You can apply for a permanent resident visa that permits you to remain in New Zealand for an unrestricted period if you have possessed a New Zealand visa for more than 24 months.
Once you have gotten the permanent resident visa, you will be required to have access to several advantages that this visa provides. These benefits include studying, getting employed, and accessing the supported healthcare system in New Zealand, among others.
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Difference Between A Resident Visa And A Permanent Resident Visa
Using a resident visa, you can travel to New Zealand as many times as the travel requirements of the visa permit or for an unrestricted period if you are awarded access authorization.
A permanent resident visa permits you to enter and exit New Zealand as frequently as you desire and remain permanently there.
Eligibility Conditions For A New Zealand Permanent Resident Visa
To be qualified for a permanent resident visa, you are required to satisfy the measures below:
- You are required to be of good conduct.
- You must handle a resident visa or have handled one in the previous three months.
- You are required to have your resident visa for a minimum period of 24 months.
- You are required to have satisfied the requirements of your present visa
- You are required to be devoted to residing in New Zealand indefinitely.
Eligibility Conditions For Non-principal Candidates
Suppose you are the spouse or dependent child of the principal candidate. In that case, you can be awarded a permanent resident visa even if they have not become permanent residents themselves only if you satisfy the qualification conditions, as mentioned below:
Eligibility Conditions For Spouses Of Principal Candidates
You can become a permanent resident in New Zealand if your principal candidate has not become a permanent resident yet if:
- You and the leading candidate are no longer married or divorced
- You have a safety ruling against the leading candidate
- The leading candidate has been charged with a crime against you or a dependent child
- The principal candidate passed on
- The primary candidate is currently a New Zealand national
Eligibility Conditions For Children Of The Primary Candidates
You can become a permanent resident in New Zealand if your principal candidate has not become a permanent resident yet if:
- Your other parent was not mentioned in the application.
- Your other parent passed on or became a national of New Zealand.
- You were authorized a resident visa or approval before 30th October 1995.
- You lawfully landed in New Zealand to settle indefinitely before 2nd April 1974 and handled a resident permit under the Immigration Act 1987.
- The principal candidate was massacred in the Christchurch terrorist raid on 15th March 2019.
Benefits Of The Permanent Resident Visa In New Zealand
Once you get a permanent resident visa in New Zealand, you will only enjoy the advantages mentioned below:
- You can settle in New Zealand.
- Your kids born in New Zealand are typically nationals of New Zealand.
- You can get employed in New Zealand.
- You can enroll and vote during elections after 12 months of residence.
- Your kids will be capable of going to free schools and institutions.
- You can acquire supported medical services and social safety advantages.
- You can study in New Zealand.
- You can include your spouse and dependent children between 24 and below in your visa request if they were included in your original residence request.
Application For A Resident Visa In New Zealand
To make an application for a permanent resident visa, you are required to:
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- Fill out the New Zealand application form: You must fill in the Resident or Former Resident Visa Holder (INZ 1175). You must fill out the form using uppercase letters in English and then print it out. You must include two pictures that satisfy the New Zealand photo conditions.
- Get ready the needed documents for a permanent resident visa. You must gather all the required documents and prepare for the presentation. Remember to present any documents, as your request will be denied.
- Schedule a booking with VFSglobal: When you schedule the appointment, you will receive a verification email. You must attend the appointment at the closest visa application center to present your application form and other needed documents. Your visa request center may be outside of your home nation.
- Go for the appointment: When you go for the appointment, you must present the needed papers. The visa application center where you made an application will forward your application to Immigration New Zealand for processing.
- Pay the needed fees: You can pay in person using a credit card, a Visa or MasterCard, or a bank transfer. The Immigration Cost, VAC Service Fee, and, if relevant, courier payment must be attached to one payment. You are required to fill out section L on your request form, where you are needed to offer your credit or debit card information. Reimbursement can be carried out at the time of your appointment.
- Await for judgment: After processing your visa application, you will receive details on it. The judgment will be forwarded to you via email.
Needed Documents For A Permanent Residency Visa In New Zealand
To make an application for a permanent resident visa, you are required to get the mentioned documents:
- Evidence of your identity.
- Certificate from police.
- Resident visa.
- Evidence you satisfy the requirements of your recent visa.
- Evidence you fulfill the time dedication conditions.
Evidence Of Your Identity
You are required to ascertain your identity by giving the documents listed below:
- Your passport: You are required to present your original passport or a licensed copy of it. You can only give an identity certificate if you do not have a passport.
- Two passport images of you or Certificate of Identity: The passport picture you present must be 3.5 cm wide and 4.5 cm high and satisfy all the other picture conditions of New Zealand.
Note: Your passport must be authentic for at least three months after the date you plan to exit the nation.
Police Certificate
You may be required to present a police certificate as proof of good conduct. Immigration New Zealand will inform you if you are required to do so. If you are required to show a police certificate, it must be under six months old.
Resident Visa
To apply for a permanent resident visa, you must have had the Resident visa for at least 24 months when you make an application. Your needed two-year duration begins from when your visa was allocated if it was issued when you were in New Zealand. Hence, the two-year duration starts from the date you landed in New Zealand if your visa was issued when you were not in New Zealand. When you make an application, you are required to offer your resident visa or permit.
Evidence You Satisfy The Requirements Of Your Current Visa
You are required to ascertain you have satisfied the requirements of your present resident visa to make an application for a permanent resident visa. Conditions of resident visas may have to do with:
- Being employed only in a specific employment or for a particular employer.
- Journeying to and from New Zealand only for the time permitted by the resident visa
- Having invested funds in New Zealand
- Spending the least number of days in New Zealand.
Evidence You Satisfy The Time Commitment Conditions
You can ascertain that you are devoted to settling in New Zealand indefinitely in five different methods.
- By indicating that you have stayed more than enough in New Zealand.
- By demonstrating that you have tax resident status in New Zealand
- By demonstrating that you have invested in New Zealand
- By demonstrating that you own a business in New Zealand
The Processing Time For A Permanent Resident Visa For New Zealand
The permanent resident visa in New Zealand is often run within three to five months. Hence, a lot of the requests are processed within five months. Once you get a permanent resident visa, you must transfer your visa to a new authentic passport before you can travel if your passport has expired. To transfer your visa successfully, you are required to:
- Forward your old and new passports.
- Present a filled-out Application for Transfer or Verification of a visa
- Make payment for a transfer fee.
