2poor4this

When I get my qualification assesments back I intend to apply as a skilled migrant, as I understand it after you're ITA has been accepted you then have 12 months to get to New Zealand to take up residency, my question is how long do you have to stay?
Can you go and get your passport stamped or whatever happens and then leave again for a while or is there a minimum time you have to stay?
The reason I ask is it may be possible for me to get a carreer break, If this can be arranged for when we get residency It gives us chance to go and see how we get on, If we still want to stay then I'd probably have to come back to hand in my notice, it's a safety net just in case.

CAN2NZ

Your visa will be validated (stamped) when you land. Your returning resident visa will then be valid for two years. You may leave the country and come back before the two years is up. Assuming you are back just before the two years is over, you will need to apply for a returning resident's visa before leaving again. In order to qualify, you will have to show that you have developed ties to NZ and that you have been a tax resident for the previous 184 days. So, you will have to have returned, got a job, and stayed for a while until you will be given a new visa and able to come and go again.

2poor4this

Thank you for the reply,

So if I undersatnd correctly, If I leave and come back, before I can leave again (with the intention to return as a resident) I will have to have been a tax paying resident for at least 6 months with ties to NZ.
Does this apply for any period of time? i.e. a holiday or is it only if you leave for an extended peroid?
As a resident then do you have to apply for a returning residence visa every 2 years? (Or when you intend leaving the country and it would then be valid for 2 years)
Is this the case regardless of how long you have been a resident?

Sorry if these are daft questions, I'd hate to get residency and loose it again through ignorance.

happynz

After your initial two years, assuming you have met the conditions above as stated by CAN2NZ, you can apply for the Indefinite Returning Resident Visa (IRRV). This means you can leave New Zealand for extended periods of time and be granted a resident's permit when you arrive back in New Zealand. I'm not sure, but you may need to demonstrate some kind of 'tie' to New Zealand - property, family, bank accounts - I'm not sure, but I need to check this out myself as we need to apply for our IRRVs in six months.

Anybody with an IRRV shed more light on this?

2poor4this

Thanks for that, It seems reasonable that they'd provide a permenant visa when certain conditions are met.
Any clarification on this would be good but we are a long way off needing it at the moment I think.
All the best