Two Retirement Instructions, and the One Named for Retirement Grants a Visitor Visa You Can Never Convert
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Australia on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
195 exceptions recorded across 74 countries · none match Australia to New Zealand · Residency as a retiree
New Zealand has two instructions with 'retirement' in the name and they do completely different things. The Temporary Retirement Category, instruction V3.120, sits in the visitor chapter of the Operational Manual. The principal applicant must be aged 66 or over; must nominate funds or assets worth at least NZ$750,000 and undertake to invest them in New Zealand for two years; must nominate a further NZ$500,000 of maintenance funds; must show an annual income of at least NZ$60,000; must hold acceptable travel or health insurance along with any partner included; and must not be accompanied by dependent children. What it grants is a visitor visa. Nothing in the instruction turns that into residence, and a visitor is not a residence class visa holder, which matters directly for health care: clause B3 of the Health and Disability Services Eligibility Direction 2011 covers residence class visa holders and nobody holding a visitor visa, which is why the instruction requires insurance. The Parent Retirement Category, instruction F3.5, is the one that leads to a resident visa, and it is not really a retirement route at all - it is a parent route with a price. It requires NZ$1 million nominated and invested in New Zealand for four years, NZ$500,000 of settlement funds, an annual income of at least NZ$60,000, and the family requirements at F3.20, which means an adult child already in New Zealand. The resident visa it produces carries conditions imposed under section 49(1) of the Immigration Act 2009, and instruction RV2.10 sends a Parent Retirement resident who later wants a permanent resident visa down a different route from everybody else. There is no instruction under which age or a pension on its own gets a person residence.
At a glance
- Age for the Temporary Retirement Category
- 66 or over at the time of application
Instruction V3.120(a)(i) and V3.120.1. The Parent Retirement Category states no age at all.
- Investment for the Temporary Retirement Category
- NZ$750,000, invested in New Zealand for two years
Instruction V3.120(a)(ii). It must go into an acceptable investment under V3.120.25.
- Maintenance funds for the Temporary Retirement Category
- NZ$500,000, on top of the investment
Instruction V3.120(a)(v).
- Annual income required
- NZ$60,000, for both instructions
Instruction V3.120(a)(vi) and instruction F3.5(a)(v).
- What the Temporary Retirement Category grants
- A visitor visa, not a resident visa
V3.120 is in the V chapter, which is the visitor instructions. No provision in it converts the visa into residence.
- Dependent children
- Not allowed on a Temporary Retirement Category application
Instruction V3.120(c): applicants must not be accompanied by dependent children.
- Investment for the Parent Retirement Category
- NZ$1 million, invested in New Zealand for four years, plus NZ$500,000 of settlement funds
Instruction F3.5(a)(i) and (a)(iv).
- Residence on a pension alone
- No such category in the Residence section of the INZ Operational Manual
The Residence section's eight parts and the five business residence categories in instruction BA2.1 were read; none is an age or pension category.
Requirements
- Temporary Retirement Category: age 66 or over, NZ$750,000 invested in New Zealand for two years, NZ$500,000 of maintenance funds, NZ$60,000 a year of income, acceptable travel or health insurance, and no dependent children on the application
- Parent Retirement Category: NZ$1 million invested in New Zealand for four years, NZ$500,000 of settlement funds, NZ$60,000 a year of income, and the family requirements at F3.20
- Health and character requirements under instructions A4 and A5 in both cases
In detail
The word 'retirement' is doing different work in each name
V3.120 is a retirement instruction in the ordinary sense: it is about an older person who wants to live here without working, and it sets an age. F3.5 is a parent instruction with retirement in its title: it sets no age at all, and the thing it actually requires besides money is an adult child already settled in New Zealand, through the family requirements at F3.20. A reader comparing the two numbers - NZ$750,000 against NZ$1 million - is not comparing two tiers of the same route. They are comparing a visitor visa for anyone over 66 with a resident visa for a parent.
