South Island Contribution Resident Visa

Visa details

You can apply for New Zealand residency if you have a South Island Contribution Work Visa, and have remained employed in the same industry and region for the last 2 years.

Length of stay

Indefinitely

Cost
From
NZD $4240
Processing time
90% within
5 months
With this visa you can
  • Live, work and study in the region recorded on your South Island Contribution Work Visa.
  • Include your partner and dependent children aged 24 and under in your residence application.
Things to note

Who can apply

The criteria and evidence below will provide you with the information you need to provide to meet the requirements of this visa.

View All Evidence

Character

You must be of good character

If you are 17 or over, you must provide a police certificate from:

  • your country of citizenship
  • any country you have lived in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years.

Good character

How to get a police certificate

Tips

  1. Police Certificates must be less than 6 months old when you apply.

  2. If you provide a police certificate that is not in English, you must provide an English translation.

    This includes police certificates that record no convictions.

Employment while holding a South Island Contribution Work Visa

You must have been employed for 2 years while holding a South Island Contribution Work Visa

You must:

  • currently hold a South Island Contribution Work Visa
  • have held a South Island Contribution Work Visa for 2 years
  • have been employed for 2 years in a full-time role in the region and industry specified by your South Island Contribution Work Visa.

Employment must have been with an employer who is not included on the list of non-compliant employers.

List of non-compliant employers

Ongoing employment

You must have ongoing employment in the South Island region recorded on your South Island Contribution Work Visa

You must hold current employment or have an offer of employment which is:

  • full-time
  • paid by salary or wages
  • genuine
  • sustainable and ongoing (i.e. permanent or indefinite, or for a stated term of at least 24 months)
  • based in the South Island region recorded on your South Island Contribution Work Visa
  • based on terms and conditions which are not less than those of the New Zealand market
  • with an employer who has a history of compliance with immigration and employment law, and is not included on the list of non-compliant employers maintained by the Labour Inspectorate.

Non-compliant employers

Partner and dependent children

Your family must meet the requirements for a resident visa

You can include your partner and dependent children in your application for a resident visa.

You must provide evidence:

  • of your relationship with your partner and dependent children
  • that your partner and dependent children meet the identity, character, and health requirements for this visa

Partnership
Dependent children

Tips

  1. We will automatically consider your child dependent if they were granted a work visa when your South Island Contribution Work Visa was granted.

Process and costs

The information below will help you understand the process, timeframes and costs involved in applying for this visa, so you can plan ahead and have the best chance of submitting a complete application.

Notes

We cannot display any process or costs information until you have provided your country details. Enter your country details in the panel above to view information relevant to your situation.

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How to submit

Payment methods and receiving centre details if applicable.

Notes

We cannot display any receiving centre or payment method information until you have provided your country details. Enter your country details in the panel above to view information relevant to your situation.

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Conditions

These are the conditions that you must meet once you have your visa.

Entry permission

You must apply for entry permission when you arrive in New Zealand. You can do this by completing an arrival card, which you are given on the way to New Zealand.

Arriving in New Zealand

Notes

  • You can be refused entry permission if:

    • you don’t meet our character requirements
    • your circumstances have changed since you were granted a visa
    • you refuse to let us to take your photo, or provide us with your fingerprints or an iris scan, if we ask you for them.

Travel

You can travel in and out of New Zealand as often as you like until your travel conditions expire.

To travel after that, you will need to apply for and be granted either:

  • a Permanent Resident Visa
  • a variation of your travel conditions, which would allow you to return to New Zealand at a later date. 
Notes

  • Your travel conditions will expire 2 years from the date you first arrive in New Zealand as a resident.

    If you’re outside of New Zealand when your travel conditions expire, your visa will expire as well.

Keep your visa in a valid passport

If you want to travel, your visa must be in a valid passport.

If your passport expires, you must apply to transfer your visa to a new passport before you can travel.

Transferring my visa to a new passport

Notes

Work

You must work in the region specified in your visa approval letter for 24 months from the date your resident visa is granted.

Notes

  • The region specified will be the same region as specified by your South Island Contribution Work Visa.

    You must provide evidence you have met your visa conditions within 30 months of being granted a resident visa.

Study

Once granted a resident visa, you can do any study you like.