What Is Permanent Residence?

There are a number of things within the immigration process that can be confusing (in fact most of it is), but the one thing that seems to pop up the most is the difference between residence and permanent residence and it can be one of the hardest things to explain to a client, despite it being relatively simple.

I suspect its the word “permanent” which creates the confusion, because most applicants assume that it’s only when they achieve that visa, that they can live in New Zealand permanently. However it doesn’t quite work like that and in fact the word permanent only applies to one particular aspect of a resident visa.

Hopefully this week’s article, helps to clarify the difference between the two visas, how you get from the first one to the second one and also highlights that whilst residence does let you live here permanently there are some rare situations that can lead that visa to being taken away. Being mindful of these things, will ensure that once you achieve your end goal, and have that shiny new resident visa in hand, you can keep it.

Residence vs. Permanent Residence

The difference between residence and permanent residence can be boiled down to one simple thing, your ability to travel out of New Zealand and return. Both visas allow you to live here permanently and give you the right to work and study here without limitations. You can (eventually) buy property here, you pay the same taxes and you have access to health, education and other social services.

There are some limitations, that usually exist for the first year or two, for example being able to access an income benefit (only after the first two years) and access to other services such as student loans (after three years) but for the most part, these two visas work in the same way, allowing approved applicants to become a permanent fixture in New Zealand.

Long & Short Term

They have different names, but both let you live here indefinitely. The trick is understanding how the travel conditions on your visas work.

There is however one key difference, which doesn’t have anything to do with what these visas offer, but instead, how you can use them to come and go.

A resident visa, when issued, allows you to live in New Zealand forever, and if you never left the country to travel, you would be legally allowed to stay here until your last breath.

However people obviously do need to travel and to be able to come and go, so your first resident visa is issued with travel conditions, usually valid for two years. There are some variations to this as specific resident visas can be issued with travel conditions for longer periods, but for the vast majority, its two years to start with. These travel conditions, allow you to leave NZ and then return again as a resident.

If you are offshore when your resident visa is issued, then things are a little more complex. You will generally have 12 months to arrive in New Zealand (and you have to arrive within that 12 months or you lose your visa) and then from the date you arrive, your two years of travel conditions will start. It is important to remember that date (date of arrival and then two years in to the future) because it wont be obvious from the visa label.

When you secure permanent residence, things change, because those travel conditions, which were originally for a fixed period of time, become indefinite - meaning you can leave NZ, stay away for as long as you like and then return and be a resident once more. This is where the term “permanent” comes in, in so far as your ability to hold residence and travel back and forth from NZ, never expires.

So the difference between these two visas, really comes down to how they allow you to travel, not whether you can reside here indefinitely, which technically both allow you to do. However as we all do like to travel, being able to move from residence to permanent residence, for most people is pretty important.

There are, for most applicants, five ways that permanent residence can be secured, although most tend to utilise the “time spent” criteria, which is by far the easiest. We have added some detail on these different options below.

Travel Conditions, PR, VOTC’s and SSRV’s

When you have secured residence, the most important thing to be aware of is those travel conditions and specifically when these expire. If you were in NZ when the resident visa was granted, then those travel conditions will expire two years in to the future. If you are offshore when residence is granted, then your travel conditions will expire two years from the date you make your first arrival (and you have to arrive in NZ within 12 months of the visa being issued).

Note: for some applicants the travel conditions may be longer, e.g. parent category applicants, or it may take longer to get to the permanent residence stage (investor category applicants) but for the vast majority of clients under the skilled or other family categories, two years is the standard.

Coming & Going

Resident Visas come with travel conditions, which enable you to leave NZ and return again as a resident.

To apply for permanent residence, applicants have one of five options:

• Time Spent - This is the most common option, requiring applicants to spend 184 days in each year, in NZ during the first two years of being a resident.

• Tax Residence - If you have been in NZ for 41 days in each of the two 12 month periods before you apply and have held tax residence for the full 24 months, this can also create a pathway to permanent residence.

• Investment - If you have maintained an investment of NZD$1.0 million in NZ for 24 months, prior to applying for permanent residence, this can create a pathway as well. There are specific requirements for the investment and how the funds arrived as part of this criteria.

• Establishing a Business - If you establish a business in NZ that trades successfully for 12 months, this also works to potentially secure permanent residence.

• Base Established - Lastly there are options involve purchasing a family home or having been employed for a specific period of time that can be used to gain permanent residence as well.

Applying for permanent residence, for most applicants who use the time spent criteria is a relatively pain-free exercise, but it is important to understand how this works from the beginning so you can plan ahead for when the two years arrives.

