Originally Posted by
Juniper
But you wouldn’t get PR immediately after approval of an SMC application, just regular RV, so if the scenario is leaving NZ soon afterwards, you would just need to return before the travel conditions expire, I suppose. But you would have earned no time towards getting Permanent Residency and eventually citizenship, since you have to spend at least half of each year in NZ for that. An interesting way to explore options, for those lucky enough to have both!
That's correct. However one can apply for an extension of travel condition on RV if it's expired and he/she still not eligible to apply for a PR.
Btw there are many ways to fulfill the requirements of commitment to NZ to upgrade from RV to PRV so it doesn't just depend on 184 days of stay on each year.