The insurance requirement is the tell
V3.120 asks the applicant and any partner to hold acceptable travel or health insurance, and that is not a formality. Eligibility for publicly funded health care in New Zealand runs through the Health and Disability Services Eligibility Direction 2011, whose clause B3 covers residence class visa holders. A visitor visa is a temporary entry class visa, so a Temporary Retirement Category holder is outside it, and the one clause in the Direction that covers temporary visa holders - clause B5 - is about work visas. An older person on this visa is paying privately for care for as long as they hold it.
Country-level policy
New Zealand screens foreign purchases of land through the Overseas Investment Act 2005. Section 10(1) says a transaction requires consent if it will result in an overseas investment in sensitive land, and since 2018 residential land is sensitive land, so an ordinary house is inside the regime. Whether the regime catches a particular buyer turns on one definition. Section 7(2)(a) makes an individual an overseas person if they are neither a New Zealand citizen nor ordinarily resident in New Zealand, and section 6(2)(a) gives 'ordinarily resident in New Zealand' a special meaning for residential land transactions: the person must hold a residence class visa granted under the Immigration Act 2009, must have been residing in New Zealand for at least the immediately preceding 12 months, and must be tax resident in New Zealand. The third limb is not the ordinary tax test. Section 6(2A) defines it as being a New Zealand resident under section YD 1(3) of the Income Tax Act 2007 - the 183-day rule - with the 12-month period read as the immediately preceding twelve months and the backdating rules in section YD 1(4) to (6) disregarded. So a person who is tax resident only through having a permanent place of abode here, under section YD 1(2), does not satisfy it. Three tests, all three of which must be true at once, and a resident visa on its own is never enough. Two nationalities are carved out entirely. Regulation 75 of the Overseas Investment Regulations 2005 says a transaction does not require consent to the extent that it results in an overseas investment in residential but not otherwise sensitive land and every relevant investor is either an Australian investor or not an overseas person; regulation 81 says the same for Singaporean investors. Both were inserted on 22 October 2018, the Australian one to implement the Australian CER Investment Protocol and the Singaporean one to implement the Singapore CEP. The definitions are narrower than they look. An 'Australian individual' is an Australian citizen under Australian law, or an Australian permanent resident under Australian law who is also ordinarily resident in New Zealand; a 'Singaporean individual' is a national of Singapore under Singaporean law, or a Singaporean permanent resident who is ordinarily resident in New Zealand. The citizenship limb carries no New Zealand connection at all; the permanent residence limb carries the full one.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Australia
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«be aged 66 years or over; and»V3.120.1 repeats it as a requirement at the time of application.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Operational Manual is where New Zealand's immigration instructions are actually published, and publishing them here is a statutory duty rather than a courtesy: section 25(1) of the Immigration Act 2009 says 'The chief executive must publish immigration instructions', and the Manual's own first page says 'By publishing the Operational Manual, INZ meets its requirements under section 25 of the Immigration Act 2009 to publish Government instructions on granting visas.' Instructions are certified by the Minister under section 22; section 22(8) says they 'are statements of Government policy', and section 72(1) makes a residence decision one that 'must be made in terms of the residence instructions applicable at the time the application was made'. Each instruction topic carries its own 'Effective DD/MM/YYYY' date and, where it has been replaced, a list of the previous instructions under 'PREVIOUS IMMIGRATION INSTRUCTIONS'.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Policy, not law. The Manual says so itself: it 'is not ... a replacement for the legislation that governs INZ operations', the summaries of statute inside it 'are declaratory only', and where a summary conflicts with the legislation 'the interpretation of the legislation is decisive'. It also warns that 'some chapters of these sections do not constitute Government immigration instructions as described in section 22' - that disclaimer covers the Border Entry, Compliance, Refugees and Protection, Administration and Appendices sections, so a Y-, D-, C- or A-coded page may be an internal operational instruction rather than a certified instruction. It is not evidence of what the Immigration Act says, only of what the Minister has certified and the chief executive has published. The address matters. