How? That’s the main question we will tackle. According to New Zealand Government website, there are 3 requirements to becoming a New Zealand citizen. This application applies to any citizenship unless specified in the website.
Need to Meet all the 3 Requirements
- Living as a resident (Resident or Permanent) for the last 5 years.
- Spent enough time in NZ in the last 5 years meeting the following : (a) For each year within the 5 years duration, you have lived in NZ for 240 days (8 months), and (b) you’ve spent a total of 1350 days throughout the 5-year duration.
- You intend to live in NZ after.
The earliest date to apply for citizenship is 4 months before you reach the 5-year Residency status.
After submitting the Citizenship Application, it took 44 days for the approval. The approval letter will be posted by the Department of Internal Affairs.
You are not yet a NZ citizen once you receive the approval letter. Only after the citizenship ceremony that you will be handed the Certificate of Citizenship advising you are now a New Zealand citizen. The ceremony is the so called Affirmation/Oath of Allegiance. The number of approved applicants will dictate the date when the ceremony will be held. It took me 3 weeks to have a ceremony scheduled. For Auckland Central residents, the ceremony is held at Auckland Town Hall.
All in all, it took 65 days from the application submission to becoming a New Zealand citizen. Below is the sample timeline when considering to apply.
Cost Involved
An adult citizenship application is NZD470.20 which can be paid by credit card, cheque, bank draft or money order. NZD235.10 for children.
Links
What happens next?
The moment the Affirmation/Oath of Allegiance is undertaken by Filipinos, they will no longer be a Filipino citizen by Philippine law. This is not the ruling of New Zealand but the Philippines. It will be dependent on the law in each country you are a citizen of. But there is a provision for dual citizenship by applying to regain yours.The old passport is now invalid for travel.
It’s time to apply for a New Zealand passport (Black Passport). There is a reference number in the Certificate of Citizenship that is required to apply for the NZ passport. Everything is done online as long as you have a RealMe account.