Resident and Permanent Resident Visas
New Zealand Resident Visa
Straight to Residence Visa
- Live, work and study in New Zealand.
- Include your partner and dependent children aged 24 and under in your residence application.
- You must be working for an accredited employer or have a job offer from one.
- Your role must be on Tier 1 of the Green List and meet the requirements set out in the Green List for your role.
- Older dependent children under 24 in your application must be single, without children of their own, and only supported financially by you.
- You can either come to New Zealand on a work visa now and apply for the Straight to Residence Visa, or apply from outside New Zealand.
- You must include in your application English translations of any supporting documents in other languages.
Work to Residence Visa
To be eligible for this residence visa you must:
- be employed in a role on Tier 2 of the Green List or hold an offer of employment for one
- meet the specified requirements on the Green List for the role
- have worked for 24 months in New Zealand in a Tier 2 Green List role (and met its specified requirements).
Your employer must be accredited when you apply for this visa.
The employment or offer of employment must be full-time (at least 30 hours a week), genuine, and permanent, or be at least a 12-month fixed term contract.
Acceptable work in New Zealand can be counted towards a Work to Residence Visa while you hold or held:
- an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV)
- another work visa or a Critical Purpose Visitor Visa (with work conditions) and held it or applied for it before 4 July 2022.
There can be small breaks in your employment. But you must still show you worked for the required 24 months within the 30 month period before your visa application date.
You can mix acceptable work criteria, such as working in a role on Tier 2 of the Green List (Work to Residence) and work earning twice the median wage (Highly Paid Residence).
Skilled Migrant Category (SMC)
A Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa lets you stay in New Zealand indefinitely. This visa is for people who have skills that will contribute to New Zealand’s economic growth.
With this visa you can
- Live, work and study in New Zealand.
- Include your partner, and dependent children aged 24 and under, in your residence application.
You must be able to claim 6 skilled resident points. Claim 3 to 6 points based on your occupational registration, qualification, or income. Claim up to 3 more points for skilled work experience in New Zealand.
New Zealand Permanent Resident Visa
The Difference Between Residence and PR
Resident Visas come with travel conditions permitting re-entry to New Zealand as a resident until a specified date. In contrast, a Permanent Resident Visa allows unrestricted re-entry to New Zealand indefinitely.
You can apply for this visa if you have had a resident visa for more than 2 years. This visa lets you live in New Zealand permanently, and travel in and out of the country.