Resident visa to PR conversion

[Berry]

Hi All,

I have been issued Resident visa and on March 2014 I had made a entry to NZ (for one week), my goal is get it converted to PR. The below tax residence status option looks good to me But the challenge is I may not be able to move to NZ for next 12 months from now. What will be my visa status after March 2016 ? I heard that if the stay in NZ on last day of visa validity, they will extend it for one more year - am I correct ? and can I still target for below option after 12 months ?

2. You have tax residence status

You have been in New Zealand as a resident for a total of 41 days or more in each of the two 12-month portions of the 24 months immediately preceding your permanent resident visa application, and you are assessed by Inland Revenue (IR) as holding tax residence status for the two years preceding your application for a permanent resident visa. You must include evidence of your tax residence status with your application.

Thanks
Berry

[JandM]

It looks as though you have an over-optimistic idea of the regulations.

As things stand, you have a Residence visa that would allow you to stay in NZ indefinitely, IF YOU WERE IN NZ. With that visa, you were issued with travel conditions that allow you to leave the country and re-enter as often as you like, FOR TWO YEARS only from the date your visa was validated on first entering NZ. If you were outside NZ when your travel conditions run out, not having been there since your first week's stay, you would no longer be able to enter the country as a Resident - your Resident visa would lapse.

In your case, looking at March, 2016, you would have to consider the exact date that is two years after you entered NZ, e.g. maybe March 16th. If you are in NZ on that day, you will be a NZ resident still, but with NO travel conditions - that is, if you left the country (without having first qualified for some other kind of visa or conditions, see below), your Residence would lapse. If you are not in NZ on that day, your NZ Residence would have lapsed, and all your process would have been for nothing.

I heard that if the stay in NZ on last day of visa validity, they will extend it for one more year

No, this is not correct. If you are in NZ when your travel conditions are finished, the VISA is still good for an indefinite time while you stay in the country. But you don't have the right any more to leave and re-enter the country unless you get a variation of travel conditions, and there are strict requirements for this. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...quirements.htm As you will see there, these conditions, like the ones for PR, require you to have spent a certain amount of time in NZ in the two years before you apply.

can I still target for below option after 12 months ?

You don't say after 12 months from when, but I'm assuming you mean, after 12 months when you arrive in the country to live, and the answer is no.

The basic time requirement for Permanent Residence (top paragraph at this link http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...quirements.htm) is that, FOR EVERYONE, they have to have held a validated Residence visa for at least two years. This would be you in March, 2016, at whatever is your exact two-year anniversary of arrival. But then, as well as that, each person must meet ONE of the conditions of commitment to NZ listed lower down on that page.

You are asking about the 'tax residence' status, which is section 2, as your proof of commitment to NZ. You would have to count two years backwards from the date of application for PR. So, suppose you were to apply on March 16th 2018, you would be looking at one year, March 16th, 2017 to 2018, then the previous year, March 16th, 2016 to 2017. In EACH of those years, you would have to have lived in NZ for 41 days or more, AND ALSO you would have to show as a NZ tax resident for BOTH those years, see the tiebreaker tests for tax resident status applied by the NZ Inland Revenue here. http://www.ird.govt.nz/international/residency/about/

In the situation you are talking about, where you can't arrive in NZ until shortly before your travel conditions run out, to qualify for PR using any of the 'commitment to NZ' requirements, you are probably likely to accept that you won't be able to travel out of the country for two years after arriving to settle (because without your travel conditions, you wouldn't have a re-entry permit). It would probably be easier to use the first condition - length of time spent in NZ.

If you are planning to arrive back in NZ to settle just before your travel conditions expire, when booking your journey, be careful to allow time in case of travel delays. Absolutely NO excuses are allowed, and anyone arriving after their travel conditions run out is not allowed into the country, so all their effort to get residence is for nothing.

[Berry]

Thanks a lot for ur reply. My first port of entry was march 13th 2014.If I come on a job in February 2015 and stay till May 2015 does this qualify for 41+ 41 days of tax proof requirement for two financial years.If not please suggest what is the shortest length of stay for my dates and scenario?

