Permanent Resident Visa (PRV): the step after 2 years of residence

How much does the Permanent Resident Visa cost, and how long does it take?

Immigration New Zealand publishes a cost from NZD $315 for the Permanent Resident Visa, and a processing time of "80% within 2 weeks". The published length of stay is live, work and study indefinitely. Those are INZ's own figures, copied from its page on 2026-10-23; medicals, police certificates, translations and any adviser's fee are separate.

Length of stay

Live, work and study

indefinitely

Cost

From

NZD $315

Processing time

80% within

2 weeks

Copied from the Permanent Resident Visa page at immigration.govt.nz on 2026-10-23. Figures change without notice.

Who can apply for the Permanent Resident Visa?

Immigration New Zealand's own summary is: "You can apply for this visa if you have had a resident visa for more than 2 years. This visa lets you live in New Zealand permanently, and travel in and out of the country." It lists 5 published requirements, reproduced below word for word. Whether any particular person meets them is a question for INZ or a licensed immigration adviser, not for this site.

• have had a resident visa for at least 2 years in a row
• have a current resident visa, or a resident visa that expired 90 days ago or less
• have met the conditions of your resident visa
• have shown a commitment to New Zealand in 1 of the 5 ways that meet our requirements
• meet the other requirements of this visa.

INZ’s own wording, unedited.

What does the Permanent Resident Visa let you do?

Immigration New Zealand lists 3 things the Permanent Resident Visa lets you do, with a published length of stay of live, work and study indefinitely. The first is to "live, work and study in New Zealand". The full list, in INZ's own wording, is below.

• live, work and study in New Zealand
• travel to and from New Zealand any time you like
• include your partner and dependent children aged 24 or younger in your visa application.

INZ’s own wording, unedited.

When the 2 years start, and the 90-day window

You should not apply for a Permanent Resident Visa (PRV) until you have held a resident visa continuously for at least 2-years and meet all other PRV eligibility requirements. Applications submitted before all requirements are met may be declined, even if you meet the 2-years requirement after the application is submitted.

You must have a current resident visa, or a resident visa that expired 90 days ago or less. You must have had your resident visa for at least 2 years before you can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa. Your 2 years start from:

• the date you first arrived in New Zealand from overseas, or
• the date your visa was issued, if you were already in New Zealand.

If you have a current resident visa and are outside of New Zealand after your travel conditions expires, your resident visa will expire as well. The conditions are recorded in your resident visa.

From the INZ page, read on 2026-10-23.

The 5 ways to show commitment to New Zealand

You must be committed to living in New Zealand permanently. You must have evidence of at least 1 of the 5 ways that show your commitment to living in New Zealand permanently. INZ's five ways, from its page on showing your commitment to New Zealand for permanent residence:

• You have spent enough time in New Zealand: you need to have spent at least 184 days in New Zealand on a resident visa in each year of the 2 years immediately before you apply for permanent residence. The 184 days does not need to be in a row. INZ will already have this evidence in its records of your travel.
• You have New Zealand tax residence status: for the 2 years immediately before you apply you have been in New Zealand as a resident for 41 days or more in each of the 12-month periods that makes up the 2 years, and are assessed as having tax residence status for those 2 years. Evidence is a statement from Inland Revenue or a completed Confirmation of Tax Resident Status form (INZ 1006).
• You have invested in New Zealand: you have had NZD $1,000,000 invested in New Zealand in an acceptable investment for 2 years or more.
• You have a business in New Zealand: you have either bought or started a business in New Zealand at least 1 year ago. The business must be trading successfully and of benefit to New Zealand in some way. If you bought into an existing business in New Zealand, you must have at least a 25% share.
• You have established a base in New Zealand: you have lived in New Zealand as a resident for at least 41 days in the 12 months before you apply, everyone else included in your residence application has been living in New Zealand for at least 184 days in the 2 years before you apply, and you have either worked in New Zealand for at least 9 months in the 2 years before you apply, or purchased a home within 12 months of your first day in New Zealand as a resident, which you must still own when you apply.

The 2-year period is the time immediately before you apply for a Permanent Resident Visa, not the 2 years since your resident visa was given. If you have tax residence in another country, you cannot use your tax residence status there to show your commitment to New Zealand.

From the INZ page, read on 2026-10-23.

Including family in your application

You may be able to include your partner or dependent children in your Permanent Resident Visa application. The requirements depend on whether they were included in your original resident visa application.

If your family were included in your original resident visa application, they do not need to meet the 'commitment to New Zealand' requirement independently, as this only applies to the principal applicant. However, they are still assessed individually for identity and character and may need to provide updated information. Normally, INZ cannot give a Permanent Resident Visa to a non-principal applicant before the principal applicant, except in some cases, for example:

• the partnership has ended (separation/divorce)
• the principal applicant has died
• the principal applicant has become a New Zealand citizen
• family violence situations.

If you were a dependent child in the original resident application, but are no longer a dependent child, you must apply for your own Permanent Resident Visa.

If you include family members who were not part of your original resident visa application, each family member on the application is assessed independently. Each person must have held a resident visa continuously for at least 24 months, and meet all other standard Permanent Resident Visa requirements such as character, identity and commitment to New Zealand. Adding family members to your application does not guarantee them residency if your Permanent Resident Visa is granted.

From the INZ page, read on 2026-10-23.

Documents you need

When you apply, you will need to provide:

• a high-quality scan of the details page of your passport or certificate of identity, and for anyone you are including
• a scan of the other pages of your passport or certificate of identity that contain visa records, entry and exit stamps, to include as supporting information
• 1 acceptable photo for each person
• translated versions of all your documents if they are not in English.

After you apply, INZ may contact you and ask for evidence of a medical examination or chest X-ray if you have not already provided these, and police certificates as proof of your good character. Your police certificates must be less than 6 months old when you submit your application.

There are no visa conditions on a Permanent Resident Visa. You can travel in and out of New Zealand indefinitely, as long as you keep your visa in a valid passport. If your passport expires, you must apply to transfer your visa to a new passport before you can travel.

From the INZ page, read on 2026-10-23.

Getting citizenship

For most people, after 5 years of living in New Zealand as a resident, you may be able to get New Zealand citizenship. You do not need a Permanent Resident Visa first. Citizenship is handled by the Department of Internal Affairs, not Immigration New Zealand.

From the INZ page, read on 2026-10-23.

Where do I apply for the Permanent Resident Visa?

On Immigration New Zealand’s own website, not through us. The Permanent Resident Visa page at immigration.govt.nz carries the application link, the full requirements and the current fee. Applying through this site is not possible: we are an information site, and we cannot lodge or handle an application for anybody.

Questions about the Permanent Resident Visa

Once you have a decision

Getting the visa is one job; landing here is another. Our settling-in guides cover the IRD number, a bank account, a rental, schools, a doctor and a driver licence — all free, and all separate from anything to do with your visa.