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New Zealand vs Canada: A Comprehensive Guide to Permanent Residency

New Zealand vs Canada: A Comprehensive Guide to Permanent Residency

The decision to start a new life in an unfamiliar country brings excitement and anxiety. New Zealand and Canada offer a variety of pathways to gain permanent residency. However, it is important to clearly understand the details of these pathways to avoid potential problems in the future. Both New Zealand and Canada have captivating landscapes, high standard of living, and quality healthcare & education. However, there are several areas where they differ significantly.

Let’s discuss different factors that will help you make an informed decision on whether you should choose New Zealand or Canada for permanent residency.

Permanent Residency Pathways: Canada vs New Zealand

Both countries run several resident visa programs to address the ageing population and shortage of skilled workers in high-demand jobs.

Canada Permanent Residence (PR) Programs

The majority of immigrants coming to Canada apply through Skilled Worker PR programs. There are three main categories within this PR program: Express Entry, Provincial Nominee Program, and Quebec-selected Skilled Workers Program. Some other skilled worker PR programs include the Atlantic Immigration Program and the Agri-food Pilot. Two other notable PR programs include the Start-up Visa Program (for immigrant entrepreneurs) and the Family Sponsorship Program.

It is important to mention here that Canada has recently closed or paused many PR programs such as Rural & Northern Immigration Pilot, Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Pathway, Out-of-status Construction Workers, most Caregivers Program categories, and Self-employed Program. This reflects how competitive the Canadian job market has become.

New Zealand PR Programs

A resident visa is required to live in New Zealand permanently. There are several types of resident visas in New Zealand. The main pathway for immigrants to gain a resident visa is the Skilled Residence Pathway. It includes visas like the Straight to Residence Visa (direct residency), Work to Residence Visa, Care Workforce Work to Residence Visa, Transport Work to Residence Visa, and Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa. Another popular resident visa for immigrants is the Entrepreneur Resident Visa.

In New Zealand, resident visas differ from the permanent resident visa. Though both types of visas allow you to live, work, study, do business, vote, etc., resident visas have travel conditions that affect travelling outside the country. Permanent resident visas do not have these travel conditions. A Post Study Work Visa is a popular choice among immigrants not directly eligible for Skilled Residence Pathway.

Eligibility Requirements

The pathways to gaining permanent residency have different eligibility criteria. Let’s compare eligibility requirements for famous residency pathways in Canada and New Zealand.

Canada

The Express Entry Pathway has 3 immigration programs: the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. The first step in the process is to calculate the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score which grants points according to applicants’ type & amount of work experience, language skills, education, age, etc. Then applicants create a profile and submit it to the Express Entry pool. Eligible applicants with the highest CRS scores are then invited to apply for PR.

The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is the second most popular pathway to permanent residency in Canada. It’s for those immigrants who have the skills, education, and work experience that can fill the labour market gaps existing in different Canadian provinces and territories. Every Province and territory, except Quebec and Nunavut, has its unique PNP. There are several streams in every PNP and you can select a stream that can help you to achieve permanent residency. For a list of all types of permanent residence programs run by the Government of Canada and detailed eligibility requirements for these PR programs, please visit the official website.

New Zealand

As discussed earlier, the Skilled Residence Pathway has several types of resident visas. To apply for the Straight to Residence Visa, an applicant must be working or have a job offer from an accredited New Zealand employer and their role (job) must be enlisted in Tier 1 of the Green List (a list of high-demand jobs in New Zealand). If your role is in Tier 2 of the Green List, and you are working for an accredited New Zealand employer for 24 months in that particular role, and are paid the current median wage at the time of applying, then you can apply for the Work to Residence Visa.

Both, the Care Workforce Work to Resident Visa and the Transport Work to Residence Visa require an applicant to be working or have a job offer from an accredited employer, have 24 months of experience in New Zealand in an approved role, received more than a specific wage rate during these 24 months, and meet some additional eligibility requirements. The Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa requires an applicant to have a skilled job or a skilled job offer from an accredited employer and 6 points. These 6 points are accumulated using New Zealand registration in a particular occupation, education, paid wage, and years of skilled work in New Zealand.

