A New Zealand Resident Visa and a Permanent Resident Visa are both residence-class visas, but they are not identical. Citizenship is a separate legal status again. Confusing the three is easy because the words sound as though they sit on one simple ladder. Immigration law, naturally, prefers a staircase with side doors.
What a Resident Visa does
A Resident Visa allows you to live in New Zealand permanently and generally to work and study. It can have conditions, especially travel conditions. A resident visa normally permits travel to and re-entry into New Zealand only until the “expiry date travel” shown on the visa. Leaving after those travel conditions expire can cause the visa to expire.
What a Permanent Resident Visa changes
A Permanent Resident Visa does not have resident-visa conditions and allows indefinite travel in and out of New Zealand. Many people can apply for it after holding residence for at least two years and showing commitment to New Zealand, although the exact pathway depends on the person's visa and circumstances.
Do you need Permanent Residence before citizenship?
Immigration New Zealand expressly states that you do not need a Permanent Resident Visa before applying for citizenship. For the standard presence test, qualifying days while holding a Resident Visa can count, provided the person was entitled to remain indefinitely and the relevant visa conditions are met or cancelled.
Citizenship is not another visa
Citizenship is nationality status. It can provide rights that residence does not, including eligibility for a New Zealand passport and certain political rights. The citizenship assessment also considers requirements beyond residence days, such as character, English ability, understanding citizenship responsibilities and intention to continue living in New Zealand.
What to enter in this calculator
If your Resident Visa was granted while you were already in New Zealand, use the grant date as the start of resident status. If it was granted while you were overseas, use the date you were first granted entry permission to enter New Zealand on that Resident Visa. When in doubt, check the eVisa and your INZ records before relying on an estimate.
Try your dates
See the five-year look-back
Use the calculator to estimate the first date that appears to meet the standard numerical presence test.