The Residence Categories Almost Nobody Writes About
Immigration New Zealand lists 33 residence products. Most coverage deals with four or five of them. The rest include Talent visas, a South Island Contribution Resident Visa, a Religious Worker category, an Employees of Relocating Business category and a Global Impact Permanent Residence Visa that costs NZ$6,490 and must be applied for on paper.
Quick Facts
| Residence products in INZ's visa list | 33 |
| Groups | Skilled and work-based · Family · Investor and business · Pacific and humanitarian · Status and legacy |
| Global Impact Permanent Residence Visa | Fee from NZ$6,490; 80% decided within 10 weeks; paper application only |
| Employees of Relocating Business Category | NZ$1,940 fee + NZ$3,570 immigration levy |
| Pitcairn Islander Resident Visa | NZ$1,940, no immigration levy |
| Parent Retirement Category | NZ$9,430 fee + NZ$3,420 levy |
| Levy-exempt categories | Refugee Family Support · Samoan citizens applying for residence · victims of family violence · victims of people trafficking · refugees and protected people |
| Pacific quotas | Pacific Access Category 650/year · Samoan Quota 1,100/year · Refugee Family Support 600/year |
The full shape of the residence system
Before the obscure categories, the map. INZ's own visa list groups its 33 residence products like this:
| Group | Products |
|---|---|
| Skilled and work-based | Skilled Migrant Category · Straight to Residence · Work to Residence · Care Workforce Work to Residence · Transport Work to Residence · South Island Contribution · Talent (Accredited Employer) · Talent (Arts, Culture, Sports) · Long Term Skill Shortage List · Religious Worker · Employees of Relocating Business |
| Family | Partner of a New Zealander · Dependent Child · Parent Resident · Parent Retirement · Intercountry Adoption |
| Investor and business | Active Investor Plus · Business Investor Resident · Entrepreneur Resident · Investor 1 (legacy) · Investor 2 (legacy) · Global Impact Permanent Residence |
| Pacific and humanitarian | Pacific Access Category · Samoan Quota · Pitcairn Islander · Refugee Family Support · Community Sponsored Refugee · Victims of Family Violence · Trafficking Victim |
| Status and legacy | Permanent Resident Visa · Second or Subsequent Resident Visa · Australian Resident Visa · 2021 Resident Visa (legacy) |
The bolded entries are the ones almost never covered. Some are small. Some are large and simply unfashionable. All of them exist.
The Global Impact Permanent Residence Visa
This is the most interesting product on the list, because it is a permanent residence visa granted directly — not a second-stage upgrade after two years on a Resident Visa.
What is verified:
- Fee from NZ$6,490
- 80% of applications decided within 10 weeks
- It must be applied for on paper, not online
The fee reconciles exactly to INZ's Residence from Work Category line in the fees guide — a NZ$2,920 application fee plus a NZ$3,570 immigration levy. That is a useful signal in its own right, because it shows the Residence from Work fee line is live and in use.
What is not verified: everything else. Eligibility, the selection process, whether it connects to a Global Impact Work Visa, and the criteria for "global impact" were not established in our research pass. We are not going to describe settings we have not confirmed. Read INZ's own page before acting, and treat third-party descriptions of this visa with suspicion — there is very little accurate coverage of it anywhere.
The Talent visas
Two Talent categories appear in INZ's residence list: Talent (Accredited Employer) Resident Visa and Talent (Arts, Culture, Sports) Resident Visa.
Both are long-standing New Zealand products, and both sit outside the points-and-Green-List architecture that dominates skilled residence. Their current settings were not verified in our research and are not published here. If either fits your situation better than the mainstream skilled routes, INZ's visa pages are the place to check whether they are open and what they now require.
South Island Contribution, Religious Worker, Employees of Relocating Business
Three more skilled and work-based categories that rarely surface in search results.
South Island Contribution Resident Visa. It appears in INZ's residence list alongside a South Island Contribution Work Visa. Neither appears in older reference material, so both may be recent additions. Settings were not verified.
