New Zealand is among the top countries after the USA and UK to earn, settle, and live with your family. The nation's culture is the primary reason why foreign nationals aim to study abroad there. Be it a choice to find the right career or study in New Zealand, it has always satisfied individuals in terms of exploring new opportunities and improving other actions. However, one of the most common questions that hit is, 'How to get a permanent resident visa New Zealand? So, if you're too looking to get a PR in New Zealand after studying, refer to the blog!
Table of Contents
Before understanding the steps to get a New Zealand PR, here are the top reasons why you should make your investment here-
Moving further, let us learn about the eligibility criteria for getting a PR in New Zealand!
The criteria for the NZ permanent residency process are as follows-
Here's the most awaited question finally, and that is how to get PR in New Zealand! Scroll down and check out the following section!
This section contains a step-by-step procedure for applying for a New Zealand PR from India. So, follow these stages for a smooth permanent residency visa process:
STEP 1: Determine the Eligibility Criteria
Before applying for the PR, ensure you meet the visa application's basic requirements. Moreover, you can also seek additional help through an immigration expert.
STEP 2: Take the NZQA Assessment
Applicants who have qualifications from outside New Zealand have to take an NZQA assessment. This step might be skipped if your degree is mentioned under the List of Qualifications Exempt from Assessment.
STEP 3: Submit Your Expression of Interest (EOI)
This step requires the applicant to mention their intent to immigrate to New Zealand. It involves 2 prime steps. Firstly, the document submission process and checking the applicant's profile. However, the next stage includes sending the invitation.
STEP 4: Obtain an Invitation to Apply (ITA)
Next, wait for the officials of the country to accept your EOI and send you an invitation to apply for permanent residency NZ application. Moreover, if you've submitted your EOI successfully, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) will select applicants on a score basis and rank them accordingly from the pool. It is based on certain factors such as qualification, income, and registration. Applicants who score 6 or more will be qualified and invited for a residence permit.
STEP 5: Fill Out the Residence Visa Application
After getting an ITA for NZ permanent residency, you must complete the visa application within four months. This process includes submitting documentation like identity, qualifications, police clearance, employment history, medical examination receipt, and other backing papers. Finally, the process is finished by depositing the application fee of NZ$ 4890.
STEP 6: Processing of Application
Further, Immigration New Zealand will process your visa application. However, the processing time may vary, and you might be called again by NZ immigration for additional paperwork during this stage.
STEP 7: Receive Final Decision
Once your PR application has been processed, you will receive a final decision from NZ Immigration. If approved, you will finally get access to your PR visa and hence live and work in New Zealand permanently.
STEP 8: Fly to New Zealand
Once having your PR visa in hand, book tickets and fly to New Zealand within a specified time frame.
This is the complete New Zealand PR process for candidates who have had an NZ resident visa for over two years. Next, let's examine the prerequisites for obtaining the country's PR.
To get permanent residency in NZ within a specified period, you must meet the following criteria:
1. Age: To apply for the New Zealand PR visa, you must be under 55 years old when receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA).
2. Identity: You must prove your identity by providing one acceptable photo and a scanned copy of your personal details page on your passport.
3. Qualification: You must hold levels 3 to 6 qualifications from a designated institution. You don't need to take the qualification assessment test if you received your degree from a recognized college. If not, you must get your assessment done by INZ before applying for EOI.
4. Work Experience: You must have gained at least two years of professional experience in the last 10 years. Also, make sure your work background is relevant to your qualifications since this experience will be counted as professional work knowledge.
5. English Language Ability: One of the primary New Zealand PR requirements is the ability to speak and understand their native language. So, to apply for an NZ residency visa, applicants need to pass an applicable English test, such as IELTS. We will discuss minimum score requirements in the coming section.
6. In-Demand Occupations: If you're applying for a permanent residency visa for NZ, ensure your occupation is listed in the demand for the Long-Term Skill Shortage List (LTSSL).
7. Job Offer: You must have a job offer letter from an accredited New Zealand employer to apply for the PR visa.
8. Points: To apply for PR, calculate your points via the New Zealand Point System. Remember, you need to score a minimum of 100 points based on your qualifications, age, experience, employment, etc.
Before discussing the New Zealand point system, let's discuss other pathways for New Zealand PR from India in the upcoming section!
If you're wondering what type of pathways are available for Indians to get citizenship in New Zealand, then there are three different ways you can opt for:
1. Skilled Migrant Category Visa
2. Family Category Visa
3. Business and Investment Category Visa
This is the most common way to gain New Zealand citizenship. All you have to do is find your occupation in the skilled employment list to work and live in the country permanently.
Moreover, to be eligible for the SMC visa category in New Zealand, an applicant must:
This visa category is for individuals who can be sponsored via their partner, dependent child, or parent with a PR visa. However, applicants must have a relative sponsor to finalize the country's PR application.
