Contents
Assessment of eligibility : Contents

Residence

To qualify for social housing the client must be ordinarily resident in New Zealand and:

  • be a New Zealand citizen or
  • hold a residence class visa under the Immigration Act 2009 and have resided continuously in New Zealand for a period of at least 2 years at any one time after becoming a resident or
  • be recognised as a refugee or a protected person in New Zealand under the Immigration Act 2009 or
  • hold a residence class visa under the Immigration Act 2009 that is a Christchurch Response Visa or
  • qualify for and be getting payments under the Special Needs Grant Family Violence Programme (for people who have come to New Zealand on a temporary entry class visa with intention of applying for a residence visa under the spouse or de facto partner policy but the relationship has ended due to family violence and they are now living apart from their partner and have lost all financial support) or
  • qualify for and be getting a main benefit

For more information see:

Some groups do not have to have been in New Zealand 2 years continuously

The following groups do not have to meet the 2 year continuous residence in New Zealand criteria to qualify for social housing.

  • people recognised as refugees or protected persons under the Immigration Act 2009
  • people with a Christchurch Response Visa
  • people getting the Special Needs Grant Family Violence Programme

Residence status of other people in the household

The resident status and period of residency in New Zealand does not have to be met by:

Does not qualify on residence grounds

Clients who are in New Zealand because they hold a temporary entry class visa(for example student visa, visitor visa, work visa) generally do not qualify for social housing.

However, if they qualify for, and get, an Emergency Benefit or Emergency Maintenance Allowance, they may qualify for social housing on residence grounds (if they are also ordinarily resident in New Zealand).

For more information see:

Legislation

  • Ministerial directions to agency section 102 Public and Community Housing Management Act 1992
  • Allocation of social housing section 129 Public and Community Housing Management Act 1992
  • Age and residential qualification clause 5 Ministerial Direction on Eligibility for Social Housing
  • main benefit (definition) schedule 2 Social Security Act 2018
  • Emergency benefit: discretionary grant on ground of hardship section 63 Social Security Act 2018
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A main benefit means one of the following:

Legislation

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 ...

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

or

Legislation