New Zealand Permanent Residents are residents of New Zealand, who hold a residence class visa (including both resident visas and permanent resident visas). Both resident visas and permanent resident visas give the holders the permanent right to be in New Zealand. However, they have different travel conditions.
This article refers to the terms “resident” and “permanent resident” only in the scope of immigration purposes and describes the current situation based on the Immigration Act 2009. There are other definitions for residents in tax or electoral affairs.
The holder of any residence class visa is entitled: [1]
A permanent resident visa holder is entitled to be granted entry permission at the border at any time, while the resident visa holder is only entitled to apply for entry permission (whether before or after travelling to New Zealand). All other rights become only effective, if entry is granted to the resident visa holder. [7]
Generally, a resident visa is granted with travel conditions, which allow the holder to re-enter the country multiple times until these conditions expire. After that the holder may remain in the country legally but must not leave it or lose their resident visa. [8]
An applicant for a permanent resident visa must
Commitment to New Zealand can be met by spending enough time in the country, by becoming a tax resident, by owning a business, by investing in New Zealand or by establishing a base. [9]
In contrast to a New Zealand permanent resident, a New Zealand citizen
The way to a permanent resident visa almost always leads through a two-year resident visa. In any case you will need to be invited to apply for a resident visa by Immigration New Zealand. Currently there are the following categories through one can obtain a resident visa:
Australian citizens and Australian permanent residents can enter New Zealand and live in New Zealand indefinitely without a visa, provided they meet the health and character requirements. They are assumed to hold a New Zealand resident visa while in New Zealand with a few key differences: [21]
A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. Green card holders are formally known as lawful permanent residents (LPRs). As of 2023, there are an estimated 12.7 million green card holders, of whom 9 million are eligible to become United States citizens. Approximately 18,700 of them serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) is an immigration status granted to a person who does not hold the right of abode in the United Kingdom (UK), but who has been admitted to the UK without any time limit on their stay and who is free to take up employment, engage in business, self-employment, or study. When indefinite leave is granted to persons outside the United Kingdom it is known as indefinite leave to enter (ILE).
Australian permanent residents are residents of Australia who hold a permanent visa but are not citizens of Australia. A holder of a permanent visa may remain in Australia indefinitely. A 5-year initial travel facility, which corresponds to the underlying migration program, is granted alongside the permanent visa. Until the travel facility expires, the visa holder may leave and re-enter Australia freely. After that period the visa holder needs to re-apply for the travel facility. However, holders of a permanent visa who are already in Australia with an expired travel facility may remain in Australia indefinitely.
Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such legal status is known as a permanent resident.
The Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement (TTTA) is an arrangement between Australia and New Zealand which allows for the free movement of citizens of one of these countries to the other. The arrangement came into effect in 1973, and allows citizens of each country to reside and work in the other country indefinitely, with some restrictions. Other details of the arrangement have varied over time. From 1 July 1981, all people entering Australia have been required to carry a passport. Since 1 September 1994, Australia has had a universal visa requirement, and to specifically cater for the continued free movement of New Zealanders to Australia the Special Category Visa was introduced for New Zealanders.
In law, an alien is generally any person who is not a citizen or a national of a specific country, although definitions and terminology differ across legal systems.
The right of abode is an individual's freedom from immigration control in a particular country. A person who has the right of abode in a country does not need permission from the government to enter the country and can live and work there without restriction, and is immune from removal and deportation.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport is a passport issued only to permanent residents of Hong Kong who also hold Chinese citizenship. In accordance with the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, since the handover in 1997, the passport has been issued by the Immigration Department of the Government of Hong Kong under the authorisation of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China. As the official languages of Hong Kong are Chinese and English, the passport is printed bilingually in both Chinese and English. In addition, unlike Chinese passport which can be issued by Chinese diplomatic missions abroad, the Immigration Department of Hong Kong is the only issuing authority for HKSAR passports.
A Special Category Visa (SCV) is an Australian visa category granted to most New Zealand citizens on arrival in Australia, enabling them to visit, study, stay and work in Australia indefinitely under the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement. Currently, there are two categories of SCVs: protected SCV and as non-protected SCV. New Zealanders who had entered Australia before 26 February 2001 are classified as protected SCV holders, and after that date as non-protected SCV holders. The rights of the two categories are somewhat different.
The visa policy of Australia deals with the requirements that a foreign national wishing to enter Australia must meet to obtain a visa, which is a permit to travel, to enter and remain in the country. A visa may also entitle the visa holder to other privileges, such as a right to work, study, etc. and may be subject to conditions.
Visitors to the United States must obtain a visa from one of the U.S. diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt or Visa Waiver Program countries.
Migration to New Zealand began only very recently in human history, with Polynesian settlement in New Zealand, previously uninhabited, about 1250 CE to 1280 CE. European migration provided a major influx, especially following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Subsequent immigrants have come chiefly from the British Isles, but also from continental Europe, the Pacific, the Americas and Asia.
Resident return visas (RRV) are three separate but related systems for allowing ordinarily resident and former resident foreign nationals in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States to travel to another country and return to the issuing country.
A work permit or work visa is the permission to take a job within a foreign country. The foreign country where someone seeks to obtain a work permit for is also known as the "country of work", as opposed to the "country of origin" where someone holds citizenship or nationality.
South Africa experiences a relatively high influx of immigration annually. As of 2019, the number of immigrants entering the country continues to increase, the majority of whom are working residents and hold great influence over the continued presence of several sectors throughout South Africa. The demographic background of these migrant groups is very diverse, with many of the countries of origin belonging to nations throughout sub-saharan Africa. A portion of them have qualified as refugees since the 1990s.
A residence permit is a document or card required in some regions, allowing a foreign national to reside in a country for a fixed or indefinite length of time. These may be permits for temporary residency, or permanent residency. The exact rules vary between regions. In some cases a temporary residence permit is required to extend a stay past some threshold, and can be an intermediate step to applying for permanent residency.
The visa policy of the United Kingdom is the policy by which His Majesty's Government determines visa requirements for visitors to the United Kingdom and those seeking to work, study or reside there. The visa policy of the UK also applies to the Crown dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man, which each operate their own immigration enforcement and have separate work permit systems. The visa policy does not apply to any of the British Overseas Territories, who generally apply their own visa policies.
Non–New Zealand citizens wishing to enter the Realm of New Zealand must obtain a visa unless they are
New Zealand Australians refers to Australian citizens whose origins are in New Zealand, as well as New Zealand migrants and expatriates based in Australia. Migration from New Zealand to Australia is a common phenomenon, given Australia's proximity to New Zealand, its larger economy, free movement agreement and cultural links between the two countries.
The Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) is the way skilled migrants qualify to gain a New Zealand resident visa and, subsequently, Permanent Residence (PR) to New Zealand. It is managed by Immigration New Zealand under the Immigration Act 2009.