Over the years, I've helped many highly skilled migrants reach their immigration goal in New Zealand: becoming New Zealand residents. This has mostly happened through one of three routes.
Residence directly
Some clients secured skilled employment in New Zealand and were approved for residence soon after their job offer.
Work to residence
Some clients secured a job offer, worked in New Zealand for the required duration, and were then approved for residence.
Study, work, residence
A skilled job offer doesn't always come through straight away, for a range of reasons. In these cases, some clients have taken the study-work-residence pathway instead.
One example
Mr J had more than ten years' experience in IT overseas. For various reasons, no skilled job offer came through during his job search. Instead, he completed a Postgraduate Diploma in IT in New Zealand, which qualified him for a Post-Study Work Visa after graduation — a visa with open work conditions, letting him work for any employer, in any occupation, anywhere in New Zealand.
He secured a software engineer role, and was granted residence on the strength of it.
The longer a migration process runs, the more risk it carries, so having the right strategy at every step matters: what to study, whether it will lead to a work visa, whether it will qualify a partner for a partnership-based work visa, whether children can study as domestic students, whether the qualification suits your immigration goal. There are more questions to answer, both at the start and all the way through.
I am not the government, so I can't guarantee residence — but as a senior Licensed Immigration Adviser, I can offer the kind of guidance that minimises mistakes and gives you the best possible chance of a good result.