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/ and /opsmanual/index.htm are a JavaScript shell and return 208 characters of 'Loading...' to any fetcher. The readable table of contents is https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/toc.htm (340,787 characters), which links every instruction topic as its own small page at /opsmanual/<number>.htm. Firecrawl returned HTTP 500 for those numbered pages on 11 October 2026; `pnpm sources:fetch --direct` read every one of them first time.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«nominate funds and/or assets equivalent in value to at least NZ$750,000 and undertake to invest them in New Zealand for a period of two years; and»About this source
The Operational Manual is where New Zealand's immigration instructions are actually published, and publishing them here is a statutory duty rather than a courtesy: section 25(1) of the Immigration Act 2009 says 'The chief executive must publish immigration instructions', and the Manual's own first page says 'By publishing the Operational Manual, INZ meets its requirements under section 25 of the Immigration Act 2009 to publish Government instructions on granting visas.' Instructions are certified by the Minister under section 22; section 22(8) says they 'are statements of Government policy', and section 72(1) makes a residence decision one that 'must be made in terms of the residence instructions applicable at the time the application was made'. Each instruction topic carries its own 'Effective DD/MM/YYYY' date and, where it has been replaced, a list of the previous instructions under 'PREVIOUS IMMIGRATION INSTRUCTIONS'.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Policy, not law. The Manual says so itself: it 'is not ... a replacement for the legislation that governs INZ operations', the summaries of statute inside it 'are declaratory only', and where a summary conflicts with the legislation 'the interpretation of the legislation is decisive'. It also warns that 'some chapters of these sections do not constitute Government immigration instructions as described in section 22' - that disclaimer covers the Border Entry, Compliance, Refugees and Protection, Administration and Appendices sections, so a Y-, D-, C- or A-coded page may be an internal operational instruction rather than a certified instruction. It is not evidence of what the Immigration Act says, only of what the Minister has certified and the chief executive has published. The address matters. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/ and /opsmanual/index.htm are a JavaScript shell and return 208 characters of 'Loading...' to any fetcher. The readable table of contents is https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/toc.htm (340,787 characters), which links every instruction topic as its own small page at /opsmanual/<number>.htm. Firecrawl returned HTTP 500 for those numbered pages on 11 October 2026; `pnpm sources:fetch --direct` read every one of them first time.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«nominate NZ$500,000 of maintenance funds and demonstrate ownership of these funds and/or assets; and»About this source
The Operational Manual is where New Zealand's immigration instructions are actually published, and publishing them here is a statutory duty rather than a courtesy: section 25(1) of the Immigration Act 2009 says 'The chief executive must publish immigration instructions', and the Manual's own first page says 'By publishing the Operational Manual, INZ meets its requirements under section 25 of the Immigration Act 2009 to publish Government instructions on granting visas.' Instructions are certified by the Minister under section 22; section 22(8) says they 'are statements of Government policy', and section 72(1) makes a residence decision one that 'must be made in terms of the residence instructions applicable at the time the application was made'. Each instruction topic carries its own 'Effective DD/MM/YYYY' date and, where it has been replaced, a list of the previous instructions under 'PREVIOUS IMMIGRATION INSTRUCTIONS'.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Policy, not law. The Manual says so itself: it 'is not ... a replacement for the legislation that governs INZ operations', the summaries of statute inside it 'are declaratory only', and where a summary conflicts with the legislation 'the interpretation of the legislation is decisive'. It also warns that 'some chapters of these sections do not constitute Government immigration instructions as described in section 22' - that disclaimer covers the Border Entry, Compliance, Refugees and Protection, Administration and Appendices sections, so a Y-, D-, C- or A-coded page may be an internal operational instruction rather than a certified instruction. It is not evidence of what the Immigration Act says, only of what the Minister has certified and the chief executive has published. The address matters. