How long do you have to live in New Zealand to become a permanent resident?

A Permanent Resident Visa (PRV) is essentially an extension of your Resident Visa (RV).

Your Resident Visa will allow you to live in New Zealand permanently & indefinitely, but the travel conditions will generally expire after 2 years.

It's not compulsory to apply for a Permanent Resident Visa, but you may wish to consider doing so if you plan to travel in & out of New Zealand.

If you happen to be outside New Zealand when your travel conditions expire, you won't be allowed to enter New Zealand as a Resident on that visa again!

We all know how hard it is to gain New Zealand residence. One would hope that you carefully consider your options before making any last-minute plans to travel abroad.

That said, life happens...

Sometimes you find yourself stuck in a position where a family member back home urgently needs you to return to help care for them.

Perhaps your cross-border vacation had to be extended unwillingly due to an accident or sudden illness & subsequent hospitalisation.

The next thing you know, your Resident Visa has expired & you can't return home - don't worry, we'll explain how you can resolve this down below!

Permanent Residency (in an immigration context) is dependent on your ability to show a genuine commitment to New Zealand.

While there are 5 ways to show your commitment to New Zealand, most people use the "time served" method. This involves having stayed in New Zealand for most of the 2 years before applying for Permanent Residence (PR) or 184 days per year to be exact.

Apart from showing that you're committed to permanently staying in New Zealand (and not ditching us for Aussie...), you also need to have complied with any conditions listed on your Resident Visa.

Some common visa conditions include:

• "first entry date" condition

• "expiry date travel" conditions

• "number of entries" conditions

• "minimum investment period" conditions

• "sponsorship" conditions

• "employment" conditions

If you have Section 49 conditions on your visa, you will need to apply to get them removed before you can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa. Luckily, this is a free service!

This is where things get interesting...

While most people are eligible to apply for a Permanent Resident Visa after spending a continuous 2 years in New Zealand on a Resident Visa, there are exceptions to this!

Remember how we said you must show commitment to New Zealand AND comply with your visa conditions? Right! Some Resident Visas will be issued with what is known as Section 49 or Section 55 conditions

1. Parent Resident Visa - you need to spend 10 years in New Zealand

2. Religious Worker Resident Visa - you need to spend 5 years in New Zealand

3. Investor Resident Visas - you need to spend 3 years in New Zealand

Some people may even be eligible for a Permanent Resident Visa right away!

If you've lived with your New Zealand citizen partner for a minimum of 5 years overseas, you may be able to skip a Resident Visa & go straight to being granted a Permanent Resident Visa!

What happens if I don't qualify for PR?

In some cases, you may NOT be eligible for a Permanent Resident Visa. If that happens, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) may be able to issue you a Second / Subsequent Resident Visa or, at the very least, a Variation of Conditions (VOC) to allow you to travel temporarily.

Depending on your situation, you may be eligible for either:

• 24 months Variation of Conditions

• 12 months Variation of Conditions

• 14 days Variation of Conditions

Each of these has its own eligibility criteria to meet. The 24-month Variation of Condition is, however, considered a "special provision".

Basically, if you failed to meet the conditions for a PRV, Immigration New Zealand aren't very keen on providing you with an additional 2 years to prove that commitment.

Australian citizens & residents are some of the few individuals who are likely to be offered a 24-month VOC to encourage them to stay.

What happens after PR?

While this is the last step in your journey with INZ, it's certainly not the final step towards becoming a Kiwi.

In fact, the little black book that opens doors to 172 countries visa-free can only be obtained once you've been granted New Zealand citizenship.

The New Zealand passport is currently the 6th most powerful passport to hold, according to the Global Passport Index.