Applicants interested in doing any business in New Zealand are eligible to apply under this visa category as they will be contributing to the nation's overall economic and growth development. However, there are 2 types of visa classification:
1. Investor Visas: By holding an investor visa, you can establish a company or limited partnership with your investment funds.
2. Business Visas: Applicants who want to start a new business in New Zealand can apply for this visa. However, to be eligible for this visa, you need a 2-year business background in the country.
To get detailed insights on these visas, refer to the Immigration New Zealand website. Further, let's talk about the New Zealand PR time taken by the Immigration Department to process it!
Find out how long it takes to process resident visas by New Zealand Immigration.
| VISA TYPE | WAIT TIME |
|---|---|
| Parent Resident Visa | 10 Months |
| Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa | 4 Months |
| Straight to Residence Visa | 4 Months |
| Work to Residence Visa | 12 Months |
| Permanent Resident Visa | 2 Months |
Finally, let's learn about the New Zealand Point System in the following sub-section!
As you know, points play a crucial role in obtaining New Zealand PR. Here are several factors that are included in the point system:
1. Age
2. Education
3. Experience
4. Spouse Category
5. Some Other Factors
Let us discuss all of them by examining the points that are required under each factor:
1. Age: To qualify, you will need to achieve at least 30 points under the age category. Check the table below for the points distribution:
| AGE | POINTS |
|---|---|
| 20-39 | 30 |
| 40-44 | 20 |
| 45-49 | 10 |
| 50-55 | 5 |
2. Education: Check out the points distribution table under the education category for your reference:
| EDUCATION | POINTS |
|---|---|
| Level 3 to 6 | 40 |
| Level 7 to 8 | 50 |
| Level 9 to 10 | 70 |
3. Experience: The more work experience you have, the more your points will be. Here is the point distribution under the experience category:
| WORK EXPERIENCE | POINTS |
|---|---|
| 2 Year | 10 |
| 4 Year | 20 |
| 6 Year | 30 |
| 8 Year | 40 |
| 10 Year | 50 |
4. Spouse Category: To qualify for this category, you must be able to achieve 20 points here. The criteria set under spouse type is the higher your point qualification, the higher your score. Here's the point distribution table:
| SPOUSE’S EDUCATION | POINTS |
|---|---|
| If Partner / Spouse has Qualified the Level 7 to 8 | 10 |
| If Partner / Spouse has Qualified the Level 9 to 10 | 20 |
5. Other Factors: Primary applicants will get points for the following factors. Check out the table below for your reference:
| OTHER FACTORS | POINTS |
|---|---|
| International Experience in the Field of Absolute Skills Shortage List | 15 |
| One Year of Experience in New Zealand | 10 |
| Already Working Under Skilled Employed in New Zealand | 50 |
| Holding Recent Experience in Absolute Skills Shortage in New Zealand | 10 |
| Having Work Experience Outside Auckland | 30 |
| Having a High Remuneration Threshold | 20 |
| Full-Time Study Within New Zealand | 15 |
Further, an applicant who is applying for a permanent resident visa NZ has to meet certain English language criteria set by Immigration New Zealand. Check out the following section to gather details!
English language requirement to obtain a PR in New Zealand requires competent scores in any acceptable proficiency exam. Also, it should be noted that all applicants aged 16 or above need to prove their English command by any of the tests. However, the score requirements depend upon whether the applicant or spouse/partner is applying for the permanent residency application.
Hence, these are the accepted English proficiency exams for a PR visa:
Finally, let's complete the NZ PR requirements with this section. Next, we will learn how to check the status of your PR residency application!
After you've followed the complete process of applying for a New Zealand PR from India, let's now check the status of your application by tracking the procedure mentioned below:
STEP 1: Visit the New Zealand Immigration website and head to 'check your NZeTA status'.
STEP 2: Next, fill in the details as asked by the portal. It includes your NZeTA reference number, Passport number, DoB, etc.
STEP 3: Then click on the submit button, and your status will appear on the screen.
In conclusion, there are numerous ways to apply for a permanent resident visa New Zealand as an Indian citizen. It is one of the best countries after the USA and the UK, where people want to immigrate to live a healthy life, work-life balance, culture, and more. Moreover, one thing that is appreciated by most of the applicants is the nation's PR process. It offers a shorter processing time compared to other nation's visa processing. However, if you get stuck in between the PR process, feel free to reach out to Gradding.com experts for a better piece of guidance.
You become eligible to apply for a NZ permanent residency if you have-
1. Held your resident visa for at least 2 years.
2. Met every condition of your Resident Visa.
3. Showed affirmations to New Zealand to live in the country permanently.
If you're a principal applicant in New Zealand, the only condition is to have a residence permit and have stayed in the country for 2 years. However, it takes 3 weeks to several months to process your PR application.
You can apply for a New Zealand PR visa under 3 categories:
1. Skilled Migrant Category
2. Business and Investment Category
3. Family Category
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