NZ Resident Visas:
Live and Work in New Zealand Permanently
Come and live on the biggest islands in the Pacific region! New Zealand is a wonderful place to live and work, with a growing economy, low unemployment rates, and increasing salaries and wages. (Source: Stats NZ, 2022.) New Zealanders are a friendly bunch, and with such a strong focus on skilled migrants, the country has a strong and growing multicultural feel. Plus the landscape’s every bit as beautiful as you imagine it to be. To make New Zealand your permanent home, there are a number of pathways to an NZ Resident Visa.
The best route for you will depend on your occupation, skills, experience, age, whether you have a job offer or not, and other factors.
We strongly encourage you to get up-to-date advice from VisaAide early on, as the process to get an NZ Resident Visa can be complicated, and the best solution may not be immediately obvious.
Overview of NZ resident visas
Here are some of the pathways towards an NZ resident visa:
Certain occupations provide a direct pathway to residence. If you meet the requirements, you can apply for residence, even if you are offshore. That way you can arrive in New Zealand with your resident visa in hand.
This requires a job offer for a skilled, full-time role, and for the applicant to achieve sufficient points in the Points System.
Certain occupations provide a route to residence after spending a certain amount of time working in New Zealand. The Talent Visa applies to arts, culture, and sports. And there are also optionsfor Religious Workers.
Highly paid roles may qualify for NZ residence after 2 years of employment in New Zealand. Find out more about the Accredited Employer Work Visa.
This provides a potential pathway to residence. For the Entrepreneur Work Visa, you must have at least NZ$100,000 to invest, a business plan, and meet the points criteria. If your application is successful, you can stay in New Zealand for up to 3 years. After 2 years, you can apply for an Entrepreneur Resident Visa if your business has been profitable and the approved plan has been carried out.
Key employees of approved businesses relocating to New Zealand may have a route to permanent residency, if they work for their employer for at least 24 months after relocating.
If you’ve completed a New Zealand qualification on a student visa, in some circumstances you may qualify for a Post Study Work Visa – which then opens the door to the Skilled Migrant Visa or Residence from Work Visa. However, this is a very complex area, and there are institutions and advisers selling false promises and false job offers. Please contact our friendly experts at VisaAide for correct and up-to-date advice.
You may be eligible for an NZ resident visa if your partner is a New Zealand citizen or resident. Read more about New Zealand partnership visas.
Once you’ve had a residence visa for more than 2 years, you can apply for this visa, which allows you to freely travel in and out of New Zealand indefinitely.
Do you need help with your NZ resident visa?
We specialise in New Zealand visas – contact us for up-to-date advice.