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/ and /opsmanual/index.htm are a JavaScript shell and return 208 characters of 'Loading...' to any fetcher. The readable table of contents is https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/toc.htm (340,787 characters), which links every instruction topic as its own small page at /opsmanual/<number>.htm. Firecrawl returned HTTP 500 for those numbered pages on 11 October 2026; `pnpm sources:fetch --direct` read every one of them first time.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«demonstrate that they hold acceptable travel and/or health insurance.»The requirement makes sense beside the health eligibility rule: a visitor visa holder is not within clause B3 of the Health and Disability Services Eligibility Direction 2011.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Operational Manual is where New Zealand's immigration instructions are actually published, and publishing them here is a statutory duty rather than a courtesy: section 25(1) of the Immigration Act 2009 says 'The chief executive must publish immigration instructions', and the Manual's own first page says 'By publishing the Operational Manual, INZ meets its requirements under section 25 of the Immigration Act 2009 to publish Government instructions on granting visas.' Instructions are certified by the Minister under section 22; section 22(8) says they 'are statements of Government policy', and section 72(1) makes a residence decision one that 'must be made in terms of the residence instructions applicable at the time the application was made'. Each instruction topic carries its own 'Effective DD/MM/YYYY' date and, where it has been replaced, a list of the previous instructions under 'PREVIOUS IMMIGRATION INSTRUCTIONS'.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Policy, not law. The Manual says so itself: it 'is not ... a replacement for the legislation that governs INZ operations', the summaries of statute inside it 'are declaratory only', and where a summary conflicts with the legislation 'the interpretation of the legislation is decisive'. It also warns that 'some chapters of these sections do not constitute Government immigration instructions as described in section 22' - that disclaimer covers the Border Entry, Compliance, Refugees and Protection, Administration and Appendices sections, so a Y-, D-, C- or A-coded page may be an internal operational instruction rather than a certified instruction. It is not evidence of what the Immigration Act says, only of what the Minister has certified and the chief executive has published. The address matters. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/ and /opsmanual/index.htm are a JavaScript shell and return 208 characters of 'Loading...' to any fetcher. The readable table of contents is https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/toc.htm (340,787 characters), which links every instruction topic as its own small page at /opsmanual/<number>.htm. Firecrawl returned HTTP 500 for those numbered pages on 11 October 2026; `pnpm sources:fetch --direct` read every one of them first time.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Applicants must not be accompanied by dependent children.»About this source
The Operational Manual is where New Zealand's immigration instructions are actually published, and publishing them here is a statutory duty rather than a courtesy: section 25(1) of the Immigration Act 2009 says 'The chief executive must publish immigration instructions', and the Manual's own first page says 'By publishing the Operational Manual, INZ meets its requirements under section 25 of the Immigration Act 2009 to publish Government instructions on granting visas.' Instructions are certified by the Minister under section 22; section 22(8) says they 'are statements of Government policy', and section 72(1) makes a residence decision one that 'must be made in terms of the residence instructions applicable at the time the application was made'. Each instruction topic carries its own 'Effective DD/MM/YYYY' date and, where it has been replaced, a list of the previous instructions under 'PREVIOUS IMMIGRATION INSTRUCTIONS'.