Government announces new one-off resident visa
On 30 September 2021, the Government announced a one-off resident visa. The 2021 Resident Visa is intended to be a ‘simplified pathway to residence for around 165,000 migrants currently in New Zealand’. It will be available to most onshore (in New Zealand) work visa holders and their immediate family members.
According to the minister of immigration, the key points for this new resident visa are:
- One-off resident visa for up to 165,000 migrants provides certainty for New Zealand businesses so they can plan into the future
- Visa creates residence pathway for over 5,000 health and aged care workers, around 9,000 primary industry workers, and more than 800 teachers
- Streamlined application process requiring health, police and security criteria to be met
- Majority of applications to be granted within a year of the category opening
The full policy has not been released yet, therefore some details are still missing and some details are subject to change. Immigration New Zealand has indicated that more information will be available in late October 2021.
We’ve added a page to this website where we will keep you up to date with any new developments on this new residency visa: