Introduction

There are standard residence criteria that a person must meet to get a benefit or extra help from MSD. Generally, a person must be lawfully present and ordinarily resident in New Zealand.

Some types of assistance have additional rules about residence. For example, some types of benefits require a person to have lived in New Zealand for a specific length of time before they will qualify. Other types of benefits have rules for payment when a person is living overseas.

This manual outlines the standard residence criteria that apply to most types of main benefits and extra help. Specific qualifications for different payments can be found in the individual manuals.