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Policy, not law. The Manual says so itself: it 'is not ... a replacement for the legislation that governs INZ operations', the summaries of statute inside it 'are declaratory only', and where a summary conflicts with the legislation 'the interpretation of the legislation is decisive'. It also warns that 'some chapters of these sections do not constitute Government immigration instructions as described in section 22' - that disclaimer covers the Border Entry, Compliance, Refugees and Protection, Administration and Appendices sections, so a Y-, D-, C- or A-coded page may be an internal operational instruction rather than a certified instruction. It is not evidence of what the Immigration Act says, only of what the Minister has certified and the chief executive has published. The address matters. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/ and /opsmanual/index.htm are a JavaScript shell and return 208 characters of 'Loading...' to any fetcher. The readable table of contents is https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/toc.htm (340,787 characters), which links every instruction topic as its own small page at /opsmanual/<number>.htm. Firecrawl returned HTTP 500 for those numbered pages on 11 October 2026; `pnpm sources:fetch --direct` read every one of them first time.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«nominate funds and/or assets equivalent in value to at least NZ$1 million and undertake to invest them in New Zealand for a period of four years; and»About this source
The Operational Manual is where New Zealand's immigration instructions are actually published, and publishing them here is a statutory duty rather than a courtesy: section 25(1) of the Immigration Act 2009 says 'The chief executive must publish immigration instructions', and the Manual's own first page says 'By publishing the Operational Manual, INZ meets its requirements under section 25 of the Immigration Act 2009 to publish Government instructions on granting visas.' Instructions are certified by the Minister under section 22; section 22(8) says they 'are statements of Government policy', and section 72(1) makes a residence decision one that 'must be made in terms of the residence instructions applicable at the time the application was made'. Each instruction topic carries its own 'Effective DD/MM/YYYY' date and, where it has been replaced, a list of the previous instructions under 'PREVIOUS IMMIGRATION INSTRUCTIONS'.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Policy, not law. The Manual says so itself: it 'is not ... a replacement for the legislation that governs INZ operations', the summaries of statute inside it 'are declaratory only', and where a summary conflicts with the legislation 'the interpretation of the legislation is decisive'. It also warns that 'some chapters of these sections do not constitute Government immigration instructions as described in section 22' - that disclaimer covers the Border Entry, Compliance, Refugees and Protection, Administration and Appendices sections, so a Y-, D-, C- or A-coded page may be an internal operational instruction rather than a certified instruction. It is not evidence of what the Immigration Act says, only of what the Minister has certified and the chief executive has published. The address matters. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/ and /opsmanual/index.htm are a JavaScript shell and return 208 characters of 'Loading...' to any fetcher. The readable table of contents is https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/toc.htm (340,787 characters), which links every instruction topic as its own small page at /opsmanual/<number>.htm. Firecrawl returned HTTP 500 for those numbered pages on 11 October 2026; `pnpm sources:fetch --direct` read every one of them first time.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«nominate NZ$0.5 million of settlement funds and demonstrate ownership of these funds and/or assets; and»About this source
The Operational Manual is where New Zealand's immigration instructions are actually published, and publishing them here is a statutory duty rather than a courtesy: section 25(1) of the Immigration Act 2009 says 'The chief executive must publish immigration instructions', and the Manual's own first page says 'By publishing the Operational Manual, INZ meets its requirements under section 25 of the Immigration Act 2009 to publish Government instructions on granting visas.' Instructions are certified by the Minister under section 22; section 22(8) says they 'are statements of Government policy', and section 72(1) makes a residence decision one that 'must be made in terms of the residence instructions applicable at the time the application was made'. Each instruction topic carries its own 'Effective DD/MM/YYYY' date and, where it has been replaced, a list of the previous instructions under 'PREVIOUS IMMIGRATION INSTRUCTIONS'.