Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is moving the Permanent Resident Visa, Second or Subsequent Resident Visa and Variation of Travel Conditions of a resident visa application processes into Immigration Online at the end of January 2024.
At the end of January 2024, customers will be able to submit the following applications electronically using Immigration Online (instead of using a paper-based application):
Permanent Resident Visa
Second or Subsequent Resident Visa
Variation of Travel Conditions of a resident visa
Currently, these applications are submitted using paper forms, limiting an applicant's ability to track the progress of their applications online. Moving to Immigration Online means applicants:
can check their application status online without having to call the INZ contact centre, and
no longer have to submit physical documents, such as passports, which was a requirement for paper applications.
Eligibility for the Permanent Resident Visa
People are only eligible for a Permanent Resident Visa once they have held their resident visa for at least 2 years.
If a customer was outside of New Zealand when their resident visa was issued, the start of the 2-year period is when they arrived in New Zealand on their resident visa.
Submitting an application within the 2-year period may result in the application being declined, meaning customers will need to reapply and pay an additional application fee.