To be eligible for a permanent resident visa (PRV) the principal applicant in your original residence application must:

• hold a resident visa, or have held one in the last three months
• hold, or have held, that resident visa for at least two years continuously
• have met any conditions that your resident visa was subject to under section 49(1) of the Immigration Act
• meet relevant character requirements, and
• have met one of five commitment to New Zealand criteria set out below.

If you were not the principal applicant in the original residence application, you normally cannot apply for a permanent resident visa unless you apply at the same time as the principal applicant or later. See our immigration instructions for RV1.20 for exceptions to this requirement.

Commitment to New Zealand criteria

1. You have spent enough time in New Zealand

You have been in New Zealand as a resident for a total of 184 days or more in each of the two 12-month portions of the 24 months immediately preceding your permanent resident visa application. You do not have to provide any extra evidence, other than your passport(s).

2. You have tax residence status

You have been in New Zealand as a resident for a total of 41 days or more in each of the two 12-month portions of the 24 months immediately preceding your permanent resident visa application, and you are assessed by Inland Revenue (IR) as holding tax residence status for the two years preceding your application for a permanent resident visa. You must include evidence of your tax residence status with your application. Acceptable evidence includes:

• a statement from IR for the period for which you have been assessed as having tax residence status, or
• the INZ form Confirmation of Tax Resident Status (INZ 1006) completed and endorsed by IR.

 

Note: If, under the provisions of a double tax agreement, you also have tax residence status in another country, you will not be considered to have tax residence status in New Zealand for the purpose of meeting the requirements for a permanent resident visa.

 

A list of countries New Zealand has a double tax agreement with can be found on the Inland Revenue website.

3. Investment in New Zealand

You have been approved residence under the Investor Category and met any conditions imposed under section 49(1) of the Immigration Act 2009, or you obtained residence under another category and maintained an investment of NZ$1,000,000 or more in New Zealand for two years. 

 

The funds must be lawfully obtained and owned solely by you, or jointly with your partner or dependent children included in the residence application. The funds must originally have been transferred to New Zealand through the trading bank system, or have been earned or acquired in New Zealand. They must be invested in New Zealand currency in a venture capable of providing a commercial return. This does not include a home, car, boat or similar items. The funds may not be used as collateral for any loan during the two-year investment period, unless the money loaned remains within New Zealand and in New Zealand dollars only. The funds may be transferred from one investment to another provided each investment meets these rules.

4. Business in New Zealand

You have obtained residence under any category and have successfully established or purchased a business in New Zealand at least 12 months ago that is trading successfully and benefiting New Zealand in some way. You must either:

• have established or purchased the business operating in New Zealand, or
• own a minimum 25 percent shareholding in an existing business in New Zealand.

With your application you will have to provide a set of your latest business accounts certified by a New Zealand chartered accountant and a statement from them confirming that in their view your business is a ‘going concern’.

5. Established base in New Zealand

You have been in New Zealand as a resident for a total of at least 41 days in the 12-month period immediately before lodging your permanent resident visa application, and all members of your immediate family who were included in your residence application have resided in New Zealand for a total of at least 184 days in the two-year period immediately before lodging your permanent resident visa application. Also, either:

• you own and maintain a family home in New Zealand, or
• you have been genuinely employed full-time in New Zealand, in paid employment, for a total of at least nine months in the two-year period immediately before lodging your permanent resident visa application. Employment involving payment by commission and/or retainer is not acceptable.

If you are applying on the basis of owning a family home, you must have purchased it within 12 months of your first day in New Zealand as a resident and still own that property either solely or jointly with members of your immediate family who were included in your residence application.

 

With your application you will have to provide evidence of owning and maintaining your home or evidence of employment. Evidence of owning and maintaining a home may include your residential property title deed mortgage documents, rate demands, home insurance papers, and accounts for the telephone, electricity, gas or water.

 

Evidence of employment may include written confirmation of your full-time employment from your employer(s). If you are self-employed, you should provide evidence you have established, purchased or hold shares in a business in New Zealand, and are actively involved in managing or operating that business.

How do I go about applying for a permanent resident visa?