New Zealand PR: the rule, how days are counted, examples

Summary

To move from a New Zealand resident visa to a Permanent Resident Visa, you must show commitment to New Zealand. The most common way is time: at least 184 days in New Zealand on a resident visa in each of the 2 years immediately before you apply. Both years must reach 184 days on their own, and extra days in one year do not fill a gap in the other. The days do not need to be in a row. Immigration New Zealand decides the application and already holds your travel records.

Goal: 184 days in New Zealand in each of 2 years
Period: The two 12-month periods immediately before you apply
Which days count: Days in New Zealand while you hold a resident visa
Days must be in a row: No, you can leave and return as your visa conditions allow
Rules: Immigration New Zealand residence instructions on permanent resident visas
Run by: Immigration New Zealand

Who it applies to

Resident visa holders who want a Permanent Resident Visa, which has no travel conditions.
New residents who still spend part of the year in their home country.
Residents whose work takes them abroad for months at a time.
Families where one member travelled more than the others.
Residents whose travel conditions will end soon and who want to keep the right to come back.

The rule

A New Zealand resident visa lets you live in the country with no end date, but its travel conditions are limited in time, usually to 2 years. If you are outside New Zealand when the travel conditions end, the visa ends too. A Permanent Resident Visa has no travel conditions, so you can leave and return at any time. To get it, you apply to Immigration New Zealand and show commitment to New Zealand in one of five ways.

The first way is time spent in New Zealand. You need at least 184 days in New Zealand on a resident visa in each of the 2 years immediately before you apply. The 2 years are counted back from the day you apply, not forward from the day your resident visa was granted. The 184 days do not have to be in a row. Immigration New Zealand uses its own travel records, so you do not send separate proof.

The other four ways need fewer days but more proof. Tax residence: at least 41 days in New Zealand as a resident in each of the 2 years, and Inland Revenue confirms that you were a tax resident for those 2 years. Investment: 1,000,000 New Zealand dollars held in an acceptable investment in New Zealand for 2 years or more. Business: you bought or started a business in New Zealand at least 1 year ago, it trades successfully and it benefits New Zealand, with a share of at least 25% if you bought into an existing business. Established base: at least 41 days in the last 12 months, every other person in the application lived in New Zealand for at least 184 days in the last 2 years, and you worked in New Zealand for at least 9 months in those 2 years or bought a home within 12 months of arriving as a resident and still own it.

You must also have met any conditions that were placed on your resident visa. Immigration New Zealand looks at the whole application, and the day count is only the part that this page explains.

Why it exists

New Zealand gives permanent residence, with the right to come and go for life, only to people who have shown that they really settled. A resident visa is the start. The 2-year test checks that the person lived in the country for more than half of each year, or tied themselves to it through tax, money, a business or a home.

Counting the days

You count the days you were in New Zealand as a resident visa holder, in two separate 12-month periods that end on the day you apply. This rule is a goal: each period needs 184 days.

Choose the day you plan to apply, for example 1 September 2026.
Mark the first period, the 12 months just before that day: 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026.
Mark the second period, the 12 months before that: 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025.
Count your days in New Zealand on a resident visa in each period on its own.
Check that each period has 184 days or more. Do not add the two periods together.
If one period is short, move the planned application day later and count again.

How Countr counts it. Countr counts every day on which you were in New Zealand for any part of the day, over the 24 months that end today. The card shows a goal of 368 days, which is 184 plus 184, and the tracker checks the two years one by one, because extra days in one year cannot make up for a shortfall in the other. The app cannot see your visa. You enter your resident status yourself, and you must check your visa conditions. The app does not judge the tax residence, investment, business or established base routes.

Track New Zealand PR on your phone.

Countr finds your past trips in your photos and keeps counting from there.

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Examples

More than half of each year

Ayesha has held a resident visa since March 2024 and plans to apply on 1 September 2026. From 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2025 she was in New Zealand for 290 days. From 1 September 2025 to 31 August 2026 she was there for 210 days. Both periods are above 184 days, so she meets the time route and does not need to show any of the other four ways.

A good total with one weak year

Ben also applies on 1 September 2026. In the first of his 2 years he was in New Zealand for 300 days. In the second he worked on a project in Singapore and was in New Zealand for only 170 days. His total is 470 days, far above 368, but the second year is 14 days short of 184. He does not meet the time route. He can wait until the last 12 months contain 184 days, or use another route such as tax residence.

Moving the application date

Ben returns to New Zealand for good on 1 June 2026. If he waits and applies on 1 December 2026, his periods become 1 December 2025 to 30 November 2026 and 1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025. From 1 June to 30 November 2026 alone he has 183 days, and with a few earlier days in that period he passes 184. He must then count the earlier period again as well, because moving the date changed both periods.

Exceptions

You can show commitment through tax residence instead: at least 41 days in each of the 2 years, with Inland Revenue confirming tax residence for both years.
An investment of 1,000,000 New Zealand dollars held in New Zealand for 2 years or more is another route.
Owning a business that has traded successfully for at least 1 year and benefits New Zealand is another route.
The established base route needs 41 days in the last 12 months, together with work or a home in New Zealand and 184 days in 2 years for everyone else in the application.
Being a tax resident of another country does not count as commitment to New Zealand.

Common misconceptions

“I need 368 days in the last 2 years.”: You need 184 days in each year. A person with 300 days in one year and 170 in the other has 470 days and still fails the time route.
“The 2 years start when my resident visa was granted.”: They are the 2 years immediately before the day you apply. If you apply later, the periods move, and old days drop out.
“The 184 days must be one stay.”: Immigration New Zealand says the days do not need to be in a row. You can leave and return as many times as your visa conditions allow.
“A resident visa already lets me travel for life.”: The travel conditions on a resident visa end, usually after 2 years. Only the Permanent Resident Visa lets you leave and return with no time limit.

Questions and answers

What happens if I have only 183 days in one of the years?

You do not meet the time route on that application day. You can wait until both 12-month periods have 184 days, or show commitment in one of the four other ways.

Do I need to prove my days with tickets or stamps?

No. For the time route Immigration New Zealand already holds your travel records and uses them, so no separate evidence of the days is needed.

Do days on a work or student visa count?

No. The time route counts days in New Zealand on a resident visa. Days before your resident visa was granted are not part of it.

What if my travel conditions end before I qualify?

If you are in New Zealand, your resident visa stays valid and you can stay, but you should not leave until you hold new travel conditions or a Permanent Resident Visa. If you are abroad when the conditions end, the visa ends.

Is this the same count as for citizenship?

No. Citizenship has its own presence test under the Citizenship Act 1977: 1,350 days in 5 years, with at least 240 days in each year.

Can I use the tax residence route if I travel a lot?

Yes, if you were in New Zealand for at least 41 days as a resident in each of the 2 years and Inland Revenue confirms that you were a New Zealand tax resident for those 2 years.

Sources

Other rules for New Zealand

New Zealand Citizenship 1,350 days in any 5 years
New Zealand Tax Residence 183 days in any 12 months
NZ Super — Time Away 181 days away in one trip

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This page explains the rule and how the days are counted. It is not legal or tax advice. The authority decides each case on its own facts.