Dealing with Work and Income
How to apply for a benefit
Residency requirements for benefits
Do I have to be a New Zealand resident?
Social Security Act 2018, ss 16, 18, 25, 204, 205 Immigration Act, s 70 Case: Greenfield v Ministry of Social Development [2015] NZSC 139
To get any benefit under the Social Security Act 2018 you must be lawfully in New Zealand (“ordinarily resident”). In practice, Work and Income will also ask extra questions to decide if you are ordinarily resident, including whether you consider New Zealand your permanent home.
Your residency status will determine the type of help you may be eligible for. Generally, you need to be a New Zealand citizen or have a residence class visa, and be ‘ordinarily resident’, but in some cases, you may be eligible for some help if you aren’t. These situations are outlined in the table below:
| Your residency status | What you can get from Work and Income based on your residency (if you meet the other criteria) |
You are an NZ citizen, permanent resident or hold a residence class visa, and you are ordinarily resident, and either:
Residence class visa means a permanent resident visa or a resident visa. |
Any Work and Income benefit.
Note: There are more specific residency criteria to be eligible for New Zealand Superannuation (see: “You’re 65 or older”). |
| You are a citizen or hold a residence class visa, but you haven’t lived in New Zealand for a continuous period of two years since gaining your residency. | You can get any type of ‘extra help’ (see: “Getting ongoing extra help”).
If you are experiencing hardship with no other way of supporting yourself and/or your immediate family, you can get the following main benefits:
|
| You are currently making a claim or an appeal for refugee and protected persons status from Immigration New Zealand, or
You are recognised by the New Zealand government as a refugee or a protected person but you have not yet been granted a residence class visa. |
If you’re experiencing hardship with no other way of supporting yourself and/or your immediate family, you can get Emergency Benefit and Temporary Additional Support. |
| You are currently seeking New Zealand residency and you need to remain in New Zealand due to unforeseen circumstances.
While this is a discretionary decision that takes into account your wider circumstances, Work and Income are quite strict on applying this clause. Some situations that may qualify include:
|
If you’re experiencing hardship with no other way of supporting yourself and/or your immediate family, you may be eligible for Emergency Benefit and Temporary Additional Support. |
For information about applying for New Zealand residence or claiming refugee status, see: “Immigration” and “Refugees”.
