SMC job-search visa barred for onshore recent Study-to-Work visa holders
Validated finding · five-country-2010-20260922-v118-evidence-presentation-fix
Policy effect
From July 25, 2011, a principal applicant who is in New Zealand and currently holds, or has held within the previous 24 months, a work visa granted under the WD Study to Work instructions is not eligible for a work visa under the Skilled Migrant Category Job Search Instructions.
Conditions and exceptions
Validated condition or limit: From July 25, 2011, a principal applicant who is in New Zealand and currently holds, or has held within the previous 24 months, a work visa granted under the WD Study to Work instructions is not eligible for a work visa under the Skilled Migrant Category Job Search Instructions.
Official source excerpt
Quoted verbatim from the official source below. Ellipses indicate omitted text.
Effective 25/07/2011 … If the principal applicant is in New Zealand and currently holds, or in the last 24 months has held, a work visa granted under the WD Study to Work instructions … then they are not eligible for a work visa under these instructions. … If the principal applicant is in New Zealand and holds, or in the last 24 months, has held a work visa granted under the WD Study to work instructions then they are not eligible for a work visa under the SMC Job Search Instructions ( WR5 (b) ).
Review method
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite extraction with independent Gemini 3.8 Flash verification
Automated source validation is not independent human legal review. The finding should not be treated as legal advice. Record component-nz-smc-job-search-recent-graduate-bar-20110725. Something wrong? Flag this record.
Other New Zealand changes operative in 2011
- 2011-04-04Visiting academics: specified short academic activities excluded from work requirements
- 2011-04-18SSE work visa applicants required to demonstrate genuine intention to work for an approved employer
- 2011-07-25Expansion of acceptable investments for migrant investor categories to include registered bank bonds/equities, residential property developments, and finance-company bonds
- 2011-07-25Investor 1 annual physical-presence requirement reduced from 73 to 44 days
- 2011-07-25SMC New Zealand qualification bonus points tied to degree level and duration
- 2011-07-25SMC recognised-qualification points redistributed by qualification level