[JandM]

You seem to be looking at the '41 days in each of the 12-month periods' part of that particular condition, and not the rest - that is, being a NZ tax resident. If you go to that link I posted before, you'll find the NZ Inland Revenue's test for deciding where somebody is tax resident, which are as follows.

Generally, these tiebreaker tests are:

the country you have a permanent home in, or
if you have permanent homes in both countries or neither - then the country that your family and economic interest are in, or
if this is not clear then the country you spend most of your time in, or
if this is not clear the country you are a citizen of.

You'll see that you wouldn't meet these tests in any way, by ONLY staying and working in NZ for the 41-day minimum amount of time. That could only qualify if someone had a permanent home in NZ and nowhere else, or his partner and family had a home in NZ, and nowhere else.

There isn't any quicker and easier means to qualify for Permanent Residence. INZ, before granting PR, requires applicants to show a commitment to New Zealand , so, by definition, each Resident needs to have transferred a large part of their time, working life and/or family background, or wealth, to NZ to prove that.

[dca777]

Hi All,
I am listing my scenario on Residence to PR - experts kindly comment on this and anyone who has gone through this: it is better than the above 2 situations but is it enough ?

One thing I know is that you can apply for PR after 2 years as Residence and fulfilling the criteria, from outside NZ at a NZ embassy and you do not have to be in NZ on the 2nd anniversary of the Residence Visa. (confirmed by NZ embassy in Washington DC) - any difference of opinion on this please comment.
Case:
I have Residence Class Visa under SMC since May ,2013.
First Year : May 2013 to May 2014 : I stayed and was employed Full time (not contract) in Auckland in the first year for 11 months till Apr 2014. ( 11 months) with my family. I filed IR3 with IRD.

Second Year: I am overseas on contract work and family and will not able to stay 184 days in NZ in the second year.I have established ties to NZ like home, kiwisaver, accounts etc. But I am NOT able to stay 184 days in NZ in the second year. I will be able to do 41 days in the second year and have a permanent place of abode/stay.

So kindly advise on the requirement to obtain Perm Residence in 2015 (after 24 months) in May 2015 as Resident using IRD Tax Residence status and based on your experience,perhaps using Criteria 5 on the INZ website and/or Criteria 2 Tax Residency Status with IRD

I qualify as a tax resident by staying 41 days and ties but the latest IRD/ INZ listing and by Deloitte says tax residence alone is not enough - permanent place of abode is more important
see link:
http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_NZ/n...56f70aRCRD.htm

In this do I qualify Criteria 5 : . Established base in New Zealand

You have been in New Zealand as a resident for a total of at least 41 days in the 12-month period immediately before lodging your permanent resident visa application, and all members of your immediate family who were included in your residence application have resided in New Zealand for a total of at least 184 days in the two-year period immediately before lodging your permanent resident visa application. Also, either:
you own and maintain a family home in New Zealand, or
you have been genuinely employed full-time in New Zealand, in paid employment, for a total of at least nine months in the two-year period immediately before lodging your permanent resident visa application. Employment involving payment by commission and/or retainer is not acceptable.

Any input is appreciated.
Thanks

[JandM]

Here http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/30505.htm are the detailed requirements covering the different options, and there is fuller detail there about the fifth option.

Is the overseas contract work you are doing at present for a NZ company, paid in NZ?

And where are you, and your family, likely to be working/living after May, 2015?

[dca777]

Many Thanks for the information.Appreciate the link. However, it is a bit confusing ..
1) No the overseas work is in the same technology/field but not for a NZ company and not in NZ
2) May 2015 onwards - I have a tentative offer of employment in NZ and all family members will be in NZ.
3) The point which is not clear is in the opsmanual it says all applicants have to be 41 days in NZ , whereas the above link says only the Principal applicant - which one is correct ? "You" vs "They"

So technically speaking I should qualify for PR based on the detailed section in the Ops Manual because I did not see a condition contrary. Please advise /comment

Thanks

[JandM]

There's not a difference, actually. This is just an oddity of English usage - in the ops manual, the 'they' is talking about the principal applicant. ('They' is often used when talking about a single subject, saving having to say 'he or she' every time.) So it's ONLY you who would have to be in NZ for at least 41 days in the 12 months immediately before the application.