Presence requirements for New Zealand Citizenship by grant

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Originally Posted by sunny_singh305

hi, We(family of 3) were granted resident visa on 23 Feb 2018.based on that I think I(we) will be eligible to apply to citizenship after 23 October 2022. I was just wondering if someone could review this for me. I have calculated the presence requirement as per worked examples and hopefully i have done it correct.
Travel dates outside NZ
24 Dec 2018 - 22 Jan 2019 (30 days)
30 Dec 2021 - 19 March 2022 (80 days)

Presence
Year 1 24 October 2021 to 23 October 2022 > 285 days > 80 days outside NZ (365-80=285) - Requirement Met
Year 2 24 October 2020 to 23 October 2021 > 365 days > No Travel - Requirement Met
Year 3 24 October 2019 to 23 October 2020 > 365 days > No Travel - Requirement Met
Year 4 24 October 2018 to 23 October 2019 > 335 days > 30 days outside NZ(365-30=335) - Requirement Met
Year 5 24 February 2018 to 23 October 2018 > 241 days > No Travel - Requirement Met
Total presence = 285+365+365+335+241=1591 days

I will check on the calculator to on the day I become eligible. My passport was renewed in late 2019 and PR visa was issued on the new passport. Not sure if that will be an issue?? Any suggestions if somebody else have encountered issues with presence calculator due to this.

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Please, may I understand why you have your 5th year counted from 24 February 2018 to 23 October, instead of ending 24 February 2019?

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Originally Posted by johnotbc

Please, may I understand why you have your 5th year counted from 24 February 2018 to 23 October, instead of ending 24 February 2019?

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Hi as its been said that 5 year period is calculated backwards from the date when you submit your application. In my case year 5 would be 24 October 2017 - 23 October 2018 but i became resident on 23 February 2018. So i only calculated from 24 February 2018 to 23 October 2018 and for that period i have met the 240 days presence requirement.
I am hoping someone would correct me if i have done something wrong.

The presence will work like this if you apply on 23/10/2022
23/10/2022 to 23/10/2021
23/10/2021 to 23/10/2020
23/10/2020 to 23/10/2019
23/10/2019 to 23/10/2018
23/10/2018 to 23/02/2018--- 23+30+31+30+31+31+30+31+30+31+5= 303

It goes other way round. You do not calculate from the date you get resident visa from, its the date you intend to apply for citizenship from. Look at the time duration of 23/10/2018 to 23/10/2017, obviously you will calculate till 23/02/2018 and if that duration is 240 days you are good to apply.

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Originally Posted by sunny_singh305

hi, We(family of 3) were granted resident visa on 23 Feb 2018.based on that I think I(we) will be eligible to
apply to citizenship after 23 October 2022. I was just wondering if someone could review this for me. I have calculated the presence requirement as per worked examples and hopefully i have done it correct.
Travel dates outside NZ
24 Dec 2018 - 22 Jan 2019 (30 days)
30 Dec 2021 - 19 March 2022 (80 days)

Presence
Year 1 24 October 2021 to 23 October 2022 > 285 days > 80 days outside NZ (365-80=285) - Requirement Met
Year 2 24 October 2020 to 23 October 2021 > 365 days > No Travel - Requirement Met
Year 3 24 October 2019 to 23 October 2020 > 365 days > No Travel - Requirement Met
Year 4 24 October 2018 to 23 October 2019 > 335 days > 30 days outside NZ(365-30=335) - Requirement Met
Year 5 24 February 2018 to 23 October 2018 > 241 days > No Travel - Requirement Met
Total presence = 285+365+365+335+241=1591 days

I will check on the calculator to on the day I become eligible. My passport was renewed in late 2019 and PR visa was issued on the new passport. Not sure if that will be an issue?? Any suggestions if somebody else have encountered issues with presence calculator due to this.

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One more thing, just wait for the presence calculator to make you eligible. If it says not eligible, keep on checking and apply when it says eligible to apply. You will save lot of time as the automated checks will pass presence otherwise it will go to a second queue where it may take months. That's what happened to our case.

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Originally Posted by rizjunior

The presence will work like this if you apply on 23/10/2022
23/10/2022 to 23/10/2021
23/10/2021 to 23/10/2020
23/10/2020 to 23/10/2019
23/10/2019 to 23/10/2018
23/10/2018 to 23/02/2018--- 23+30+31+30+31+31+30+31+30+31+5= 303

It goes other way round. You do not calculate from the date you get resident visa from, its the date you intend to apply for citizenship from. Look at the time duration of 23/10/2018 to 23/10/2017, obviously you will calculate till 23/02/2018 and if that duration is 240 days you are good to apply.

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Thanks for that i might have put the dates other way around but calculations are correct i believe and yes for the last year as i have not travelled the 240 days requirement is met from 23/2/2018 to 23/10/2018.

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Originally Posted by rizjunior

One more thing, just wait for the presence calculator to make you eligible. If it says not eligible, keep on checking and apply when it says eligible to apply. You will save lot of time as the automated checks will pass presence otherwise it will go to a second queue where it may take months. That's what happened to our case.

