What is the difference between a resident visa and a permanent resident visa?
Answer: Travel conditions. A permanent resident visa – commonly known as “PR” or a “PRV” – has lifetime travel conditions, while a resident visa has limited travel conditions.
In almost all cases, Immigration New Zealand will NOT issue you a PRV as your first resident visa.
Your first resident visa will include travel conditions, which may be for two years, five years or even 10 years (for people who are approved under the Parent Category).
If your first resident visa has travel conditions for two years, you will need to wait for two years before you can apply for a PRV. People approved residence under the Parent Category need to wait 10 years before they can apply for a PRV.
Someone who is approved a PRV can leave New Zealand for as long as they would like and will always be able to return to New Zealand, so long as their PRV has been transferred to their most recent passport.
Before you travel overseas, you must check your resident visa to ensure that your travel conditions will be valid for the whole trip. If your travel conditions expire while you are outside New Zealand, you may not be able to return on time, so it is always a good idea to apply for a PRV before leaving New Zealand, if you qualify for one.
Even if you don’t qualify for a PRV, you may be able to extend the travel conditions on your resident visa by applying for a “variation of travel conditions” (VOTC).
There are five different ways to qualify for a PRV … it can be quite hard to work out whether you meet those rules.
Contact Visa Matters today for help!
