NZQA Qualification Assessment: IQA, LQEA, and How to Check Your Degree Before Paying
NZQA Qualification Assessment: IQA, LQEA, and How to Check Your Degree Before Paying
Before you can claim qualification points in a New Zealand Skilled Migrant Category EOI, most overseas degrees need to be assessed by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA). This is not an optional formality — without a completed IQA (or a confirmed LQEA exemption), INZ will not accept your qualification as evidence of points. Here's how the system works, what the outcomes mean, and how to avoid paying for an assessment you don't need.
What the NZQA IQA Actually Does
The International Qualification Assessment (IQA) maps your overseas degree to a level on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF). The framework runs from Level 1 (basic certificates) to Level 10 (doctorates). For SMC purposes, the relevant levels are:
- Level 10: PhD — 6 SMC points
- Level 9: Master's degree — 5 SMC points
- Level 8: Bachelor's Honours or Postgraduate Diploma — 4 SMC points
- Level 7: Bachelor's degree — 3 SMC points
The IQA does not certify that your degree is "recognized" in a general sense. It produces a precise NZQCF level mapping. A Bachelor of Engineering from a well-regarded Indian institution might map to Level 7 (3 points). An honours or first-class degree might map to Level 8 (4 points). A 4-year professional degree in medicine or law from some systems may map differently again.
This specificity matters. Don't assume your degree's point value before seeing the IQA outcome. Hundreds of applicants have built residency plans around 4 or 5 points only to receive an IQA outcome at Level 7 (3 points), adding a year to their NZ work experience requirement.
The Fee Structure (Updated January 2026)
NZQA updated its fee schedule on 1 January 2026:
| Assessment Type | Fee (NZD) |
|---|---|
| Standard IQA | $445 |
| Skill Shortage List IQA | $610 |
| Teaching IQA | $746 |
| Pre-1998 qualification surcharge | +$275 |
| Appeal fee | $765 |
The "Standard IQA" covers a single qualification. If your degree was completed before 1998, add $275 for the additional investigation required to assess older documentation standards. The Teaching IQA includes an additional Skill Shortage List check specific to teaching roles.
These fees are non-refundable regardless of the outcome. If the IQA maps your degree lower than expected, you do not get a refund and you cannot appeal on the basis that you expected a higher level — you can only appeal if you believe NZQA made an error in the assessment itself.
Processing Times
NZQA currently targets 10 weeks for a standard IQA, though they aim to complete 90% of cases with complete documentation within 15 business days. "Complete documentation" means:
- Official transcripts (from the degree-awarding institution, not a copy from your records)
- Academic record showing all courses completed
- Course syllabi or programme descriptions (especially if the programme is not well-known internationally)
- Translation of any documents not in English (certified translations required)
If your application is missing a document, NZQA will contact you for the missing item and the clock effectively restarts. Build your document file before lodging the IQA, not after.
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The LQEA: When You Can Skip the IQA
The List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment (LQEA) is a database maintained by NZQA that lists specific qualifications from specific institutions that have already been evaluated and assigned a NZQCF level. If your exact qualification from your exact institution (and in some cases, your graduation year) appears on the LQEA, you do not need to pay for an IQA.
To use the LQEA exemption:
- Search the NZQA LQEA database by institution name and degree type
- Confirm that your graduation year falls within the LQEA's specified range for that entry
- In your EOI, reference the LQEA entry instead of an IQA outcome
- Keep a copy of the LQEA search result as documentary evidence
Common institutions with broad LQEA coverage include major UK universities (Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Manchester — most award-bearing degrees are listed), Australian Group of Eight universities, and some New Zealand universities' overseas partner institutions. Coverage for Indian, South African, and Philippine universities is more limited and entry-specific.
The LQEA is updated periodically but not comprehensively. A degree from an institution that has LQEA coverage for some years may not have coverage for your graduation year. Always check the date range in the LQEA entry, not just the institution name.
Special Situations: When the IQA Gets Complicated
Three-year bachelor's degrees: New Zealand recognizes the standard bachelor's degree as a three-year programme at Level 7. Some countries (India, parts of Africa and Southeast Asia) issue bachelor's degrees in three years that NZQA may assess at Level 7. Four-year bachelor's degrees are generally still Level 7 unless they contain an honours year with original research, in which case Level 8 may apply.
Professional degrees: A 5-year MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine) or 5-year LLB from certain institutions may be assessed at Level 8 due to the extended programme length. This is not automatic — it depends on the institution and the specific programme content.
Distance learning or non-standard degrees: Degrees from unrecognized or online-only institutions may be assessed at a lower level or may fail to receive a New Zealand equivalence at all. If NZQA cannot verify the quality of the institution, the outcome will not be usable for SMC points. This is a significant risk for degrees from institutions that lack accreditation from recognized quality assurance bodies.
Partial qualifications: A diploma or advanced diploma (even at a high NZQF level in the original country) generally does not qualify for SMC points at Level 7 unless it is specifically a bachelor's degree. This is an explicit policy: the SMC framework awards Level 7 points only for bachelor's degrees, not for sub-degree or diploma qualifications.
How to Predict Your Likely IQA Outcome
Before paying for an IQA, you can make a reasonable prediction by:
- Check the LQEA first — if your qualification appears, you already know the level
- Compare against NZQCF descriptors — the NZQA website describes what Level 7, 8, and 9 qualifications look like in terms of credit volume, learning outcomes, and research components
- Check for similar degrees on the NZQA search portal — NZQA publishes some qualification evaluations publicly; searching for similar degrees from your country can indicate likely mapping
For most migrants, a standard bachelor's degree from a mainstream university in India, South Africa, or the Philippines will map to Level 7. If you want Level 8 or above, you generally need either a postgraduate diploma (Level 8) or a Master's degree (Level 9). If your SMC plan relies on 4 or 5 points from qualifications, a Master's is the most reliable route.
The New Zealand Skilled Migrant Category Guide includes a full chapter on NZQA/IQA preparation — including a pre-IQA checklist, guidance on gathering transcripts and syllabi from overseas institutions, and examples of how common degree types from India, South Africa, the Philippines, and the UK map to the NZQCF.
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