Short answer
Check the exact INZ document requirement and the scope of any IQA exemption.
Sources: Immigration New Zealand
Who decides
Immigration New Zealand sets the visa evidence requirement; NZQA performs the IQA.
Sources: Immigration New Zealand
Check this before paying
Read INZ’s assessment and exemption guidance.
Open the primary source ↗Sources: Immigration New Zealand
When this applies
The SMC exemption list and the stated engineering-accreditation exceptions have different conditions.
Sources: Immigration New Zealand
Which document
The appropriate NZQA IQA result when required by the receiving process.
Sources: Immigration New Zealand
Avoid the wrong purchase
A list exemption does not prevent INZ from requesting an IQA.
Sources: Immigration New Zealand
What this does not do
This guide does not select a visa or decide personal eligibility or professional registration.
Sources: Immigration New Zealand
Your next official step
Confirm the required assessment product before ordering.
Continue to the official guidance ↗Sources: Immigration New Zealand
An exemption has a purpose and qualification boundary
INZ’s list of qualifications exempt from assessment is for the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC); do not apply it automatically to every visa. INZ may still request an IQA, including where it needs evidence of credit or knowledge rather than only qualification type or level.
The engineering exception concerns Washington Accord-accredited engineering or Sydney Accord-accredited engineering-technology degrees. The country must have been on the relevant signatory list when the degree was awarded; studying in a signatory country alone is not the stated test.
Sources: IQA product and exemption boundaries
Name the assessment product
INZ distinguishes skill shortage list IQA for Green List jobs, standard IQA and teaching IQA for teacher registration or salary assessment. Confirm the required product before ordering.
Sources: IQA product and exemption boundaries
DiploWay assessment request record
Keep the official evidence request, the exact qualification and the exemption basis together. Ask the recipient to clarify a mismatch instead of assuming that an earlier report or a similarly named product answers the new request. Professional registration remains a separate question for the regulator.
Related decisions for this process
Explore another use for the same qualification
Sources and scope
- IQA product and exemption boundaries
Immigration New Zealand · checked 2026-10-15 (UTC date)