The choice to start out a brand new life in an unfamiliar nation brings pleasure and nervousness. New Zealand and Canada supply a wide range of pathways to achieve everlasting residency. Nonetheless, it is very important clearly perceive the small print of those pathways to keep away from potential issues sooner or later. Each New Zealand and Canada have fascinating landscapes, excessive way of life, and high quality healthcare & schooling. Nonetheless, there are a number of areas the place they differ considerably.
Let’s focus on various factors that may show you how to make an knowledgeable resolution on whether or not you must select New Zealand or Canada for everlasting residency.
Everlasting Residency Pathways: Canada vs New Zealand
Each nations run a number of resident visa applications to deal with the ageing inhabitants and lack of expert staff in high-demand jobs.
Canada Everlasting Residence (PR) Packages
The vast majority of immigrants coming to Canada apply by Expert Employee PR applications. There are three major classes inside this PR program: Categorical Entry, Provincial Nominee Program, and Quebec-selected Expert Staff Program. Another expert employee PR applications embrace the Atlantic Immigration Program and the Agri-food Pilot. Two different notable PR applications embrace the Begin-up Visa Program (for immigrant entrepreneurs) and the Household Sponsorship Program.
You will need to point out right here that Canada has not too long ago closed or paused many PR applications reminiscent of Rural & Northern Immigration Pilot, Momentary Resident to Everlasting Resident Pathway, Out-of-status Development Staff, most Caregivers Program classes, and Self-employed Program. This displays how aggressive the Canadian job market has change into.
New Zealand PR Packages
A resident visa is required to stay in New Zealand completely. There are a number of sorts of resident visas in New Zealand. The primary pathway for immigrants to achieve a resident visa is the Expert Residence Pathway. It contains visas just like the Straight to Residence Visa (direct residency), Work to Residence Visa, Care Workforce Work to Residence Visa, Transport Work to Residence Visa, and Expert Migrant Class Resident Visa. One other well-liked resident visa for immigrants is the Entrepreneur Resident Visa.
In New Zealand, resident visas differ from the everlasting resident visa. Although each sorts of visas mean you can stay, work, examine, do enterprise, vote, and many others., resident visas have journey situations that have an effect on travelling outdoors the nation. Everlasting resident visas do not need these journey situations. A Submit Research Work Visa is a well-liked selection amongst immigrants indirectly eligible for Expert Residence Pathway.
Eligibility Necessities
The pathways to gaining everlasting residency have totally different eligibility standards. Let’s examine eligibility necessities for well-known residency pathways in Canada and New Zealand.
Canada
The Categorical Entry Pathway has 3 immigration applications: the Canadian Expertise Class, the Federal Expert Employee Program, and the Federal Expert Trades Program. Step one within the course of is to calculate the Complete Rating System (CRS) rating which grants factors in response to candidates’ sort & quantity of labor expertise, language expertise, schooling, age, and many others. Then candidates create a profile and submit it to the Categorical Entry pool. Eligible candidates with the very best CRS scores are then invited to use for PR.
The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is the second hottest pathway to everlasting residency in Canada. It’s for these immigrants who’ve the talents, schooling, and work expertise that may fill the labour market gaps present in several Canadian provinces and territories. Each Province and territory, besides Quebec and Nunavut, has its distinctive PNP. There are a number of streams in each PNP and you may choose a stream that may show you how to to attain everlasting residency. For a listing of all sorts of everlasting residence applications run by the Authorities of Canada and detailed eligibility necessities for these PR applications, please go to the official web site.
New Zealand
As mentioned earlier, the Expert Residence Pathway has a number of sorts of resident visas. To use for the Straight to Residence Visa, an applicant should be working or have a job supply from an accredited New Zealand employer and their function (job) should be enlisted in Tier 1 of the Inexperienced Record (a listing of high-demand jobs in New Zealand). In case your function is in Tier 2 of the Inexperienced Record, and you might be working for an accredited New Zealand employer for twenty-four months in that exact function, and are paid the present median wage on the time of making use of, then you possibly can apply for the Work to Residence Visa.
Each, the Care Workforce Work to Resident Visa and the Transport Work to Residence Visa require an applicant to be working or have a job supply from an accredited employer, have 24 months of expertise in New Zealand in an accepted function, acquired greater than a selected wage charge throughout these 24 months, and meet some extra eligibility necessities. The Expert Migrant Class Resident Visa requires an applicant to have a talented job or a talented job supply from an accredited employer and 6 factors. These 6 factors are amassed utilizing New Zealand registration in a specific occupation, schooling, paid wage, and years of expert work in New Zealand.
Please perceive that is solely an outline and never an entire listing of eligibility necessities. For a listing of all sorts of resident visas and detailed eligibility necessities for these visas, please go to the official web site of Immigration New Zealand.
