How to Apply for a New Zealand Resident Visa

How to Apply for a New Zealand Resident Visa

Most skilled residence applications run in two stages: an Expression of Interest, which is free under the Skilled Migrant Category, then a full application lodged within four months of receiving an Invitation to Apply. Skilled Residence costs NZ$6,450 — a NZ$2,880 fee plus a NZ$3,570 immigration levy — and must be lodged online.

Quick Facts

⚠️ Timing note, August 2026. The Skilled Migrant Category is being restructured on 24 August 2026, and draft Expressions of Interest expire and are deleted that day. To be assessed under the current rules, an EOI must be submitted — not left in draft — before 24 August 2026. See Skilled Migrant Category changes, explained.

Step 1: Work out which residence category you are applying under

There is no single "New Zealand residence application". INZ's visa list contains 33 residence products, and the requirements, fees and processing times differ sharply between them.

Age matters on the skilled routes: Straight to Residence, Work to Residence, Care Workforce and Transport Work to Residence all require the principal applicant to be 55 or younger, as does the Skilled Migrant Category. See the residence age limit, explained. Family categories do not carry that limit.

If none of the mainstream routes fit, read the residence categories almost nobody writes about and residence without a job offer before assuming there is no route.

Step 2: Submit an Expression of Interest, where the category uses one

Two categories run on an Expression of Interest, and they work differently from each other.

Skilled Migrant Category. The EOI is free. You submit it, and if selected you receive an Invitation to Apply by email. You then have four months to lodge the full residence application. Do not treat an ITA as a grant — it is permission to apply, and the fee is payable at that point.

Parent Category. The EOI has its own fee — NZ$450 online or NZ$575 on paper under Band A. Selection has been by ballot, and the last pure-ballot draw was 11 August 2026. From 5 October 2026 a hybrid model applies: roughly 90% of EOIs selected in date order as a queue, and roughly 10% by random ballot, with the first hybrid draw on 10 November 2026. EOIs will no longer expire under the new model, provided the applicant confirms every two years that they want to stay in the pool, at no extra fee. Existing EOI holders transition automatically and keep their original submission date. See Parent Category EOI selection, explained.

Most other categories, including Straight to Residence and the three Work to Residence pathways, are applied for directly with no EOI stage. See the Expression of Interest, explained.

Selection under the Skilled Migrant Category does not run in rounds. It has operated on a points threshold since October 2023, with no periodic selection event. Anyone offering to sell you the date of the next selection round for that category is describing something that does not exist.

Step 3: Get your medical examination and chest x-ray done

Skilled Migrant Category applicants require a medical examination and a chest x-ray. The same combination appears on Active Investor Plus and across the residence categories generally, with variations by product:

• Dependent Child Resident Visa: medical examination mandatory; chest x-ray for children aged 11 and over.
• Care Workforce Work to Residence: medicals and chest x-rays for those aged 15 and over.

Medicals go through INZ's eMedical system and a network of panel physicians. Only doctors on INZ's list can do them, so booking with your own GP usually wastes the appointment.

The health test itself is the Acceptable Standard of Health. Its most consequential element is a cost threshold: INZ may decline where a medical assessor considers likely health service costs would exceed NZ$81,000, assessed over five years or over the predicted course of the condition. That threshold rose from NZ$41,000 on 4 September 2022.

Full detail: health requirements for New Zealand residence and the NZ visa medical examination guide.

Step 4: Order your police certificates early

Police certificates are the single most common cause of a delayed residence application, because they are issued by foreign governments on their timetable, not yours.

• INZ's general trigger: staying in New Zealand for 24 months or longer means a police certificate is required with the application.
• Recency: less than 6 months old when you submit. That is confirmed for the Skilled Migrant Category, for Care Workforce Work to Residence (for applicants 17 and over) and for the Business Investor route.
• Repeat applicants may not need to provide certificates already supplied in an earlier application.
• The Dependent Child Resident Visa requires certificates for those 17 and over, from countries of citizenship and any country where the applicant has spent 12 or more months in the past decade.

The upfront rule matters in 2026. Applications lodged without a required police certificate may be declined without further contact — INZ does not necessarily write and ask. Fiji, Hong Kong and Israel are exempt from the upfront requirement. See the upfront police certificate rule, explained and police certificates for NZ visa applications.

Order certificates before you order anything else. A six-month validity window closes fast when the issuing country takes ten weeks.

Step 5: Sort out English evidence and qualification assessment

The English requirement varies by category, and the residence-level score is one of the figures this site does not publish, because it could not be verified against an INZ page in our research. Read the current standard on INZ's English language requirements page before booking a test.

What is verified:

• Test results must be no more than 2 years old when the application is lodged, under the Skilled Migrant Category.
• From 24 August 2026, English test validity extends from 2 years to 5 years for applicants holding eligible occupational registration.
• The Active Investor Plus Visa removed its English requirement in the April 2025 changes.

Where a category requires a qualification, an NZQA assessment may be needed. See NZQA international qualification assessment and English requirements for New Zealand residence.

Step 6: Decide who is on the application

You may include your partner and dependent children in a residence class visa application, and you pay one application fee and one immigration levy for everyone included. That is a substantial saving: on a skilled application the levy alone is NZ$3,570.

"Partner" means a spouse, civil union partner or de facto partner who has been living with you for 12 months or more, including same-sex couples.

Dependent children may be included if they are:

• aged 17 or under and single;
• aged 18 to 20, single, with no children of their own; or
• aged 21 to 24, single, with no children of their own, and totally or substantially reliant on you or your partner for financial support.

Children aged 24 and under who are not dependent, and everyone 25 or over, must apply separately with their own fee and levy.

