Permanent Resident Visa
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.
Apply online-
Length of stay
Live, work and study
indefinitely
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Cost
From
NZD $315
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Processing time
80% within
3 weeks
To apply you must:
- have had a resident visa for at least 2 years in a row
- have a current resident visa, or a resident visa that expired 90 days ago or less
- have met the conditions of your resident visa
- have shown a commitment to New Zealand in 1 of the 5 ways that meet our requirements
- meet the other requirements of this visa.
This visa lets you:
- live, work and study in New Zealand
- travel to and from New Zealand any time you like
- include your partner and dependent children aged 24 or younger in your visa application.
How long you can stay
With a Permanent Resident Visa, you can stay in New Zealand indefinitely.
You can travel in and out of New Zealand indefinitely, as long as you keep your visa in a valid passport.
Check the 'While you are in New Zealand' section for more information.
Who can apply
To apply for this visa you must:
- have had a resident visa for at least 2 years in a row
- have a current resident visa, or a resident visa that expired 90 days ago or less
- have met the conditions of your resident visa, if any
- have shown a commitment to New Zealand in 1 of the 5 ways that meet our requirements
- be of good character.
Your resident visa status
You must have a current resident visa, or a resident visa that expired 90 days ago or less.
You must have had your resident visa for at least 2 years before you can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa.
Your 2 years start from:
- the date you first arrived in New Zealand from overseas, or
- the date your visa was issued, if you were already in New Zealand.
Provide evidence of your:
- resident visa, or
- residence permit.
Resident visa conditions
You must provide evidence you have met the conditions of your current resident visa, if it has any conditions.
Check the conditions of your visa
Commitment to New Zealand
You must be committed to living in New Zealand permanently.
You must have evidence of at least 1 of the 5 ways that show your commitment to living in New Zealand permanently.
The evidence you must provide depends on how you choose to show your commitment to New Zealand.
To meet the time commitment, you must have been in New Zealand for at least 184 days in each of the last 2 years. We use your travel records as evidence.
Character
You, and anyone else included in your application, must be of good character.
When we process your application, we will let you know if you need to provide police certificates as proof of your good character.
How to get a police certificate
If you have a criminal conviction, or are a security risk to New Zealand, we might not give you a visa.
If you were included as a partner or dependent child in the original resident application, you are a non-principal applicant. The principal applicant is the person who included you in their resident application.
Normally, we cannot give a Permanent Resident Visa to you before the principal applicant. You must:
- be included in the principal applicant's Permanent Resident Visa application, or
- apply for your Permanent Resident Visa at the same time or after the principal applicant.
There are some cases where a non-a principal applicant may be able to apply before the principal applicant. An example is when partners separate or divorce.
Note
If you were a dependent child in the original resident application, but are no longer a dependent child, you must apply for your own Permanent Resident Visa.
Documents you need
When you apply
When you apply, you will need to provide:
- a high-quality scan of the details page of your passport or certificate of identity — and for anyone you are including
- a scan of the other pages of your passport or certificate of identity that contain visa records, entry and exit stamps — to include as supporting information
- 1 acceptable photo for each person
- translated versions of all your documents if they are not in English.
After you apply
After you apply, we may contact you and ask for:
- evidence of a medical examination or chest X-ray if you have not already provided these
- police certificates as proof of your good character
- proof that your children are
.
How to apply
Follow these steps to complete your application online.
Note
To help prevent delays with processing, make sure your application contains all the required documents.
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Step 1: Gather your documents
The section 'Who can apply' explains the requirements for this visa and what you will need as proof.
Our guide for applying for a resident visa can help you.
Get documents translated
For your application you must provide:
- certified English translations of any documents that are not in English
- scanned copies of the original documents.
Documents must be translated by someone who meets our requirements for providing English translations.
Organise proof of identity, citizenship and age
If anyone in your application needs a new passport, allow enough time to get it.
For proof of identity, you will need to upload a high-quality scan of the details page of your passport or
. This is the page that has your photo, name, and date of birth on it. When you apply, make sure your identity details are entered exactly as they appear on your passport or certificate of identity.
Alert
If there are any mistakes in your identity details, your application may be delayed. We may also decline your application or refuse you entry to New Zealand.
Make sure your photos are acceptable for a New Zealand visa.
Apply for police certificates, if required
Check what you will need to include for this visa.
We will let you know if you need to provide police certificates.
Note
Your police certificates must be less than 6 months old when you submit your application. Allow yourself enough time to get these certificates.
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Step 2: Submit your application and pay the fee
Submit your application and pay the fee.
To apply online, log in to your account or set up an account if you do not have one already.
You can then fill in your application, upload your documents and pay the applicable fees.
Check the 'How to pay and submit' section for fees.
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Step 3: Wait for our decision
We will let you know if we need more information to process your application.
Check the 'How to pay and submit' section for timeframes.
Alert
If you have a current resident visa and are outside of New Zealand after your travel conditions expires, your resident visa will expire as well.
The conditions are recorded in your resident visa.
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Step 4: Check your application status
Log in to your account to check the status of your application.
Checking your visa application status
We will email you when we make a decision.
If we approve your application, we will give you an eVisa and send you a copy.
Check the 'While you are in New Zealand' section to find out what you can and cannot do when you come to New Zealand.
How to pay and submit
We cannot display any process or costs information until you have provided your country details.
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When you get your visa
Your visa is valid from the date you get your visa.
When you arrive
Everyone travelling into New Zealand must complete a New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD) form.
You can start your digital declaration any time, but the earliest you can submit it is 24 hours before starting your travel to New Zealand.
A paper declaration form is available for travellers who cannot complete it online.
New Zealand Traveller Declaration — Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
While you are in New Zealand
There are no visa conditions on a Permanent Resident Visa.
Your resident visa allows you to live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely.
You can travel in and out of New Zealand indefinitely, as long as you keep your visa in a valid passport.
If your passport expires, you must apply to transfer your visa to a new passport before you can travel.
Getting citizenship
For most people, after 5 years of living in New Zealand as a resident, you may be able to get New Zealand citizenship. You do not need a Permanent Resident Visa first.