Chefs are on the SMC amber list from 24 August 2026. What that means in practice: the five years of NZ experience, the $42.00 wage components, the routes that remain, and how to plan your residence date.
Written by Inder Singh, Principal Adviser & Founder and Licensed Immigration Adviser (IAA Licence 201301110).
Chefs can still get New Zealand residence under the Skilled Migrant Category, but from 24 August 2026 the rules are specific: Chef (ANZSCO 351311) is on the amber list, which means the Skilled Work Experience pathway requires five years of New Zealand experience with pay of at least NZD $42.00 per hour on two of its components. The Points-based pathway stays open as an alternative. This guide covers both routes and, just as important, how to plan the years between now and a residence application that works.
Yes. Chef (ANZSCO 351311) is one of the 14 amber list occupations, alongside Baker (351111), Pastrycook (351112) and Cafe or Restaurant Manager (141111) (immigration.govt.nz). Amber status does not close the door the way the red list does. It means the Skilled Work Experience pathway applies stricter terms to your case, and the Trades and Technician pathway is not available (chef is not on that pathway’s occupation list).
Your work visa is unaffected. The amber list controls Skilled Migrant Category residence eligibility only, so an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) continues exactly as before.
To use the Skilled Work Experience pathway with an amber list job, INZ requires all three of these (immigration.govt.nz):
The amber five-year clock
Amber list roles qualify for the Skilled Work Experience pathway through five years of New Zealand experience, split into two blocks with different pay rules.
5 years of New Zealand work experience
All in NZ
Plus a pay floor at the finish line. When you apply, your current job must pay at least 1.2 times the SMC wage threshold, NZD $42.00 per hour from 9 March 2026. Rates are reviewed annually, so confirm the current figure with INZ before relying on it.
All five years in New Zealand
Unlike standard occupations, overseas experience does not count for amber list roles. Every qualifying month must be worked in New Zealand, in an ANZSCO level 1 to 3 occupation.
Where the 1.2x rate applies
Two places: your current job when you apply, and the 2-year skilled component. That is NZD $42.00 per hour from 9 March 2026. The earlier 3 years have no stated 1.2x floor.
What does not count
Self-employment is excluded. So is work outside ANZSCO skill levels 1 to 3, and experience that is not directly relevant to your current skilled job or job offer.
The Points-based pathway stays open too. Amber roles keep full access to the 6-point route through income, a degree, or registration, which is often faster for qualified applicants. Compare the pathways, or book a free call to have your years mapped against both.
The rule that changes most chefs’ planning is the location one. For standard occupations, overseas experience can count towards the five-year total. For amber roles it cannot: a chef with eight years in Mumbai, Manila or London and two years in Auckland has two qualifying years, not five. If you arrived recently, your realistic residence date under this pathway is roughly five years after your first qualifying NZ role, which is exactly why the planning conversation is worth having now rather than at year four.
Relevant experience must be in an ANZSCO skill level 1 to 3 occupation and directly relevant to your current skilled job or job offer. Kitchen work below that skill band does not count, and neither does self-employment (immigration.govt.nz). That last point matters in hospitality: years running your own food business, contracting, or working in a family operation without formal wages will not build your five years.
Evidence decides these cases. What INZ needs to see lines up across documents:
The 1.2x rate applies to your current pay and to the 2-year skilled component, so the years only accumulate while you are actually paid at that level. If you are close to but under $42.00 per hour, every month at the lower rate is a month that does not count towards the skilled block. Raising this with your employer early is not awkward, it is planning: accredited employers who want to retain kitchen staff long-term increasingly build the SMC thresholds into their pay scales, and INZ has signalled an ability to extend an AEWV by up to 12 months from 2027 for people finishing their skilled work experience (immigration.govt.nz).
Amber list chefs keep full access to the Points-based pathway: 6 skilled resident points plus a skilled job or job offer with an accredited employer. The anchors are income at 1.5 times the threshold (NZD $52.50 per hour from 9 March 2026), a bachelor’s degree at NZQCF Level 7 or higher, or a recognised occupational registration.
Honest assessment: most professional cookery qualifications sit at NZQCF Levels 4 and 5, below the Level 7 floor for qualification points, and $52.50 per hour is above most kitchen pay outside executive roles. But the degree does not have to be in cookery. A bachelor’s in any discipline counts, and an overseas one usually needs an International Qualification Assessment to be recognised. If you hold a degree you have never used for immigration purposes, have it assessed before writing off the points route: for degree-holding chefs it is often years faster than the amber five-year clock.
Yes. From 24 August 2026 chefs have two Skilled Migrant Category routes: the Skilled Work Experience pathway on amber list terms (five years of NZ experience with pay of at least $42.00 per hour on the current job and a 2-year skilled component), or the Points-based pathway with 6 points from income, a degree, or registration.
The amber list. Chef (ANZSCO 351311) can still use the Skilled Work Experience pathway on stricter terms. Red list occupations, such as hairdresser and retail manager, cannot use that pathway at all.
Under the Skilled Work Experience pathway, five years of New Zealand work experience: 3 years relevant plus 2 further years skilled and paid at least 1.2 times the SMC wage threshold. Overseas kitchen experience does not count for amber list roles. The Points-based pathway has no five-year rule but needs 6 points.
For the Skilled Work Experience pathway, your current job and the 2-year skilled component must pay at least NZD $42.00 per hour (1.2 times the SMC wage threshold, from 9 March 2026). For the Points-based income anchor, at least $52.50 per hour (1.5 times). Rates are reviewed annually; confirm the current figures on immigration.govt.nz.
No. The amber list controls Skilled Migrant Category residence pathways only. Your Accredited Employer Work Visa is unaffected, and from 2027 INZ plans to let migrants extend an AEWV by up to 12 months to finish their skilled work experience.
Neither counts under the amber list rules. All five qualifying years must be paid employment in New Zealand in an ANZSCO skill level 1 to 3 occupation. Self-employment is excluded, and overseas experience is excluded for amber list occupations.
Current as at 24 August 2026, based on Immigration New Zealand policy. For advice on your own situation, talk to a ProVisas Licensed Immigration Adviser (IAA Licence 201301110).
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