New Zealand Permanent Residence Visa Policy

New Zealand Permanent Residence Visa policies are complex, and cover Skilled Migrant, Family and Defacto Partner categories. For those wishing to immigrate to New Zealand, this page provides an outline of some of the current Immigration NZ Permanent Residence Categories. For detailed information and advice, contact us directly:

Skilled Migrant Category:

The Skilled Migrant Category is a based points system of assessment for eligibility for permanent residence to New Zealand, which replaced the previous General Skills Category in December 2003.

Applicants under this category are entitled to score points for factors including age, qualification, work experience and job offer. For an indication of the points assessment please refer to the Skilled Migrant Category Points System Schedule.

The Skilled Migrant Category is now a two step process. Applicants will first submit an Expression of Interest Form indicating their points assessment. In order to qualify to submit an Expression of Interest, applicants must reach a minimum of 100 points.Once the Expression of Interest is duly lodged with the New Zealand Immigration Service, the application is retained in the "pool" of applications for a maximum period of three months. Every two weeks, the top point scorers of the pool are selected and subsequently invited to apply for permanent residence. Applications that have not been selected will remain in the pool until either they are selected or until they have remained unsuccessfully in the pool for the maximum of six months. After this period, unsuccessful applicants may resubmit a new Expression of Interest if so desired. There is no limit to the number of applications an individual can make.

Due to the fact that selections are made on a bi-weekly basis, the pass mark may be subject to change at these intervals.

Under the Skilled Migrant Category, applicants must meet the mandatory requirements of good health, good character, appropriate English language (IELTS of 6.5 or a recognised English language background), and be no older than 55 years of age. Whilst qualifications and New Zealand job offers are not mandatory requirements for this category, applicants are unlikely to meet the necessary points score without points for both of these components.For this reason and because priority is given to those applicants who have demonstrated their ability to settle in New Zealand, where possible, it is advisable to initially secure a job offer and work permit in New Zealand. This not only demonstrates settlement ability but also can lead to the entitlement to bonus points under the Skilled Migrant Category.

It is important to note that in an attempt to attract migrants with skills that have been identified as advantageous to New Zealand or otherwise in short supply, the New Zealand Immigration Service have limited eligibility only to those migrants that are deemed to be "skilled" in respect to the labour market shortages or demands of New Zealand. Therefore, some occupations and industries will not be recognised for excluded from eligibility under the Skilled Migrant Category. Consequently, it is important to ensure that you are fully aware of these restrictions prior to lodging an Expression of Interest with the New Zealand Immigration Service.

Family Category:

The objective of Family Category policy is to allow individuals to maintain and be part of a family unit, while reinforcing the governments overall objectives in immigration policy. The category is therefore broken up into a number of sub-categories including spouse and de-facto partner policy, parent policy, dependent child policy, adult sibling and adult child policy.

Defacto Partner (Family Category):

Applicants seeking approval under the De Facto Partner policy (which includes homosexual relationships) will only be eligible for the grant of residence once the Principal Applicant has been living with the New Zealand citizen or resident spouse for a minimum of 12 months. However, an application for residence may be lodged with the INZ prior to the 12 month qualifying period and a decision will then be deferred until the couple have met the requisite 12 month period.

Adult Sibling/Adult Child (Family Category):

Applicants under either the Adult Sibling or Adult Child Categories must prove that they are the only immediate family member remaining in their home country; that they have a job offer in New Zealand (minimum income test applies if the Principal Applicant has children); and sponsored by a family member who is either a New Zealand citizen or who has held permanent residence in New Zealand for at least three years.

All sub-categories of the Family Category policy remain subject to the other mandatory requirements including health and character checks.

Humanitarian Category:

Closed as at 1 October 2001.

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