- ACT wants to abolish the Permanent Resident Visa, replacing it with a five-year travel facility tied to physical presence.
- Residents would need 730 days in New Zealand during each rolling five-year period to renew status under ACT’s plan.
- NZ First proposes a 10-year welfare stand-down, stricter deportation rules, and a referendum on a 20,000-a-year cap.
ACT is pressing to abolish the Permanent Resident Visa as New Zealand’s 2026 election approaches, replacing it with residence conditions tied to how long people remain in the country.
The party announced the proposal on September 1, 2026. Under its plan, a Resident Visa would carry a five-year travel facility, renewed only when the holder spends 730 days physically in New Zealand during any rolling five-year period.
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That would replace an indefinite status with a recurring presence test. The rule would measure time inside New Zealand across each five-year period, rather than simply relying on the visa holder’s original residence approval.
The plan also raises the initial travel conditions attached to a Resident Visa from two years to five years. Exemptions would remain for people working overseas for New Zealand employers, accompanying family members, military personnel serving overseas, people with a New Zealand citizen spouse and people facing compelling humanitarian circumstances.
NZ First announced a separate package on September 11, 2026. Its 14-point overhaul reaches beyond residence retention.
The party would double the citizenship qualifying period from five years to a minimum of ten years. It would also extend the qualifying period for permanent residence from two years to five years and increase application fees for both citizenship and permanent residence.
A proposed 10-year welfare stand-down would bar non-citizens from Jobseeker, the Accommodation Supplement and other benefits during that period. The measure would attach welfare restrictions to immigration status for a decade.
Deportation rules would expand alongside settlement limits
The package would broaden the circumstances in which non-citizens could be removed for criminal offending. It calls for automatic deportation for violent or sexual crimes, fraud, organised criminal offending, money laundering, aiding and abetting under the Immigration Act and migrant exploitation.
The proposal also includes a 24-month amnesty for overstayers to self-deport. After that period, overstayers would face deportation and a permanent bar on future visa applications.
Student visa holders who intend to switch to another visa would have to leave New Zealand and reapply from abroad. The party also wants a referendum on capping resident visas at 20,000 a year.
| Policy area | ACT proposal | NZ First proposal |
|---|---|---|
| Residence | Replace the current status with a five-year travel facility tied to 730 days in New Zealand | Extend the permanent-residence qualifying period from two years to five years |
| Citizenship | Not specified in the material | Extend the qualifying period from five years to a minimum of ten years |
| Welfare | Not specified in the material | Impose a 10-year stand-down for non-citizens |
| Deportation | Not specified in the material | Expand removal rules, including automatic deportation for listed offences |
| Visa numbers | Not specified in the material | Hold a referendum on a 20,000-a-year resident-visa cap |
The contrast is direct. ACT is targeting the rules that allow residents to retain their status while spending time overseas. NZ First is targeting entry, welfare access, permanent residence, citizenship and deportation.
Critics warn that the proposals could normalise anti-immigration politics by turning migrants into a political target. They say the debate is shifting away from managed migration and toward exclusion.
That dispute will play out ahead of the 2026 election. The competing plans put residence security, access to benefits and removal powers at the center of New Zealand’s immigration debate.
