Returning Residents Visa

This article is about Immigration Policy but it is not a description of policy. In our opinion simplified descriptions of policy are dangerous. If you want to know why we think that, read “Why things go wrong".

A Returning Resident’s Visa (RRV) is the travel document entered in the passport of a New Zealand resident that guarantees that person’s ability to freely travel in and out of the country provided they meet minimum conditions.

For example, while protecting a person’s freedom to travel, the government may wish to manage the circumstances under which parents might migrate then leave their children in New Zealand schools at the New Zealand taxpayer’s expense while the parents returned to their home country; avoiding paying any tax in New Zealand; or to encourage enforcement of investment rules where money needs to remain in New Zealand for a minimum period.

The exact requirements and duration of a RRV will depend on the circumstances and conditions attached to the initial application and can seem quite confusing. It is important to see past that because if you understand those rules and follow them everything is normally easy; but ignoring them or trying to invent your own rules can cause real problems. A good licensed adviser should provide clients with RRV instructions in writing.

After following your RRV rules for a few years; you will eventually become eligible for an “Indefinite Returning Resident’s Visa” and everything will then be very straightforward.

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