Religious Worker Resident Visa. A category for people employed in religious work. Settings were not verified.
Employees of Relocating Business Category. For staff of a business relocating to New Zealand. The fee is confirmed: NZ$1,940 application fee plus a NZ$3,570 immigration levy under Band A. Adding those two components gives NZ$5,510 — that sum is our arithmetic, not a figure INZ publishes. See employees of relocating businesses visa.
Long Term Skill Shortage List Resident Visa — a careful note
The Long Term Skill Shortage List Resident Visa appears in INZ's residence list. The related Work Visa is confirmed closed.
We could not verify the status of the Resident Visa either way, so this site says nothing definitive about whether it is open. That sounds unsatisfying and it is the honest position: telling people a route is closed when it is not, or open when it is not, both cause real harm. Check with INZ.
The same caution applies in the other direction to the Residence from Work Category, whose visa page returns a 404 but whose fee line is live in the current fees guide and is used by the Global Impact Permanent Residence Visa. Do not assume it is closed. See the Residence from Work category, explained.
Family categories beyond partner and child
Parent Retirement Category. A residence category priced at NZ$9,430 plus a NZ$3,420 immigration levy, making it the most expensive family product in the system. Its requirements were not verified in our research. Note the separate Temporary Retirement Category Visitor Visa at NZ$7,750 plus a NZ$41 levy and a NZ$100 IVL, which is a visitor visa, not residence.
Intercountry Adoption Resident Visa. A residence route for children adopted from overseas. Settings not verified.
For the mainstream family routes, see parent visa options compared and the Parent Resident Visa, explained.
Pacific and humanitarian categories
These are among the most consequential residence products New Zealand runs, and among the least covered.
| Category | Quota | Status and cost |
|---|---|---|
| Pacific Access Category | 650 per year — Fiji 250, Tonga 250, Kiribati 75, Tuvalu 75 | 2026 ballot registrations closed. Residence fee from NZ$1,389; registration NZ$89 |
| Samoan Quota | 1,100 places | 2026 ballot registrations closed. Fee from NZ$820. Samoan citizens are exempt from the immigration levy |
| Refugee Family Support Category | 600 visas per year | Currently accepting Tier 1 sponsor registrations only — Tier 2 registrations are returned. Fee from NZ$0 |
| Community Sponsored Refugee Resident Visa | Not published here | The product exists with a live INZ page; settings not verified |
| Victims of Family Violence Resident Visa | — | Exempt from the immigration levy |
| Trafficking Victim Resident Visa | — | Exempt from the immigration levy |
| Pitcairn Islander Resident Visa | — | NZ$1,940, no immigration levy |
Some detail worth knowing about the ones with verified settings:
- Pacific Access Category and Samoan Quota are genuine ballots — two of only three ballots in the New Zealand immigration system, the third being the Parent Category. Applicants must be aged 18 to 45 at registration close, must speak, read and understand English, and need an acceptable job offer of at least 12 months for themselves or their partner. Samoan Quota applicants have 8 months to complete the application after selection, and the principal applicant must enter New Zealand within 3 months of approval.
- Refugee Family Support sponsors must be New Zealand citizens or residents granted residence as a refugee, protected person, Afghan interpreter or evacuee supporting NZDF operations, and must arrange suitable accommodation for the applicant's first two years. Selected applicants have 12 months to submit the residence application, and processing may take up to 12 months because of volume.
See what is the Pacific Access Category and what is the Samoan Quota.
Status and legacy products
Four products in the list are not routes to residence at all — they are things you hold, or held.
- Permanent Resident Visa — the second-stage visa that removes travel conditions, at NZ$315. See the Permanent Resident Visa, explained.
- Second or Subsequent Resident Visa — a further resident visa at NZ$275. See the Second or Subsequent Resident Visa, explained.
- Australian Resident Visa — a status product connected to Australian residence. Holders are exempt from the IVL.
