Contents
Community Services Card : Contents

Residence

To get a Community Services Card, a client must:

  • be a New Zealand citizen or
  • have a residence class visa in New Zealand under the Immigration Act 2009 or
  • be deemed to hold a residence class visa in New Zealand under the Immigration Act 2009 and
  • generally be ordinarily resident in New Zealand

Note for a Community Services Card no period of residence is required.

If a client is getting a benefit, New Zealand Superannuation or Working for Families Tax Credits, they are automatically considered to meet the residence criteria.

Clients without citizenship or a residence class visa

People who are in New Zealand unlawfully or here on a temporary entry class visa generally do not qualify for a Community Services Card.

If a client does not have New Zealand citizenship or a residence class visa, they can only get a Community Services Card if they are awaiting the outcome of their application for refugee or protected person status.

For more information see:

Legislation

  • ordinarily resident in New Zealand (definition) regulation 2 Health Entitlement Cards Regulations 1993
  • Eligibility for community services cards regulation 8 Health Entitlement Cards Regulations 1993
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Working for Families Tax Credits is financial help that Inland Revenue pays to qualifying families with dependent children. It includes:

For more information contact Inland Revenue

A refugee means a person recognised under the Immigration Act 2009 as:

or

Legislation

A protected person under the Immigration Act 2009 means a person recognised as a protected person in New Zealand under the:

Legislation

Temporary entry class visas are issued to people who have arrived in New Zealand legally, but are only allowed to stay for a temporary period for the duration and purposes indicated on the visa.

A temporary entry class visa means:

Legislation

A person can be a New Zealand citizen by either:

For New Zealand citizenship, New Zealand includes the self-governing states of:

Citizenship is granted by the Department of Internal Affairs.

Note people born in New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, or Tokelau may not automatically be New Zealand citizens. To be considered a New Zealand citizen from birth, a person born on or after 1 January 2006 must have:

A residence class visa means a:

A residence class visa allows people to live in New Zealand indefinitely. The visa also lets people work and study in New Zealand. There are different travel conditions based on the type of residence class visa.

Residence class visas are granted by Immigration New Zealand.

For the purpose of deciding if a person meets the residence criteria for financial assistance from MSD, people who ...