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Policy, not law. The Manual says so itself: it 'is not ... a replacement for the legislation that governs INZ operations', the summaries of statute inside it 'are declaratory only', and where a summary conflicts with the legislation 'the interpretation of the legislation is decisive'. It also warns that 'some chapters of these sections do not constitute Government immigration instructions as described in section 22' - that disclaimer covers the Border Entry, Compliance, Refugees and Protection, Administration and Appendices sections, so a Y-, D-, C- or A-coded page may be an internal operational instruction rather than a certified instruction. It is not evidence of what the Immigration Act says, only of what the Minister has certified and the chief executive has published. The address matters. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/ and /opsmanual/index.htm are a JavaScript shell and return 208 characters of 'Loading...' to any fetcher. The readable table of contents is https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/toc.htm (340,787 characters), which links every instruction topic as its own small page at /opsmanual/<number>.htm. Firecrawl returned HTTP 500 for those numbered pages on 11 October 2026; `pnpm sources:fetch --direct` read every one of them first time.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«demonstrate an annual income of at least NZ$60,000; and»The same figure appears in V3.120(a)(vi) for the Temporary Retirement Category. Neither instruction states what the income may consist of.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The Operational Manual is where New Zealand's immigration instructions are actually published, and publishing them here is a statutory duty rather than a courtesy: section 25(1) of the Immigration Act 2009 says 'The chief executive must publish immigration instructions', and the Manual's own first page says 'By publishing the Operational Manual, INZ meets its requirements under section 25 of the Immigration Act 2009 to publish Government instructions on granting visas.' Instructions are certified by the Minister under section 22; section 22(8) says they 'are statements of Government policy', and section 72(1) makes a residence decision one that 'must be made in terms of the residence instructions applicable at the time the application was made'. Each instruction topic carries its own 'Effective DD/MM/YYYY' date and, where it has been replaced, a list of the previous instructions under 'PREVIOUS IMMIGRATION INSTRUCTIONS'.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Policy, not law. The Manual says so itself: it 'is not ... a replacement for the legislation that governs INZ operations', the summaries of statute inside it 'are declaratory only', and where a summary conflicts with the legislation 'the interpretation of the legislation is decisive'. It also warns that 'some chapters of these sections do not constitute Government immigration instructions as described in section 22' - that disclaimer covers the Border Entry, Compliance, Refugees and Protection, Administration and Appendices sections, so a Y-, D-, C- or A-coded page may be an internal operational instruction rather than a certified instruction. It is not evidence of what the Immigration Act says, only of what the Minister has certified and the chief executive has published. The address matters. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/ and /opsmanual/index.htm are a JavaScript shell and return 208 characters of 'Loading...' to any fetcher. The readable table of contents is https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/toc.htm (340,787 characters), which links every instruction topic as its own small page at /opsmanual/<number>.htm. Firecrawl returned HTTP 500 for those numbered pages on 11 October 2026; `pnpm sources:fetch --direct` read every one of them first time.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
Practical notes
Instruction V3.120.25, the acceptable investment rules for the Temporary Retirement Category, and F3.10 and F3.15, the investment and settlement fund rules for the Parent Retirement Category, were not read beyond the summary clauses quoted here.
The family requirements at F3.20 were not read. What relationship to a New Zealand resident or citizen the Parent Retirement Category requires is therefore described from the structure of the instruction rather than quoted.
Instruction RV2.10, which sends former Migrant Investor and Parent Retirement residents down a separate route to a permanent resident visa, was seen in the manual's contents and in a note inside RV2.5 but not read.
No instruction was found granting residence on the basis of age or a pension alone. That is bounded by the Residence section index, instruction BA2.1 and the Operational Manual's table of contents of 1,556 topics.
