Presence in NZ requirements

If you have a current residence visa or permit, or a permanent residence visa or permit

If you have a residence visa, any conditions on the visa must be met or cancelled. For example, if your visa was granted under the parent category, the conditions may be for 5 or 10 years. You must check these conditions are met or cancelled before applying for New Zealand citizenship.

If you already have a permanent resident visa, you do not have conditions.

To have your parent visa conditions removed, you must send Immigration New Zealand:

• a cover letter requesting the removal of section 49(1) conditions, which must include all your current contact details, and
• copies of valid passports for all the applicants who were included on the resident visa applications.

Visit the Immigration New Zealand website to find out where to send your documents:

Postal addresses for sending paper documents

If you have a Skilled Migrant Resident visa, visit the Immigration New Zealand website to find out how your visa conditions can be removed:

Skilled Migrant Category – removal of section 49(1) conditions

There is no fee for the removal of section 49(1) conditions.

If you have had more than 1 type of visa or permit in the last 5 years

You can apply for New Zealand citizenship as long as each visa or permit allowed you live here indefinitely.

If you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident

You can apply for New Zealand citizenship if you have lived here for at least the last 5 years.

You need to have been physically present in New Zealand, as a resident, for a certain amount of time during the last 5 years. The 5 years are counted backwards from the day you apply for citizenship.

To meet this requirement, you need to have been in New Zealand for:

• at least 240 days in each 12-month period, and
• 1,350 days across the 5 years.

You might not meet this requirement if you have been out of New Zealand for longer than 4 months in any 12-month period. This could be 1 long trip or many smaller trips.

You also might not meet this requirement if you were overseas for more than 15 months in total in the 5 years before you apply for citizenship.

Time spent overseas on Crown service for the New Zealand Government counts as time in New Zealand.

You must intend to live in New Zealand once you become a citizen.

Or, if you know you are going to live in another country, it must be because you will be:

• working overseas for the New Zealand Government
• working for an international organisation that the New Zealand Government is a member of, such as the United Nations
• employed by a person or organisation based in New Zealand
• accompanying your spouse or partner, who is a New Zealand citizen, on Crown service overseas.

If Ana applies for New Zealand citizenship on 17 March 2016, she counts backwards 5 years from that day. The timeline below shows the periods she has been outside New Zealand over this time. She has not been out of New Zealand for more than 4 months in any 12-month period over the 5 years. Ana meets the presence requirement.

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Lukas applies in August 2016. The timeline below shows he went on 4 trips between August 2012 and August 2013. These trips add up to more than 4 months out of New Zealand in this 12-month period. Lukas does not meet the presence requirement.

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