New Zealand Permanent Residents are residents of New Zealand who have a resident visa (including both Resident Visa and Permanent Resident Visa).
Permanent Resident Visa
If you have had a resident visa for the last three months in New Zealand and have lived in New Zealand for 2 years or more, you may be eligible for a Permanent Resident Visa, which will allow you to travel to and from New Zealand at any time.
Duration of stay – for an indefinite period.
Conditions
With this visa it is allowed:
- Live, work and study in New Zealand;
- Travel to and from New Zealand at any time.
- Include your partner and dependent children under the age of 24 on your visa application.
- If you want to travel, your Permanent Resident Visa must have a valid passport.
- People directly affected by the terrorist attacks in Christchurch on 15 March 2019 and their families living in New Zealand can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa through a different process.
Both Resident Visas and Permanent Resident Visas give holders the right to stay in New Zealand. However, they have different travel conditions.
Similarities between Resident Visa and Permanent Resident Visa:
The owner of any Resident Visa has the right to:
- Stay in New Zealand indefinitely;
- Work in New Zealand or in the economic zone of New Zealand;
- Study in New Zealand;
- Receive free or subsidized medical care in state medical institutions;
- Free education in public primary and secondary schools, as well as subsidies for students in private schools and higher education institutions;
- Register and vote in elections (after one year of residence);
- Receive Social Security benefits (after two years of residence for Job Search Support, Single Parent Support and Living Allowance; after ten years of residence for New Zealand Pension);
- Sponsor a partner, parents or dependent children during their visa application;
Differences between Resident Visa and Permanent Resident Visa
A Permanent Resident Visa holder is eligible to obtain entry clearance at the border at any time, while a Resident Visa holder is only eligible to apply for entry clearance (before or after traveling to New Zealand).
Typically, a Resident Visa is issued with travel conditions that allow the holder to re-enter the country multiple times until the term expires. After that, the visa holder can remain in New Zealand legally, but must not leave the country or lose their resident status.
There are several ways to obtain New Zealand citizenship:
- By the right of the origin – to be born on New Zealand territory;
- Be born in the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, Samoa or Australia. Citizens of these territories are not automatically issued with a passport, but it is possible to apply for it in the benefits system;
- If at least one parent is a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident;
- Through naturalization, having lived in the country for at least 5 years. Moreover, it is necessary to stay in New Zealand for 8 months or more every year.
Applicants for naturalization way of obtaining citizenship will be required to have a basic command of the English language, will be tested in an interview, demonstrate future plans for life in New Zealand through work, study or real estate, and be of good behavior.
Citizenship Services may contact you if a police check shows that you have:
- 100 or more penalty points on the driver's license;
- Other fines or violations in New Zealand or other countries;
- Committed crimes and other offenses.
Applicants may be denied New Zealand citizenship:
- With charges filed in the country;
- Convicted of a crime within the last 3 years;
- Those, who have been in prison for any time during the last 7 years;
- Have ever been sentenced to imprisonment for more than 5 years.
Children under the age of 16 applying for New Zealand citizenship are exempt from the requirements. However, applicants aged 14-15 must be able to speak English (at a basic level), have no serious problems with the law and remain in New Zealand after obtaining citizenship.
The following categories can immigrate to New Zealand in order to apply for citizenship in the future:
- For students – obtaining a student visa, studying and further employment after graduation;
- For highly qualified specialists – obtaining a special visa based on your qualifications and work experience:
Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa – a visa created for people (students who complete a full course of study at a private or higher educational institution for at least 2 academic years or a full course of study in New Zealand that ends with obtaining a qualification; skilled workers) who have skills to contribute to New Zealand's economic growth. Before Immigration New Zealand can invite you to apply, you will first need to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI), which includes information about your work in New Zealand, work experience and qualifications. If your expression of interest is successful, you will be offered the opportunity to apply to live and work in New Zealand indefinitely.
