Contents
Emergency Benefit : Contents

Clients granted refugee or protected person status

To be eligible for a benefit, a client generally must have New Zealand citizenship or a residence class visa. However, if a client does not have citizenship or a residence class visa, they may be eligible for Emergency Benefit if they:

  • have been recognised as either a refugee or a protected person in New Zealand or
  • are applying for refugee or protected person status or
  • are applying for a residence class visa and are compelled to remain in New Zealand due to unforeseen circumstances

Note a client who has been granted refugee or protected person status does not need to meet the 2-years continuous residence requirement to meet the residence criteria for a main benefit.

Refugee or protected person without citizenship or a residence class visa

If a person with recognised refugee or protected person status does not have citizenship or a residence class visa, they may be eligible for Emergency Benefit.

When considering Emergency Benefit, the reason the client is unable to earn a sufficient livelihood must be considered. This determines the equivalent benefit and informs the maximum rate of payment and conditions of grant.

Clients with refugee or protected person status who do not have citizenship or a residence class visa may also qualify for Temporary Additional Support. They are not eligible for other forms of extra help such as Accommodation Supplement, Disability Allowance or Childcare Assistance. 

For more information see:

Legislation

  • Residential requirement section 16(2)(a), 16(2)(ii) and 16(2)(b) Social Security Act 2018
  • Recognition of refugees selected outside New Zealand section 126 Immigration Act 2009
  • Recognition as a refugee section 129 Immigration Act 2009
  • Recognition as protected person under Convention Against Torture section 130 Immigration Act 2009
  • Recognition as protected person under Covenant on Civil and Political Rights section 131 Immigration Act 2009
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A protected person under the Immigration Act 2009 means a person recognised as a protected person in New Zealand under the:

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 ...

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

or

Legislation

A main benefit means one of the following:

Legislation