“Residence” is the word used for when the New Zealand government, through Immigration New Zealand, has granted you the right to live, work and study in New Zealand permanently.
There are two stages to getting full residence status in New Zealand, with a different type of visa for each stage:
A Resident Visa, the first stage, allows you to live in New Zealand indefinitely, including working and studying – but if you leave New Zealand you can’t return and live here as a resident unless the conditions (“travel conditions”) of your Resident Visa allow this. Normally a Resident Visa will be granted with travel conditions that let you leave and re-enter New Zealand as a resident only up to a certain date.
To get a Resident Visa, you’ll need to apply under one of the specific residence categories in Immigration New Zealand’s residence policies (which are set out in their Operational Manual). These are the main residence categories:
the Family categories, which include Partnership, Parent, Parent Retirement, Dependent Child, and Inter-country Adoption
the Residence from Work category
the Skilled Migrant category
the Business category
A Permanent Resident Visa allows you to live in New Zealand indefinitely, including working and studying, and also to leave and return to New Zealand as a resident at any time and as often as you like.
To get a Permanent Resident Visa, you have to meet all of these requirements:
Residence for 2 years – You must have held a Resident Visa continuously for at least the last two years, or held a Resident Visa at some point in the last three months after holding it for at least two years. Also, your first day in New Zealand as a resident must have been at least two years ago.
Commitment to New Zealand – You must have shown a commitment to being in New Zealand in one of the ways recognised by Immigration New Zealand .
Showing a commitment to being in New Zealand is one of the key requirements for getting a Permanent Resident Visa. You can do this in any of the following ways:
Significant time in New Zealand – You’ve been here for at least 184 days (roughly six months) in each of the last two years (so you must have been here at least 184 days in the first year and at least 184 days in the second year).
Based in New Zealand – You’ve established a base in New Zealand, as shown by meeting all of the following requirements:
- you’ve owned a family home here for at least a year, or you have a full-time job here, and
- you’ve lived here for at least 41 days in the last year, and
- all your immediate family members who are here under your Resident Visa have lived here for a total of at least 184 days over the last two years (that is, the time here in the first year plus the time here in the second year must add up to at least 184 days).
New Zealand tax resident – New Zealand’s Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has recognised you as a New Zealand “tax resident”, and you’ve been here for at least 41 days in each of the last two years.
Business or investment – You’ve established a business here or have invested in New Zealand .
Character issues – You must meet the character requirements for residence.
Conditions – You must have complied with any conditions that Immigration NZ placed on your Resident Visa. For example, if you were granted residence under the Skilled Migrant category, a condition might have been that you take up an offer of skilled employment within three months of arriving here.
If you don’t yet qualify for a Permanent Resident Visa but you want to leave and return to New Zealand outside the travel conditions granted for your Resident Visa, you can instead apply for a variation to your travel conditions, to allow you more time for re-entering New Zealand as a resident.