Residence and New Zealand citizenship: from resident visa to a Kiwi passport

Getting residence in New Zealand is the hard part. Keeping it, and turning it into citizenship, is mostly about counting days.

The short version

• A resident visa lets you live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely, but it usually comes with travel conditions that run out. If you're outside New Zealand when they expire, the visa expires too [2].
• After two years in a row on a resident visa, you can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa (PRV), which has no conditions and never expires. The fee is from NZD 315 (about £130) [2].
• For citizenship by grant, you need to have been in New Zealand for at least 1,350 days in the last five years, including 240 days in each of those years, as a resident [3][4].
• The UK allows dual citizenship, so you can keep your British passport [1].
• A dual national can't get British consular help while in New Zealand, the other country of citizenship [1].

Stage one: the resident visa

Most Brits reach residence through one of these routes:

• the Skilled Migrant Category, a six-point system using qualifications, pay or registration plus NZ work experience
• the Green List, either straight to residence (Tier 1) or after 24 months in the job (Tier 2)
• partnership with a New Zealand citizen or resident
• parent and other family routes

Our guide to Skilled Migrant and Accredited Employer visas covers the work routes in detail.

The travel conditions trap

This is the bit that catches people out. A resident visa usually lets you leave and come back as often as you like, but only while its travel conditions last. INZ says the two-year clock for a PRV starts from the date you first arrived in New Zealand on the visa, or the date it was issued if you were already here [2].

The trap is simple: if you're outside New Zealand when your travel conditions expire, your resident visa expires as well [2]. You'd then need a new visa to get back in. Picture a British family heading home for a long Christmas with the grandparents in Yorkshire, with the travel conditions quietly running out while they're tucking into turkey. Check the date on your visa before you book flights, and either be back in New Zealand by then or sort out your next visa first.

Stage two: the Permanent Resident Visa

The PRV is what makes residence properly permanent. According to INZ [2], you need to:

1. have held a resident visa for at least two years in a row
2. hold a current resident visa, or one that expired 90 days ago or less
3. have met any conditions on your resident visa
4. show commitment to New Zealand in one of five ways INZ accepts
5. be of good character

The most common way to show commitment is time in New Zealand: at least 184 days in each of the last two years, backed up by your travel records [2]. INZ's separate commitment page sets out the other four ways, which suit people who've been away for work or family reasons.

INZ says 80% of PRV applications are processed within two weeks [2]. One practical point: the PRV sits in your passport, so when you renew your British passport, transfer the visa to the new one before you travel [2].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = NZD 2.4016).

Stage three: New Zealand citizenship

Plenty of Brits live happily in Auckland for decades on a PRV. You can vote in New Zealand elections as a permanent resident once you meet the residence rules, and you can use public healthcare and schools. But citizenship gives you a New Zealand passport, the right to live in Australia under the trans-Tasman arrangement without a separate visa, and peace of mind.

The rules

Under section 8 of the Citizenship Act 1977, you need to [3][4]:

• be entitled to stay in New Zealand indefinitely, which means holding a residence class visa
• have been in New Zealand for at least 1,350 days in the five years before you apply, and at least 240 days in each of those five years, on a residence class visa
• be of good character
• be able to have a basic conversation in English
• understand the responsibilities and privileges of New Zealand citizenship. At the moment you confirm this on the form; the Community Law Manual says a citizenship test is planned from late 2027 [4]
• intend to keep living in New Zealand (or work in certain roles overseas), right up to the day citizenship is granted [4]

For most people, citizenship is granted at a citizenship ceremony [4], where you swear or affirm allegiance. You'll hear the national anthem in both te reo Māori and English, so it's worth learning the first verse.

Counting your days

The day-counting is where people come unstuck. The 240-day minimum applies to each of the five years, so one long stint back in the UK can push your application back by a year, even if your five-year total is well over 1,350 [3].

The Minister can accept fewer days in exceptional cases, and some time abroad in Crown service can count [3], but don't plan on either. Keep a simple spreadsheet of your trips, or ask INZ for your travel movements before you apply.

The application fee isn't covered on the pages we opened, so check the current amount with the Department of Internal Affairs before you apply.

Kids born in New Zealand

A child born in New Zealand is a New Zealand citizen at birth only if a parent is a citizen or entitled to stay indefinitely at the time. If you're on a temporary visa, they won't be. Whether they're British depends on your own citizenship: if you're British by birth in the UK, a child born in Auckland is usually British by descent. Our guide to registering a child born abroad explains the rules and when you need to apply.

Keeping your British passport

The UK lets you be a British citizen and a citizen of other countries at the same time [1]. New Zealand doesn't ask you to give up your British citizenship either, so most Brits end up with both. Things to know:

• Travelling to the UK. As a British dual citizen, you travel to the UK on your British passport. You can't get a UK ETA as a British citizen [1].
• Consular help. The British government can't give you diplomatic help in the country where you're also a citizen [1], so in New Zealand you're treated as a Kiwi. Elsewhere, the British consulate can help.
• Renewing your British passport from Auckland is done online through HM Passport Office. See renewing a British passport from abroad.
• UK votes. Becoming a Kiwi doesn't affect your right to register as an overseas voter in UK elections.

A suggested timeline

1. Year 0: resident visa granted. Note the travel conditions expiry date.
2. Year 2: apply for your PRV once you've had two years in a row on the resident visa and meet the commitment test.
3. Years 1 to 5: keep at least 240 days a year in New Zealand and track your trips.
4. Year 5 or later: apply for citizenship once you've hit 1,350 days over five years.
5. After the ceremony: apply for your New Zealand passport and keep your British one renewed.

Fancy hearing how other Brits found the citizenship ceremony? Our community group for Brits in New Zealand has plenty of stories, some involving tears and most involving a pavlova. For a tricky residence or citizenship case, a licensed immigration adviser or lawyer can check your situation.

Sources

1. GOV.UK: Dual citizenship
2. Immigration New Zealand: Permanent Resident Visa
3. Citizenship Act 1977, section 8, as amended in 2005 (NZLII)
4. Community Law Manual: Citizenship by grant – applicants aged 16 and over
5. Immigration New Zealand: Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa

Keep reading

• Moving to Auckland as a Brit: visa and residence routes
• Skilled Migrant and Accredited Employer visas for Brits
• Buying a home in New Zealand: the foreign buyer ban and exemptions
• Voting from abroad: votes for life