To reside in New Zealand for an indefinite period, one must get a Permanent Resident visa of New Zealand. With a PR in your hand, you will also be eligible to access various rights of the country, like:
- Health care
- Education (attending NZ schools)
- Purchase property
- Right to vote after one year of permanent residency
- Claim to New Zealand welfare after two years of permanent residency
- Free education for your children in the government school and universities
- Better job offers
- Children born to parents with PR automatically gain New Zealand citizenship.
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How to Get New Zealand PR?
Is it easy to get PR in New Zealand? The dilemma of getting New Zealand PR can be resolved when you are aware of the eligibility criteria and the points based-system of New Zealand.
Eligibility: Here are the conditions required to become eligible for permanent residency in New Zealand:
- More than two years of living in New Zealand along with the fulfilment of the country’s residency conditions.
- Be of good character.
- Should not be more than 55 years of age.
- Ability to bring your intent of residency in the country.
- Job offer (if you have applied through sponsored work visa)
- Proof of command over English through any of the following English proficiency tests:
- International English Language Testing System(IELTS exam) conducted by IDP or British Council
- Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT)
- Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE)
- Cambridge English B2 First (FCE)
- B2 First for Schools (FCE for schools)
- Occupational English Test (OET)
New Zealand’s PR Point System
One should avoid agents or the visa bureau and get directly in touch with the New Zealand government for the right information and steps towards PR. On the government website, you will find the PR points system used to track your PR application. The PR point system of New Zealand consists of the following categories:
Employability:
- You get 60 points for your current employment in NZ for over a year.
- 50 points are awarded to people looking for jobs and to those people working for less than a year.
Work Experience:
- 10 points for 2 years of work experience.
- 30 points for 10 years of work experience.
- Bonus points for appraisals in your work experience.
Qualifications:
- 50 points for a Bachelor’s Degree/any other major Diploma qualification.
- 55 for a Master’s/ Doctorate Degree.
Family Ties: 10 points for close family members in New Zealand.
Age:
- Maximum of 30 points for the age of 20-29 years.
- Minimum of 5 points for 50-55 years of age.
Once you secure 100 points out of the total 360, you are considered for ITA ( Invitation to Apply) for a visa. However, only the candidates with maximum scores get the ITA. The minimum submission criteria can be between 100-135 points. The current selection point for New Zealand PR is 160 points.
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What are the Different Ways of Getting PR in New Zealand?
There are different pathways to get a PR visa in New Zealand. The following are the different categories through which one can apply for a resident visa:
- Skilled Migrant Category: For skilled professional people.
- Residence from Work Category: For people who have worked for 2 years on a Work to Residence Category work visa.
- Business Category: For people who want to begin their own venture.
- Investment Category: For people who want to invest a large amount of funds in New Zealand.
- Family Category: For partners, children or parents of New Zealand citizens or resident visa holders.
- Samoan Quota Category: For Samoan Citizens.
- Pacific Access Quota: For citizens of Fiji, Tonga, Tuvalu or Kiribati.
What is the Simplest Way to Get PR in New Zealand?
As discussed above, there can be various categories through which you can apply for a PR in New Zealand. However, when it comes to the most preferred or the simplest way, the Skilled Migrant Category comes first.
Advantages of Skilled Resident Visa
- Length of stay remains indefinite.
- You can live, work and study in New Zealand.
- You can include your partner and children below 24 years of age in your application.
- One should keep in mind that this visa is not for self-employed people or people with businesses. These people can apply for the entrepreneur resident visa instead.
Requirements of Skilled Resident Visa
- Your age should be within 55 years.
- You should be having a good character with good health.
- You must have qualified any of the required English proficiency tests.
- You must have submitted an EOI (Expression of Interest).
- The age of your partner or your child must be above 16 years and should know English.
- You should be able to work in any skilled employment in New Zealand.
Process of Applying Through Skilled Migrant Category
- Since the PR application is a point-based system, you can predict the points you can gain based on age, education, and work experience using the PR point system. After assessing your points, you should submit your EOI ( Expression of Interest) which keeps your application in process.
- You need to submit an online EOI to make an application for this visa. Once you get 160 points, your EOI (expression of interest) gets accepted.
- Every two weeks EOIs get selected. You will receive an invitation to apply for the skilled migrant visa if your EOI gets selected.
- After the selection of your EOI, you are required to submit the residence application with all the required documents.
- The last step involves the decision of the New Zealand immigration, whether your application gets approved or not.
Conclusion: There are different categories for people to get a PR in New Zealand. For example, people with businesses are accepted through the entrepreneur resident visa and not through the skilled migration category. Therefore, one should choose the pathway to their PR in accordance with their conditions and qualifications. To know more about such related content and IELTS exam preparation for New Zealand, visit IELTS Ninja. It will offer you courses with sufficient mock-tests and teaching assistance to score an excellent IELTS score.
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