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Migrants hoping to start a new life in New Zealand can now add a new skill to their visa applications. Under a new plan, would-be immigrants can claim points as skilled sex workers and escorts.

The skill is regarded as providing social companionship in the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) list.

In order to meet the criteria of a highly qualified sex worker, would-be migrants will be expected to have ANZSCO skill level 5. The requirements issued by ANZSCO also include compulsory secondary education.

However, applicants of ANZSCO level 5 cannot be classified as skilled unless their pay is more than NZ$36.44 (US$25.87) per hour, which is NZ$75,795 (US$53,818) per year based on a 40-hour week.

The applicants should also have relevant recognized qualifications or have at least three years of work experience in the relevant industry.

Despite the fact that escort and sex work are on the skilled employment list, there is no evident lack of them, as they are not included on the skill-shortage list.

Prostitution is listed as skilled employment, but applying for a resident visa as a sex worker would still be extremely difficult, the New Zealand Association of Migration and Investment agency (NZAMI) said.

"Even though prostitution is a lawful occupation, it is not an occupation that an immigrant can undertake on a temporary visa, sex work is specifically accepted," said Peter Moses, an NZAMI spokesman and lawyer specializing in immigration law.