The stages of obtaining a visa consist of:
1.Self-evaluation
Check your eligibility and calculate your points
2.Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI)
A points-based system is used to evaluate expressions of interest. Submit EOI online.
3.Receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA)
If you score 160 or more, you will be selected from the EOI pool and may be sent an ITA.
4.Apply for residence. Please note the fees and information about the offices. Apply for residence on a form sent by Immigration Service of New Zealand.
5.Get a visa
If successful, you will be issued a residence visa.
- Relocation of an employee with an invitation from a local employer or organization;
- For young specialists under 35 years of age with high qualifications – a visa is initially issued to look for a job in New Zealand. Issuance of visas is subject to quotas;
- For businessmen – you need to demonstrate the business plan of the future company or buy a ready-made business in New Zealand;
- For investors – you need to invest a certain amount in the country's economy and get the right to permanent residence in a few years.
After choosing the appropriate immigration method, the candidate is issued a specific type of visa, which can later be changed to a New Zealand permanent resident visa. Most often, the PMP is issued after 2 years of residence with a temporary resident visa.
Submitting an application for citizenship
After checking all the necessary requirements, the candidate must prepare documents confirming the identity. It can be a passport, birth certificate or travel document. Photographs of the applicant taken no more than 6 months ago will also be required. Depending on the situation, other additional documents may be required.
You need to apply and pay the citizenship fee.
It takes 9 to 14 months to find out if your application for New Zealand citizenship has been approved. Once approved, the applicant will have to attend a citizenship ceremony. Children under the age of 13 receive a citizenship certificate without attending a ceremony.
After the ceremony, the new citizen can apply for a New Zealand passport.
New Zealand citizenship gives the right to:
- Live in the country indefinitely;
- Travel abroad with a New Zealand passport;
- Vote and run for parliament or local self-government;
- Have full access to education;
- Have full economic and social rights;
- Represent New Zealand in sporting events.
In turn, a citizen must comply with the laws of the state, be sure to register on the electoral roll and behave as a responsible citizen of New Zealand.
Dual citizenship. In New Zealand, it is allowed to have a second citizenship: it is not necessary to renounce the first citizenship when obtaining the citizenship of the country.
In response to the war in Ukraine, New Zealand has launched the 2022 Special Ukraine Visa, which allows New Zealanders of Ukrainian descent to apply for a visa to bring their family members in Ukraine to New Zealand.
Applications are now open. The application period started on March 15, 2022 and will end on March 15, 2024.
How to get a visa
If you are a Ukrainian living in New Zealand, you can sponsor your family members in Ukraine to apply for a new temporary visa. You will first need to complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) and nominate your family members.
If you are in Ukraine, you can only apply for a visa after being nominated by a family member living in New Zealand.
If you are unable to apply yourself, a New Zealand family member can apply on your behalf.
Who can apply
To be eligible to apply for the Special Ukrainian Visa 2022, you must have family members in New Zealand who are eligible to sponsor you.
You must confirm that you have been residing in Ukraine as of January 2022, and be in good health and of good character with no criminal record.
Eligible family members in New Zealand can sponsor their parents, grandparents, siblings, and adult children.
Each of these people can include their partners and dependent children in their visa application.
Who is eligible to be a sponsor
To be eligible to become a sponsor you must
- be permanently resident in New Zealand
- be a citizen of New Zealand or have the status of a permanent resident of this country
- confirm that you were born in Ukraine, have citizenship or permanent residence in Ukraine, and
- meet all the requirements for a sponsor for a temporary visa
How to apply
You can apply using the New Zealand Immigration Service form 1371 (application form can be found
here).
There is no application fee.
If the application is approved, you and your family will be offered a two-year visa with the possibility for adults to work in New Zealand and for children aged 18 and under to study in New Zealand.
If you are granted one of the visas in this category, you must enter New Zealand within 9 months.
For more information about Special Ukraine Visa please follow the link.