Processing Occasions
You will need to remember that totally different residency applications have totally different processing occasions and a few may take a number of months. Let’s have a look at processing occasions for well-liked residency applications in Canada and New Zealand.
Canada
For the Categorical Entry classes, the typical processing time is round 6 months. The processing time for the Provincial Nominee Program by Categorical Entry course of is roughly 6 months and the PNP by Non-Categorical Entry course of is round 20 months. For the Begin-up Visa program, the processing time is near 39 months.
New Zealand
As talked about earlier, resident visas and the everlasting resident visa differ barely in New Zealand. For a Everlasting Resident Visa in New Zealand, the processing time is just one week most often. For different resident visas like Straight to Residence Visa, Work to Residence Visa, and Expert Migrant Class Resident Visa, the processing time is often 4 months most often.
Value of Utility
For PR functions underneath Categorical Entry in Canada, the fee is $CAN 1525 for the principle applicant, $CAN 1525 for the partner, and $CAN 260 for each dependent baby. The charge for PNP underneath each Categorical & Non-Categorical Processes is $CAN 1525. For the Begin-up Visa program, the appliance charge is $CAN 2385.
For a Everlasting Resident Visa software in New Zealand, it prices NZD $315. The applying price for different resident visas like Straight to Residence Visa, Work to Residence Visa, and Expert Migrant Class Resident Visa is NZD $6450.
Job Alternatives
Regardless of which nation you select to start out a brand new life, it’s crucial to do meticulous analysis on its job market. Excessive-demand jobs in Canada proper now are in healthcare, retail, hospitality, transport, educating, {and professional}, scientific, & technical companies. In New Zealand, high-demand jobs are in Healthcare, IT, lodging & meals companies, enterprise companies, retail, schooling, building, and engineering. The Inexperienced Record (Roles) offers a complete listing of high-demand jobs in New Zealand.
In response to the Royal Financial institution of Canada, the unemployment charge in Canada can breach the 7% mark in 2025. Additionally, the entire variety of job openings has decreased alarmingly by 25% when in comparison with final yr. As identified earlier, lots of PR applications in Canada are closed or paused as of now. For comparability, the unemployment charge in New Zealand for the September 2024 quarter was 4.8%.
Healthcare Entry
The standard of healthcare is kind of good in Canada and New Zealand. Canada offers publicly funded well being care to all its residents. Each province and territory has its well being care insurance coverage plan. In New Zealand, well being care is free or sponsored for residents, residents, and work visa holders (visa legitimate for a minimum of 2 years). Nonetheless, the healthcare sector in each nations is grappling with widespread issues like lengthy wait occasions for medical procedures and a scarcity of healthcare suppliers.
Value of Residing
Value of dwelling is a giant issue whether or not you’re shifting inside a rustic or to a special nation. Usually, the price of dwelling in Canada is greater than in New Zealand. Housing, childcare, groceries, utilities, and consuming out are cheaper in New Zealand than in Canada. Nonetheless, transportation and clothes prices are greater in New Zealand.
Pathway to Citizenship
The subsequent logical step after gaining everlasting residency is making use of for citizenship. In Canada, you possibly can change into a citizen in case you’re a everlasting resident, have lived in Canada for a minimum of 1095 days throughout the 5 years earlier than the date of citizenship software, have filed taxes (if relevant), have confirmed language expertise, handed the citizenship take a look at, and have taken the oath of citizenship.
In New Zealand, there are three major necessities it’s essential meet earlier than you apply for citizenship: Presence in New Zealand requirement (any situations in your resident visa should be met or cancelled, you’ve spent a minimum of 240 days in every 12-month interval plus 1350 days within the 5 years earlier than the date of citizenship software, and you plan to maintain dwelling in New Zealand), language necessities, and character necessities.
Please observe that there are extra eligibility necessities that you could meet earlier than making use of for citizenship. For the entire listing of eligibility necessities for citizenship in Canada, please test the official immigration web site of Canada and Authorities of New Zealand web site.
Shifting to a brand new nation to construct a brand new life is a giant resolution. Whether or not you’re on the lookout for a resident visa in New Zealand or Canada, it’s important to do complete analysis about which visa sort is finest for you and its eligibility necessities, processing time & price of the visa, state of the job market within the nation, and price of dwelling within the province or area you might be selecting. When you’ve got any queries relating to resident visas in New Zealand, please contact us.
Writer Particulars
Vandana Rai
(LIA 201400900)
Director
Vandana Rai is a Senior Licensed Immigration Adviser and has constructed a fame round her uncommon set of expertise, which may very well be thought of best for her authorized career.