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I am hoping the calculator will show i am eligible if not i guess the risk is delay in approval. How much time did it take in your case?
I have seen somewhere that calculator showed eligible 2.5 months after they applied.

Its 15 month now, I have case officer but presence requirement is going through second stage of approval.

thanks it quite a long wait, hopefully yours will come soon.

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Originally Posted by Kelerei

Makes sense, given that the Department of Internal Affairs works backwards from your application date.

Let's say that someone gains residency on January 1st 2020, and applies for citizenship exactly 4 years and 240 days later (which would be August 28th 2024 in this example). The Citizenship Office will then look at the following time periods:

• Period 1: August 29th 2019 to August 28th 2020
• Period 2: August 29th 2020 to August 28th 2021
• Period 3: August 29th 2021 to August 28th 2022
• Period 4: August 29th 2022 to August 28th 2023
• Period 5: August 29th 2023 to August 28th 2024

And assuming no international travel at all, their calculations would come to:

• Period 1: 240 days (as the period August 29th 2019 to December 31st 2019 cannot be counted in this example, due to residency being gained on January 1st 2020)
• Period 2: 365 days
• Period 3: 365 days
• Period 4: 365 days
• Period 5: 366 days (extra day, leap year)

As you can see in this example, the requirement is exactly met (each of the 5 periods is 240 days or more, and the sum of all 5 periods is 1,350 days or more) -- but as the first of the periods is exactly 240 days, this example leaves no margin for error. If the person was out of the country for 5 days between January 1st 2020 and August 28th 2020 (and forgot to consider this, or didn't think they had to consider this), the time spent in Period 1 drops to 235 days, and the presence requirement is no longer met. Sounds like this is what caught you out.

I think the confusion comes in because people believe that the Citizenship Office works forwards from the date residency is gained, but this is not correct: they work backwards from the date you lodge your application. The only reliable way of calculating one's eligibility is thus to do as the Citizenship Office does: work backwards from the date of application to determine the date ranges of the five periods (as in my example), then calculate presence in each of those periods (making sure all of them are 240 days or more), and if that's good, add them all up to make sure the combined total is 1,350 days or more. This confusion could be solved by the Citizenship Office providing an example, much like mine, on how to calculate presence -- the example scenarios provided are somewhat vague in this regard.

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Can you apply the citizenship after completing another 5-6 days after Aug 28 2024 to meet the criteria in the first year? Given the min requirement only met for 235 days, my question is if someone spends a few more days after the meeting, can they be eligible?

Don't forget, the time periods are counted BACKWARDS from the date of application. If the person delays putting in their application for (say) six days, then ALL the time periods will be nudged forward by that same amount. So Kelerei's example dates would be altered to September 4th - September 3rd for each period, and the applicant would have to consider their eligibilty between those dates instead.

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Originally Posted by JandM

Don't forget, the time periods are counted BACKWARDS from the date of application. If the person delays putting in their application for (say) six days, then ALL the time periods will be nudged forward by that same amount. So Kelerei's example dates would be altered to September 4th - September 3rd for each period, and the applicant would have to consider their eligibilty between those dates instead.

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Thank you, I read all the previous posts related to the timeline calculation. However, based on the below scenario can you please confirm?

residency approved on 9th Nov, 2018, and looking to apply for citizenship in July if eligible. Else, some of our plans will change i.e. travel overseas.

25 July 2023, 25 July 2022- No travel and meet the requirement of 240 days
25 July 2022 - 24 July 2021 - No travel and meet the requirement of 240 days
24 July 2021 - 23 July 2020 - No travel and meet the requirement of 240 days
22 July 2020 - 21 July 2019 - Travelled overseas for 30 days and meet the requirement of 240 days
20 July 2019 - 9 Nov 2018 - Travelled overseas for 12 days and meet the requirement of 240 days. However, this is not a full year given I received my resident visa in November 2018. Does DIA accept the application in this instance since meeting the 240 day requirement in a year?

*Apparently,* these dates would work. HOWEVER, see what is said in Post #44 above. We know from people's experience that DIA usually/often accept with no trouble the part time period if it's a minimum of 240 days, but sometimes not.

Hi guys,

Just want confirm as I got my Resident visa on 6th June 2018, am I eligible according to these dates

Year 1 10 March 2022 to 09 March 2023 > 303 days

Year 2 10 March 2021 to 09 March 2022 > 365 days

Year 3 10 March 2020 to 09 March 2021> 365 days

Year 4 10 March 2019 to 09 March 2020> 341 days

Year 5 10 March 2018 to 09 March 2019> 241 days

Total presence = 241+341+365+365+303=1615 days

Does that mean I can apply on 10 of march and how accurate is presence calculator

Hi Kelerei,

Can you please help me with my partner's case when she will be eligible to apply for citizenship? She got her NZ resident visa on 29/01/2019. She was overseas in October 2022 for just 10 days and then again in June 2023 for 20 days. My understanding is DIA counts backwards when you apply for citizenship. In that case, Is she eligible to apply for citizenship after 27/09/2023?

