New Zealand is considered to be one of the safest immigration destinations in the world. The New Zealand government offers various residence options for foreign nationals, who wish to immigrate to New Zealand and live, work and contribute to the economy of New Zealand.

Those living in New Zealand on a residence status enjoy most of the residency rights related to social security, medical, education etc. In order to file an application for residence (meaning permanent relocation to and settlement in New Zealand), an applicant must submit the Residence Class Visa Application along with the relevant application forms and documentation. In many other countries, this class of visa application is also known as Permanent Residence or Green Card. In order to file a permanent residence application to immigrate to New Zealand, it is important to understand the following aspects.

An application for residence in New Zealand can include the following people:

1. The principal applicant is the applicant with the intention to immigrate and must file the application. Such a person is defined as someone who has been termed as the principal applicant. It is the principal applicant who would be evaluated first during the assessment of the application. In case of married or de facto couple, either of the two adults can be chosen as the principal applicant. Normally, an assessment of the profile of both the spouses will be conducted and one better qualified, as per selection criteria for relevant residency category, will be made the principal applicant. In case of the unmarried or applicants not enjoying any de facto relationship, the application will be filed as a single.
2. The application can also include the principal applicant’s spouse/partner. The choice to make the spouse part of the residency application is optional. However, one must compulsorily declare his married status and provide all the relevant details of spouse, whether or not spouse is accompanying him as part of residency application or not.
3. The dependent children of the principal applicant who are either biological or are adopted could also be a part of the application. For the children to be a part of the application, it is vital for the partner to be included in the application. Otherwise, the dependent children cannot be a part of the application. This is irrespective whether the partner and children are residing in the same country as that of the principal applicant.

In situations referred to in (b) and (c) above, the partner/spouse and the children would also become applicants applying for residency. They would be termed as Secondary Applicants. However, each and every applicant would be assessed separately based on the qualifying criteria for residence in New Zealand, as applicable to them. This assessment would be done as per the residence instructions provided by the government of New Zealand.

If you interested in applying for a Residence Permit to New Zealand, mail the following information ASAP at ajay@abhinav.com for a free of charge assessment by Ajay Sharma, Principal Consultant, ABHINAV.

• Your updated resume
• If married, provide the resume for your spouse as well
• If applicable, please provide information on children and their age
• Information on any blood relatives residing in New Zealand. This is not a compulsory requirement to qualify for immigration to New Zealand but serves as additional positive assessment and suitability factor.