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Permanent Residency in New Zealand

New Zealand Permanent Resident (PR) Visa information

Want to live and work in New Zealand permanently? It means you actually want to earn its Permanent residency.

Basically there are two classes of visas for Permanent residency in New Zealand. Your application’s approval somehow depends upon your skills and abilities. These categories are:

  • Skilled Migrant Category visas, and
  • Work to Residence visas.

Skilled Migrant Category

This class visa is suitable for the applicants who have attained the skills, qualifications and experience that is in demand in New Zealand. To apply under this Category, you first need to send an expression of interest(EOI) to New Zealand Immigration.

Eligibility Criteria:

To be eligible for Skilled migrant category, a candidate must:

  • be 55 or under
  • be healthy
  • be of good character
  • speak English.

Further your eligibility is decided by your points. These points are calculated on the basis of your age, experience, employability and qualifications.

Work to Residence

This visa class is designed for the people who fulfill one of the following criteria:

  • Attain the qualification that is highly required in New Zealand
  • Carry a job offer from an authorized employer of New Zealand
  • Possess an exceptional talent in the field of sports or arts

This Work to Residence visa is a temporary work visa that allow you to work in new Zealand and later you can apply for Permanent Resident visa known as residence from work visa. The benefit to apply for residency from work is that you need not to send any EOI (Expression of Interest).

Eligibility criteria:

To become eligible for residence from work visa, Applicants must have:

  • Hold a work visa for at least 24 months under this specific category,
  • worked in New Zealand for at least 24 months for an authorized employer at minimum base salary; OR
  • been actively involved in the declared field of art, culture or sport and are sponsored by a New Zealand organisation of national repute; OR
  • employment in New Zealand in a profession which is included in the Long Term Skill Shortage List of New Zealand