Hi guys,

The presence calculator indicates that I will be eligible for residency after 4.8 months, followed by a permanent resident visa. However, my wife does not meet the residency requirements as she has spent more than 5 months abroad in the first year. Despite this, we are considering applying for her residency soon, as my child and I will also apply. We believe that her recent registration as a teacher and our property ownership present a strong case for her application. Additionally, she has spent 450 days in the country in the last 20 months.

One concern we have is that there seems to be no option to upload documents to explain the reasons for her extended absence from the country. We are unsure if the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) will accept her application without the ability to provide supporting documents. We would greatly appreciate any guidance or assistance you can provide on this matter. Thank you for your help.

You're asking about Residence, on a thread about citizenship? Not sure what you need to know.

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Originally Posted by JandM

You're asking about Residence, on a thread about citizenship? Not sure what you need to know.

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Hi JandM

Apologies for the error, it was a typo. I have made the changes to my query below!

The presence calculator indicates that I will be eligible for citizenship after 4.8 months of having the resident visa and followed by a permanent resident visa for the last 2+ years. However, my wife does not meet the Citizenship presence requirement as she has spent more than 5 months abroad in the first year but has met all the other 4 years. Despite this, we are considering applying for her citizenship application soon, as my child and I will apply. We believe that her recent registration as a teacher and our property ownership present a strong case for her application. Additionally, she has spent 450 days in the country in the last 20 months which is one of the criteria in case an applicant does not spend 240 days in each year.

Can I go ahead with my wife's application? We have personal reasons and documentation to approve why she couldn't be NZ in the first year. thanks

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Originally Posted by pedditi03

Hi JandM

Apologies for the error, it was a typo. I have made the changes to my query below!

The presence calculator indicates that I will be eligible for citizenship after 4.8 months of having the resident visa and followed by a permanent resident visa for the last 2+ years. However, my wife does not meet the Citizenship presence requirement as she has spent more than 5 months abroad in the first year but has met all the other 4 years. Despite this, we are considering applying for her citizenship application soon, as my child and I will apply. We believe that her recent registration as a teacher and our property ownership present a strong case for her application. Additionally, she has spent 450 days in the country in the last 20 months which is one of the criteria in case an applicant does not spend 240 days in each year.

Can I go ahead with my wife's application? We have personal reasons and documentation to approve why she couldn't be NZ in the first year. thanks

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Per the Citizenship Guidance Document, you will need to prove exceptional circumstances particular to the applicant as to why the standard presence requirement can not be met. The circumstances do not have to be unique or very rare, but they do have to be truly an exception rather than the rule, or out of the ordinary and comparatively rare. Having professional registration and owning property may be viewed as a positive factor, but will likely not be viewed as exceptional circumstances on their own, as it is reasonably common for people to require professional registration or own property.

There is a predefined list of circumstances where an application may be approved if all other requirements are met, all other circumstances are personally considered by the Minister of Internal Affairs.

Beyond the information in the Citizenship Guidance Document, this forum is unable to assist further.

Additionally, be aware that assessment of exceptional circumstances is required on a case by case basis, and you should therefore expect such an application to be amongst the longest applications in terms of processing time.

Thanks Kelerei for the quick reply. I will go ahead with the application and share any updates which might help others in the same boat. Off course every case is different

Hi All,
I hope you will be able to shed some light on my conundrum. I have two questions

1. I would like to confirm the earliest date I can apply online to the Bureau of Internal Affairs of New Zealand for citizenship. My family of four has not traveled outside of New Zealand since we arrived in 2016.
We were granted a residence visa by INZ on November 28, 2018 (old Expired Passport), and we received our Permanent Residence status on December 14, 2020 (New Current Passport). Since our arrival in New Zealand, we have been living here continuously and have not left the country. Confirmation received from INZ on our travel movements

To meet the presence requirements for citizenship, we need to be in New Zealand for at least 240 days in each 12-month period and a total of 1350 days across five years when we apply.

Considering these criteria, I have calculated the earliest possible application date as follows:

Based on the 240-day requirement: From November 28, 2022, counting 240 days forward, the earliest application date would be July 26, 2023. (This date includes the 1350 days across November 2018 to July 2023).
Year 1: 26 July 2023 to 26 July 2022
Year 2: 26 July 2022 to 26 July 2021
Year 3: 26 July 2021 to 26 July 2020
Year 4: 26 July 2020 to 26 July 2019
Year 5: 26 July 2019 to 28 Nov 2018 = 240 days
Is this correct based on the 4 years 8 months path?

2. I have tried the online calculator and it states that we do not meet the presence requirements and does not even give us a date of when we will be meeting the date. I have asked Internal affairs about this and they have no answer for me. I am wondering if the calculator is actually taking into account my old passport when we received residency as there was a switch to the new passport in 2020. So if I apply even if I am correct, will the system flag me for not meeting the presence test on their end and then we will be declined?

We would appreciate your advice.