Immigrate to New Zealand from Turkey

As a Turkish passport holder you can immigrate to New Zealand from Turkey. You will need to conclude the proper visa formalities, depending on the purpose of the arrival and the duration of it. However, it must be noted that in all cases, a visa must be obtained.

What visa options are available for business in New Zealand?

In general, foreigners, including those who immigrate to New Zealand from Turkey, must apply for a visa for any of the following reasons:

1. traveling as a tourist;
2. work and travel;
3. work temporarily or on a long-term basis;
4. study;
5. business/investment;
6. family reunification, etc.

Further on, these categories presented above can be separated into 2 other categories – temporary arrivals and long-term/permanent arrivals. For each category, different policies are applied, which can be detailed by our immigration lawyer in New Zealand.

Many foreigners opt for immigration in New Zealand for the purpose of starting a business/making an investment in a project that is already developed here. Many persons immigrate from USA to New Zealand for this purpose, just as they relocate from Turkey or other countries.

There are several options when it comes to starting a business in New Zealand, investors being able to participate in programs such as the Entrepreneur Resident Visa, the Global Impact Permanent Residence Visa, the Global Impact Work Visa and others.

They can participate in such programs if they qualify for the minimum requirements of each visa type. For instance, the Entrepreneur Resident Visa is available for foreigners who already live in New Zealand.

If you already live in New Zealand and you are a Turkey passport holder, you have to comply with the following:

• you have been working as self-employed for at least 6 months;
• if you apply before reaching 2 years of self-employed work you need to invest at least NZD 500,000;
• along with this basic requirement, you must also create 3 jobs, once you will switch from self-employed to the owner of corporate entity;
• the visa grants many rights, including family benefits – your close family members can migrate to New Zealand (including the dependent children of up to 24 years old);
• you will be asked to pay a processing fee of minimum NZD 6,860.

Does New Zealand offer a work-holiday program for Turkish nationals?

A very popular immigration program across the world is the Work Holiday, which allows young educated foreigners to relocate to a country where they can work and travel for a limited period of time, usually not more than 1 year.

This program is also regulated under the law on immigration to New Zealand and it is available for many foreign nationalities, including Turkish nationals. Therefore, one can immigrate to New Zealand from Turkey under this program.

For each eligible country, the application requirements can slightly vary. For Turkey, the following apply:

• a Turkish national can obtain residency in New Zealand for a period of 12 months;
• it is addressed solely to Turkish passport holders with an age of 18 to 30 years old;
• for Turkey, New Zealand imposes an annual quota, of 100 visas per year;
• under this visa, successful applicants can participate in study/training for up to 6 months and they are required to work for an employer for maximum 3 months;
• in 2023, applicants could initiate the applications for the program starting with 31 August (for 2024, the program has not yet been open).

Considering that this is a visa issued for a limited period of time, you can’t include your close family members on the visa application, even though you may be married. If this is the case, your family members will have to find other suitable visa options, separated from yours.

Our immigration lawyer in New Zealand can advise on the most suitable visa options (on matters such as the processing costs, the duration of the visa processing, the conditions that must be met, etc.).