Please understand this is only an overview and not a complete list of eligibility requirements. For a list of all types of resident visas and detailed eligibility requirements for these visas, please visit the official website of Immigration New Zealand.

Processing Times

It is important to keep in mind that different residency programs have different processing times and some might take several months. Let’s look at processing times for popular residency programs in Canada and New Zealand.

Canada

For the Express Entry categories, the average processing time is around 6 months. The processing time for the Provincial Nominee Program through Express Entry process is approximately 6 months and the PNP through Non-Express Entry process is around 20 months. For the Start-up Visa program, the processing time is close to 39 months.

New Zealand

As mentioned earlier, resident visas and the permanent resident visa differ slightly in New Zealand. For a Permanent Resident Visa in New Zealand, the processing time is only one week in most cases. For other resident visas like Straight to Residence Visa, Work to Residence Visa, and Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa, the processing time is usually 4 months in most cases.

Cost of Application

For PR applications under Express Entry in Canada, the cost is $CAN 1525 for the main applicant, $CAN 1525 for the spouse, and $CAN 260 for every dependent child. The fee for PNP under both Express & Non-Express Processes is $CAN 1525. For the Start-up Visa program, the application fee is $CAN 2385.

For a Permanent Resident Visa application in New Zealand, it costs NZD $315. The application cost for other resident visas like Straight to Residence Visa, Work to Residence Visa, and Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa is NZD $6450.

Job Opportunities

Irrespective of which country you choose to start a new life, it’s imperative to do meticulous research on its job market. High-demand jobs in Canada right now are in healthcare, retail, hospitality, transport, teaching, and professional, scientific, & technical services. In New Zealand, high-demand jobs are in Healthcare, IT, accommodation & food services, business services, retail, education, construction, and engineering. The Green List (Roles) provides a comprehensive list of high-demand jobs in New Zealand.

According to the Royal Bank of Canada, the unemployment rate in Canada can breach the 7% mark in 2025. Also, the total number of job openings has decreased alarmingly by 25% when compared to last year. As pointed out earlier, a lot of PR programs in Canada are closed or paused as of now. For comparison, the unemployment rate in New Zealand for the September 2024 quarter was 4.8%.

Healthcare Access

The quality of healthcare is quite good in Canada and New Zealand. Canada provides publicly funded health care to all its residents. Every province and territory has its health care insurance plan. In New Zealand, health care is free or subsidized for citizens, residents, and work visa holders (visa valid for at least 2 years). However, the healthcare sector in both countries is grappling with common problems like long wait times for medical procedures and a shortage of healthcare providers.

Cost of Living

Cost of living is a big factor whether you’re moving within a country or to a different country. Generally, the cost of living in Canada is higher than in New Zealand. Housing, childcare, groceries, utilities, and eating out are cheaper in New Zealand than in Canada. However, transportation and clothing costs are higher in New Zealand.

Pathway to Citizenship

The next logical step after gaining permanent residency is applying for citizenship. In Canada, you can become a citizen if you’re a permanent resident, have lived in Canada for at least 1095 days during the 5 years before the date of citizenship application, have filed taxes (if applicable), have proven language skills, passed the citizenship test, and have taken the oath of citizenship.

In New Zealand, there are three main requirements you need to meet before you apply for citizenship: Presence in New Zealand requirement (any conditions on your resident visa must be met or cancelled, you’ve spent at least 240 days in each 12-month period plus 1350 days in the 5 years before the date of citizenship application, and you intend to keep living in New Zealand), language requirements, and character requirements.

Please note that there are more eligibility requirements that you must meet before applying for citizenship. For the complete list of eligibility requirements for citizenship in Canada, please check the official immigration website of Canada and Government of New Zealand website.

Moving to a new country to build a new life is a big decision. Whether you’re looking for a resident visa in New Zealand or Canada, it is essential to do comprehensive research about which visa type is best for you and its eligibility requirements, processing time & cost of the visa, state of the job market in the country, and cost of living in the province or region you are choosing. If you have any queries regarding resident visas in New Zealand, please contact us.

Author Details

immigration consultant hamilton

Vandana Rai

(LIA 201400900)
Director

Vandana Rai is a Senior Licensed Immigration Adviser and has built a reputation around her rare set of skills, which could be considered ideal for her legal profession.

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