- 2021 Resident Visa — the one-off category from the 2021 programme. Closed, but still live in the system for people connected to it, including through the 2021 Interim Visa.
Categories that are closed, and one that only looks it
Closed to new applications:
- Investor 1 and Investor 2 Resident Visas. Discontinued; Active Investor Plus replaced that space.
- Entrepreneur Work Visa, closed on 27 August 2025. But note carefully: the Entrepreneur Resident Visa remains open to existing Entrepreneur Work Visa holders, and renewals of the work visa remain available for holders who need more time to meet residence requirements. Holders cannot transfer to the new Business Investor Visa without a fresh application and full fees.
Newly open: the Business Investor Resident Visa, at NZ$14,890, which came with the Business Investor Work Visa that opened on 24 November 2025. Both must be applied for on paper — an odd rule for a product built around a NZ$1–2 million investment. See the Business Investor Visa, explained and closed and legacy New Zealand visas.
Why these categories are worth knowing about
Most people arrive at New Zealand residence through the Skilled Migrant Category or the Green List, and for most people that is right. But the mainstream routes carry gates that exclude a lot of people: an age limit of 55 or younger, qualification levels that start at NZQCF Level 7 under the points pathway, and employment with an accredited employer.
The categories on this page do not share the same gates. They are narrower, they serve specific populations, and several of them are quiet enough that no adviser will mention them unless asked.
What none of them are is a shortcut. Each has its own requirements, and this site does not assess which one might fit you — under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 that is regulated advice. See pathways to New Zealand residence, residence without a job offer and all New Zealand resident visas.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many residence categories does New Zealand have?
INZ's visa list contains 33 residence products, grouped into skilled and work-based, family, investor and business, Pacific and humanitarian, and status and legacy categories.
What is the Global Impact Permanent Residence Visa?
A permanent residence product with a fee from NZ$6,490 and 80% of applications decided within 10 weeks. It must be applied for on paper. Its eligibility rules and settings were not verified in our research and we do not publish them — read INZ's own page.
What are the categories for applications of residency in New Zealand?
The mainstream routes are skilled (Skilled Migrant Category, Straight to Residence, the three Work to Residence pathways), family (partner, dependent child, parent), and investor. Beyond those sit Talent, South Island Contribution, Religious Worker, Employees of Relocating Business, Parent Retirement, Intercountry Adoption, the Pacific quotas and the humanitarian categories.
Which New Zealand residence visas have no immigration levy?
The Permanent Resident Visa, the Second or Subsequent Resident Visa, variations of travel conditions, the Pitcairn Islander Resident Visa and the Samoan Quota. Separately, levy exemptions apply to Samoan citizens applying for residence, refugees and protection claimants, Refugee Family Support applicants, and applicants under the special categories for victims of family violence and of people trafficking.
Is the Long Term Skill Shortage List Resident Visa still open?
We could not verify its status either way, and we will not guess. The related Long Term Skill Shortage List Work Visa is confirmed closed. Check the Resident Visa's status directly with INZ.
Which residence visas must be applied for on paper?
The Global Impact Visa and the Business Investor Resident Visa, along with the refugee and UNHCR categories. Nearly everything else in the residence system must be applied for online.
Are the Pacific residence categories ballots?
Yes. The Pacific Access Category and the Samoan Quota are genuine ballots, as is the Parent Category. They are the only ballots in the New Zealand immigration system — the Working Holiday Schemes are first-come, first-served, not ballots.
Can I still apply under the Entrepreneur category?
The Entrepreneur Work Visa closed to new applications on 27 August 2025. The Entrepreneur Resident Visa remains open to existing Entrepreneur Work Visa holders, and work visa renewals remain available for holders who need more time to meet residence requirements.
This page is general information, not immigration advice. Several categories described here have settings we could not verify, and we have said so rather than filling the gaps. Under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 we do not assess which category suits any individual. For advice on your own case, use a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer, and check the licence on the Immigration Advisers Authority register.