- issuesINZ Operational Manual, V3.120 Temporary Retirement Category
Immigration New Zealand, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
About this source
The Operational Manual is where New Zealand's immigration instructions are actually published, and publishing them here is a statutory duty rather than a courtesy: section 25(1) of the Immigration Act 2009 says 'The chief executive must publish immigration instructions', and the Manual's own first page says 'By publishing the Operational Manual, INZ meets its requirements under section 25 of the Immigration Act 2009 to publish Government instructions on granting visas.' Instructions are certified by the Minister under section 22; section 22(8) says they 'are statements of Government policy', and section 72(1) makes a residence decision one that 'must be made in terms of the residence instructions applicable at the time the application was made'. Each instruction topic carries its own 'Effective DD/MM/YYYY' date and, where it has been replaced, a list of the previous instructions under 'PREVIOUS IMMIGRATION INSTRUCTIONS'.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Policy, not law. The Manual says so itself: it 'is not ... a replacement for the legislation that governs INZ operations', the summaries of statute inside it 'are declaratory only', and where a summary conflicts with the legislation 'the interpretation of the legislation is decisive'. It also warns that 'some chapters of these sections do not constitute Government immigration instructions as described in section 22' - that disclaimer covers the Border Entry, Compliance, Refugees and Protection, Administration and Appendices sections, so a Y-, D-, C- or A-coded page may be an internal operational instruction rather than a certified instruction. It is not evidence of what the Immigration Act says, only of what the Minister has certified and the chief executive has published. The address matters. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/ and /opsmanual/index.htm are a JavaScript shell and return 208 characters of 'Loading...' to any fetcher. The readable table of contents is https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/toc.htm (340,787 characters), which links every instruction topic as its own small page at /opsmanual/<number>.htm. Firecrawl returned HTTP 500 for those numbered pages on 11 October 2026; `pnpm sources:fetch --direct` read every one of them first time.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
- issuesINZ Operational Manual, F3.5 Parent Retirement Category requirements
Immigration New Zealand, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
About this source
The Operational Manual is where New Zealand's immigration instructions are actually published, and publishing them here is a statutory duty rather than a courtesy: section 25(1) of the Immigration Act 2009 says 'The chief executive must publish immigration instructions', and the Manual's own first page says 'By publishing the Operational Manual, INZ meets its requirements under section 25 of the Immigration Act 2009 to publish Government instructions on granting visas.' Instructions are certified by the Minister under section 22; section 22(8) says they 'are statements of Government policy', and section 72(1) makes a residence decision one that 'must be made in terms of the residence instructions applicable at the time the application was made'. Each instruction topic carries its own 'Effective DD/MM/YYYY' date and, where it has been replaced, a list of the previous instructions under 'PREVIOUS IMMIGRATION INSTRUCTIONS'.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: Policy, not law. The Manual says so itself: it 'is not ... a replacement for the legislation that governs INZ operations', the summaries of statute inside it 'are declaratory only', and where a summary conflicts with the legislation 'the interpretation of the legislation is decisive'. It also warns that 'some chapters of these sections do not constitute Government immigration instructions as described in section 22' - that disclaimer covers the Border Entry, Compliance, Refugees and Protection, Administration and Appendices sections, so a Y-, D-, C- or A-coded page may be an internal operational instruction rather than a certified instruction. It is not evidence of what the Immigration Act says, only of what the Minister has certified and the chief executive has published. The address matters. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/ and /opsmanual/index.htm are a JavaScript shell and return 208 characters of 'Loading...' to any fetcher. The readable table of contents is https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/toc.htm (340,787 characters), which links every instruction topic as its own small page at /opsmanual/<number>.htm. Firecrawl returned HTTP 500 for those numbered pages on 11 October 2026; `pnpm sources:fetch --direct` read every one of them first time.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
- issuesHealth and Disability Services Eligibility Direction 2011, New Zealand Gazette notice 2011-go2492
New Zealand Gazette, Department of Internal Affairs
About this source
The official newspaper of the New Zealand Government, and for this corpus the only publisher of an instrument that decides a core topic: the Health and Disability Services Eligibility Direction 2011, notice 2011-go2492, Gazette issue 52 of 15 April 2011, page 1221. A ministerial direction is not legislation, so it does not appear on legislation.govt.nz and has no consolidated version; the Gazette notice is the text. Each notice carries its notice number, issue number, page number and publication date, and offers the same document as a PDF at the same address.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: A Gazette notice is published once and never revised. It carries no 'as at' date and no amendment notes, so a notice read today looks identical to the day it was gazetted even if a later notice has amended or revoked it. Finding that later notice is a separate search, and failing to do it is the main way a quotation from here goes stale. It is evidence of what was gazetted on a date, not evidence of what is in force now.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source