skilled employment in New Zealand.
There is also a restructuring of how bonus points will be awarded for study in New Zealand, and a review will be conducted of the list of recognised qualifications, with the results of the latter being progressively implemented.
A more transparent definition of skilled employment will take effect from November.
Announcing the changes last month, Immigration Minister David Cunliffe described them as fine-tuning of the SMC - the "flagship" of New Zealand's migration policy.
The SMC - the main means of gaining residence in New Zealand - was generally working well, and delivering "high quality" skilled migrants. "We need to keep testing better, our policies to find ways of improving them and target the people New Zealand needs," he said.
The SMC needed to be well positioned to attract quality skilled migrants in an increasingly competitive market.
International competition for skills was intensifying, with many countries, including Australia, investing heavily to pursue the same migrants.
The revised points would target more closely the people who New Zealand needed. They were also a recognition that, for example the partner of a principal applicant could be of significant value to New Zealand in his or her own right, Mr Cunliffe said.
A further, more fundamental review of the SMC is planned for 2008, Mr Cunliffe said in a speech to Auckland Chamber of Commerce.