There are many reasons you would want to go for New Zealand citizenship. Firstly it’s a great place to live and grow. It is safe and secure, and we are sure that if you plan for citizenship, you are already a resident. You have felt the vibes of the country firsthand, and we need not elaborate more on this.
New Zealand citizenship gives us a host of benefits. It, of course, would! You are now a part of New Zealand. It allows you to travel around the globe on a New Zealand passport. It also gives you full economic rights and an equal chance at availing scholarships and other benefits available to the citizens.
There are only two ways that a person can get New Zealand citizenship. They are citizenship by descent and citizenship by grant. The department of internal affairs grants both these types of citizenship. A person may qualify for citizenship by descent if he was born in another country, but one of his parents is a citizen of New Zealand. For most migrants, citizenship by grant is the only viable option for getting New Zealand Citizenship. Please note that the rules vary a bit for children under the age of 16.
For convenience, we would be discussing citizenship by grant as it applies to most of the migrant population. The following are the most common requirements for the grant of citizenship.
You should clearly demonstrate that you plan on living in the country. You want to spend the remainder of your life in the country and imbibe the core values well.
You should have been living in New Zealand for at least 5 years with resident status to be considered for New Zealand Citizenship.
It goes without saying that to be a citizen, you must understand the country's language. In this case, the language is English. You should be proficient enough in English to conduct daily tasks without assistance.
Character is something that New Zealand takes very seriously. You should not have been convicted in any major case during the past 5 years. This could hamper your citizenship status in a big way.
Before the grant of citizenship, you must demonstrate that you completely understand the responsibilities and privileges of New Zealand Citizenship. It's vital that you understand your new country well; it will go a long way in determining your future in the country.