Watch the age tests. The dependent-child limit for residence applications is 24. For visitor, transit and limited visas it is 19. See what is a dependent child and who can be included in one visa application.

Step 7: Lodge online and pay

Most residence visas must be applied for online, including the Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa, Straight to Residence, Work to Residence, Care Workforce Work to Residence, Transport Work to Residence, Active Investor Plus, the Permanent Resident Visa and the Second or Subsequent Resident Visa.

Two significant exceptions run the other way. The Business Investor Resident Visa and the Global Impact Visa must be applied for on paper — a counter-intuitive rule for products at that price point. See applying online or on paper for NZ visas.

The platform is Immigration Online; the current build is branded Enhanced Immigration Online. Sign-in uses RealMe, the New Zealand Government identity service. Enhanced Immigration Online uses smart forms that only ask questions relevant to your visa type and answers, and gives real-time status tracking. See the Immigration Online account guide and RealMe accounts for Immigration Online.

You pay at submission. The fee band depends on where you are and which passport you use:

Dual citizens pay the band matching the passport used in the application. If you pay in a currency other than New Zealand dollars, the amount may vary slightly with exchange rates.

Step 8: Wait, and respond quickly if INZ asks for anything

INZ contacts applicants by phone, email or through the online account, and its own line is that you need do nothing else after submitting unless it asks. Published wait times for residence, as at 20 August 2026:

These are published averages, not promises. INZ notes that applications take longer where information is missing, where it needs to ask for more, or where third-party checks are required — and it says it has limited control over how long third parties take. It also warns of high application volumes between November and March.

If your temporary visa will expire while a residence application is being decided and you are in New Zealand, INZ will normally grant an interim visa so you can stay lawfully.

There is no paid fast track. No priority, expedited or premium processing exists at any price, and no such fee appears in INZ's fees guide. See can you speed up a NZ visa application.

More detail: how long New Zealand residence applications take and what happens after you submit.

What it costs, with the split shown

INZ publishes a single "from" figure on its visa pages. The fees guide publishes the components. Showing both is useful, because the levy is often the larger number.

Some applicants are exempt from the immigration levy entirely, including Samoan citizens applying for a resident visa, refugee and protection claimants, people applying as or on the basis of a relationship with a refugee or protected person, Refugee Family Support Category applicants, and applicants under the special categories for victims of family violence and of people trafficking.

No general fee or levy increase has taken effect in 2025 or 2026. INZ's own fees page still describes its rates as current "as of 1 October 2024".

Fees and levies are not refunded if an application is declined. Nor are they refunded if you change your mind or withdraw after lodging. Refunds exist in narrow situations — you paid a fee you did not need to pay, you paid the wrong fee, the application was not accepted and was returned, or it had not been processed. See NZ visa fee refunds, explained and the cost of New Zealand residence.

After the grant

All New Zealand visas are issued as an eVisa — INZ's own wording is "you do not need a sticker in your passport for your visa to be valid". A physical label is optional, costs a separate fee and changes nothing about your conditions. If you renew your passport, you must transfer the visa into it before you travel.

Watch two dates from the day you are granted residence. Some categories require arrival within 12 months — Straight to Residence does. And your travel conditions, typically valid two years, start running. See Resident Visa travel conditions, explained.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I apply for permanent residency in New Zealand?

You apply for a Resident Visa first under one of the residence categories, then apply separately for a Permanent Resident Visa — usually after two years, once you meet INZ's commitment requirements. The Permanent Resident Visa costs NZ$315 with no immigration levy.

How much does it cost to get residency in New Zealand?

Skilled Residence is NZ$6,450, made up of a NZ$2,880 application fee and a NZ$3,570 immigration levy. Partner of a New Zealander is from NZ$5,360, Dependent Child from NZ$3,230, and Active Investor Plus NZ$27,470. Fee band B rates are lower for citizens of specified Pacific countries.

How long does the Skilled Migrant Category take?

As published on 20 August 2026, half of Skilled Migrant Category resident visa applications are decided within about 10 weeks and 80% within four months. That is decision time only, and does not include the EOI stage before it.

Do I need a job offer to apply for New Zealand residence?

It depends entirely on the category. Straight to Residence and the Work to Residence pathways are built on employment. Family and investor categories are not. See residence without a job offer.

Can I include my partner and children in my residence application?

Yes. One application fee and one immigration levy cover everyone included. Dependent children can be included up to age 24 where the dependency tests are met; older or non-dependent children apply separately.

What medical tests does a New Zealand residence application need?

Skilled Migrant Category applicants need a medical examination and a chest x-ray. Requirements vary by category and age — chest x-rays apply from age 11 on the Dependent Child Resident Visa and from age 15 on Care Workforce Work to Residence. The medicals must be done by an INZ panel physician through eMedical.

How recent do police certificates have to be?

Less than six months old at the time you submit. INZ's general trigger is a stay of 24 months or longer. In 2026, applications missing a required certificate may be declined without further contact, with Fiji, Hong Kong and Israel exempt from the upfront requirement.

Can I pay to speed up my residence application?

No. INZ sells no priority or expedited processing at any price, and no such fee exists in its published fees guide. Anyone offering it for money is not selling an INZ service. See immigration scams to avoid.

What happens if my application is declined?

The fee and levy are not refunded. Residence-class declines can be appealed to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal, where a Residence Appeal costs NZ$964 and the fee cannot be waived. Confirm your own deadline from your decision letter and from the Tribunal rather than from any website. See residence application declined.

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This page is general information, not immigration advice. Under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 we explain what the published rules require; we do not assess whether an individual meets them, and we do not recommend a category. For advice on your own circumstances, use a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer, and check the licence on the Immigration Advisers Authority register.