A foreigner can obtain citizenship in New Zealand in few circumstances, that are prescribed by the national law. Most foreigners are eligible for citizenship by naturalization, which refers to the process through which a person first obtains permanent residency in New Zealand.
The procedures, rights and obligations are prescribed by the Citizenship Act 1977 and our immigration lawyer in New Zealand can offer in-depth information on the matters a person should know regarding this law.
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What types of citizenship are available in New Zealand?
A person can obtain 1 of the 3 types of citizenship available under the applicable law, which are:
- citizenship by birth;
- citizenship by descent;
- citizenship by grant (naturalization).
What are the conditions to obtain citizenship by grant in New Zealand in 2024?
Citizenship by grant refers to the process of naturalization, through which a person applies for residency in New Zealand issued on a permanent basis. The person must then maintain the residency requirement and comply with the many requirements imposed for citizenship.
The main requirements concerning residency, which are regulated by the law on immigration in New Zealand, are presented below:
- the applicant must be a permanent resident for at least 5 years at the moment when the citizenship application is initiated;
- the person must have stayed in the country for either 1,350 days or 240 days per year in the 5 years period;
- adult applicants are required to pay a processing fee of $470,20;
- “adult” in this case refers to any applicant who has an age of minimum 16 years old;
- persons with an age below 16 years old will pay a fee of $235,10.
Besides meeting the residency requirements presented above, all adult applicants are required to meet other basic conditions. For instance, they need to prove very good command of the English language, which is the national language in New Zealand.
If you want to initiate the citizenship application in 2024, you must meet the above-mentioned conditions and you must also be aware that this can be a lengthy process, in the sense that only some of the applicants will be able to become citizens in 2024 (the citizenship processing can take anywhere between 3 months and 14 months, depending on the particularities of each case).
Of course, in the case of applicants moving from USA to New Zealand, this rule mentioned above will not imply any particular proof, as American passport holders are American citizens and, therefore, they already have a very good command of English, which is also the national language in the USA.
This will also be the case of other foreign nationals who arrive from other English-speaking countries, not just of those who immigrate from USA to New Zealand.
However, all applicants should also make the proof of having a good character, as well as showing evidence on the fact that they intend to continue their residency in this country.
All applicants have to add on their application file their original birth certificate, the passport, 2 recent photos, and the documents of a person who will act as a witness.
The witness is necessary for this procedure and the person must be a New Zealand citizen who has a minimum age of 16. Other documents may be required and please know that the New Zealand authorities may ask for the original documents, not certified versions.
Our immigration lawyer in New Zealand can further advise on the documents that can customarily be required during this stage.
You must also know that the citizenship processing does not fall under the supervision of the immigration institutions that processed your visas and residence permits (Immigration New Zealand), but by the Department of Internal Affairs, considering the nature of the procedure.
Successful applicants will receive their citizenship and they will also be asked to participate in a citizenship ceremony. If you apply in 2024 and your application will receive a positive answer during 2024, you will be asked to attend the citizenship ceremony within 1 year since you have been approved (thus, this step should be completed in 2025).
The law on immigration to New Zealand prescribes different procedures for persons who are Samoan nationals. Thus, in this case, the citizenship process will be conducted as per the rules of the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982.
If you are a Samoan national, we invite you to contact our immigration lawyer in New Zealand for in-depth legal assistance on the process you must follow (there are different rules based on your residency in this country – before and after 14 September 1982).