If you don’t quite make it to permanent residence, there are also other options, to extend your travel conditions or, if you need to, secure new travel conditions when your current ones have expired.

Variation of Travel Conditions - If you don’t qualify under the five criteria above for permanent residence, but you have managed to spend 184 days in one of the two years, then you can secure a further 12 months worth of travel conditions to play catch up. There is also an option for this, if you have had tax residence status for just two years. If you dont qualify for the 12 month variation, but you are a resident and in NZ, you can always get a variation for 14 days, enabling you to travel urgently.

Second or Subsequent Resident Visa - If you leave NZ and your first set of travel conditions expire, you have a small grace period (three months) after the expiry of those travel conditions (or the date you left NZ and were no longer a resident) to apply for permanent residence. However in some cases, people might miss that three month window and in that situation there are options to secure a Second or Subsequent Resident Visa. These are usually issued up to the validity of a variation of conditions (if had been approved on the day you were eligible) or a maximum of two years, if you were eligible for permanent residence, but missed out on applying. These essentially give you a chance to get your resident visa back and then to be able to work your way towards permanent residence once more.

These options can be pretty complex (and the above is a very simplified explanation) but the important thing to remember is that travel conditions are important, they do expire and you need to plan ahead to make sure you can secure permanent residence or further travel conditions to then give you a second chance at permanent residence.

Things To Remember

Now for the more tricky stuff, which is the situations that might lead your residence to disappear. Of course, if you leave NZ with expired travel conditions then your resident visa does disappear, but there mechanisms to get it back. However for some applicants, a change in circumstances or trouble with the law can lead to your residence entitlement being put in jeopardy.

Before, During & After

Resident visas let you live in NZ indefinitely but they come with some obligations and requirements.

One way this can happen is if you are granted residence whilst offshore and before you arrive here to “activate” your visa, your circumstances change, then that could lead to your residence being null and void.

A good example of this is if you are a dependent child and your residence is approved whilst you are overseas. If your dependence changes, before you arrive, e.g. you enter in to a relationship, start working full time or are no longer reliant on mum and dad, then technically you are no longer dependent and you haven’t yet activated your visa. This situation happens a fair bit and is usually caught by INZ when that dependent child later applies for a partner to secure a visa - you can guess how INZ might catch them out. The other situation that can arise, is when your residence is granted offshore, based on having an offer of employment, but you lose that offer before you arrive here to activate your visa. INZ is less likely to catch this, but there is an onus on applicants to update INZ if the situation changes - if you dont, and they find out later, things get very messy.

Then, there are those that might fall foul of the law in New Zealand and depending on when that happens, how long you have had your residence for and the nature of the offence, it can lead to significant issues.

In both of these scenarios, INZ can find you liable for deportation, although you are given an opportunity to explain your circumstances. Depending on how well you explain the details, INZ may decide to cancel that liability (all is well with the world), suspend it for a period of time (a chance to prove you can keep your nose clean) or enforce it (pack your bags and saddle up).

The main thing to bear in mind here, is that you need to make sure you keep INZ updated, if your situation changes and if you do make a mistake when you are here (leading to a criminal offence), seek out some advice on what the implications for your resident visa might be. Having residence, comes with plenty of perks and privileges, but in the same breath, it also carries some responsibilities.

Beyond Permanent Residence

The next step, after residence and then permanent residence is to consider applying for citizenship, although not every applicant will want to pursue this, given some countries do not allow you to hold more than one passport. Having residence gives you access to everything you need in New Zealand, however obviously becoming a citizen adds the benefit of a passport.

For applicants from certain countries, having a NZ passport is a significant advantage, considering it ranks as one of the best passports on earth with access to over 170 countries, visa free (we can even visit China now without a visa). An NZ passport also gives you access to live and work in Australia, although bear in mind you aren’t considered a resident there, unless you apply.

Citizenship has its own specific time requirements, based largely on how much time you have spent in NZ in the five years before you apply and for those five years, you must have been a resident here. You also have to meet a character test, English language requirements and have a genuine desire to want to live in NZ on an ongoing basis. Citizenship applications are not processed by Immigration New Zealand, but instead by the Department of Internal Affairs.

The road to being able to stay in NZ permanently has a few twists and turns, but hopefully this article has helped to clarify how those first two steps (residence and permanent residence) are tied together, and for those that are on that pathway, gives them cause to remember to think about those travel conditions and why making the switch to permanent residence is important.

If you have any questions in terms of your own situation, or your potential eligibility for permanent residence, get in touch today.

Until next week…