The Permanent in ‘PR’

New Zealand is a unique place and that is part of the reason so many people want to move here. Our geographic location, being relatively neutral on the world stage, high standard of living (albeit the cost is higher now) and our incredible scenery makes us a unique and very attractive proposition for many different types of migrant.

Our Visa process mirrors many other countries in terms of trying to get the best, the brightest or those with the deepest pockets and in reality, our policies, categories and pathways are not really that dissimilar to many other locations around the world. There is however one very key difference, which sets New Zealand apart in terms of the Visa system and its a pretty key advantage…often overlooked.

For many countries the grant of Permanent Residence (often called PR) is actually a bit of a myth, because the “permanent” part is lacking. For example in Australia, when your PR is approved, it is actually valid for travel for a period of five years, so whilst you can live in the country forever, if you leave and come back after that five years, you need another Visa. You have to renew that periodically and there are requirements for that renewal to be successful.

The same happens in many popular migrant destinations and whilst for a lot of migrants, this isn’t usually an issue (because they either stay there permanently anyway or become citizens) there are plenty of people who would prefer permanent to actually mean permanent.

This is where New Zealand does stand apart, in that we have a process that allows you to secure a Visa that never expires, regardless of your travels, time out of the country or commitments - for us Permanent Residence is just that.

Although this does vary a bit for some applications, generally our Resident Visa process involves two steps - the first being to secure Residence, which comes with the ability to stay here indefinitely but travel in and out for two years and then the second stage is where that ability to travel becomes indefinite. We refer to this is “travel conditions” and really our PR process revolves around an applicant securing the right to exit NZ, come back whenever they like and still be a Residence once more.

There are five ways you can move from Residence to Permanent Residence (PR), and they are very briefly summarised as follows:

Time Spent

This is the most used of the five criteria and requires the main applicant (from the original Residence application) to have spent 184 days or more in each of the two 12 months portions of the 24 months immediately before you apply for PR. As you can only apply for PR after being a Resident for two years, the easiest way to think of this is spending 184 days in NZ in the first year of your Residence and then 184 days in the second year – assuming you apply as soon as that two-year period is up.

Tax Residence

To qualify under this criterion, you need to have been in NZ for a total of 41 days or more in each of the two 12-month portions of the 24 months before you apply as well as being assessed by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) as being a tax resident in NZ.

Investment

To use the investment option, you must have maintained an investment in NZ of at least NZD$1.0 million for a period of 24 months after your initial Resident Visa was granted. There are specific rules for what qualifies as an acceptable investment and funds must have been transferred to NZ through the trading bank system.

Business Established

If you have established or purchased a business in NZ that you have at least a 25% share in and that has been operating successfully for a period of 12 months in the 24 months before your able to apply for PR, this may be a viable option. You must be able to demonstrate that the business is a going-concern through producing a set of certified annual accounts.

Base Established

If you purchase a property in NZ within the first 12 months of your Residence being approved and you and/or your family still own and occupy that property at the two-year mark, you may be able to use this. There are specific rules for the time you spend in NZ and how “occupying” a property is measured. Alternatively, you can also show that you have a base established if you have been employed in New Zealand on a full-time basis (this includes self-employment) for a period of 9 months within the two years before you can apply for PR.

Now here is the great thing…once you have secured PR, through one of the five options above and the actual applicaiton process is relatively painless and swift, your Visa will be reissued and there will be no expiry date of travel. This means that you could leave NZ, come back in 10 years and still call the place home.

That is pretty generous.

The only time you have to renew anything is when you secure a new passport and that is simply a transfer of the Visa from one document to the next.

For those that do not wish to take up citizenship (and there are lots of reasons why that might be the case, but usually because you have to lose your original citizenship), securing PR and then being able to move about (globally) as you please, is a very appealing prospect.

Compare that to other locations, where there is a renewal process, usually wrapped around several requirements or criteria, New Zealand offers, for some, a relatively swift way to secure the permanent right to live here, with no further strings attached.

Of course the first challenge is being able to secure your initial Residence and that requires careful planning and committment, but it is a path very well worth travelling.

If you are interested in making New Zealand your permanent home (even if you fancy travelling and trying other locations in the future), then contact us for an assessment of your options.