Citizeo
Pathway

New Zealand Samoan Quota Resident Visa

New Zealand Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

New Zealand's Samoan Quota Resident Visa is a ballot-based residence route for Samoan citizens aged 18 to 45 who are selected and can meet job-offer, English, health, and character requirements.

Type
Pacific residence ballot
Who it covers
Eligible Samoan citizens aged 18 to 45
Core requirements
Ballot selection, Samoa tie, job offer, English, and admissibility
What to know
Selection is not the same as approval
What it gives
An approved family receives residence and can live, work, and study indefinitely.
Main limit
Samoan citizenship alone does not create an automatic right to residence under the quota.

Summary

The Samoan Quota is an annual ballot-based residence route for eligible Samoan citizens. The 2026 ballot is closed and was drawn on 20 May 2026 for up to 1,100 people.

A successful registration is only an invitation to apply. The applicant still needs a qualifying New Zealand job offer, enough income, English, health, character, and the required location and family evidence.

Pathway fit check

Eligibility

To register for the ballot, the principal registrant must:

If selected, the person must apply while in Samoa or lawfully in New Zealand. The principal applicant or included partner must hold a current New Zealand job offer for at least 12 months. At least one qualifying job must be full-time, the agreement must comply with New Zealand employment law, and the employer cannot be subject to a disqualifying stand-down.

Where dependent children are included, the applicant and partner must currently earn at least NZD 55,404.96 a year between their qualifying jobs. Without dependent children, the job must pay at least the New Zealand minimum wage. The amount is reviewed annually.

The principal applicant must read, write, and speak English and meet health and character requirements. A partner and dependent children aged 24 or younger can be included only if they were named in the ballot registration and meet the family and admissibility rules. The residence application is normally due within 8 months of invitation.

What This Route Allows

An approved family receives residence and can live, work, and study indefinitely. The initial resident visa normally carries 2 years of travel conditions. A Permanent Resident Visa may be available after 2 years if the requirements are met.

An unsuccessful registrant can normally enter a later annual ballot while still meeting the age and other rules.

What This Route Is Not

Samoan citizenship alone does not create an automatic right to residence under the quota. Planning to register is not the same as having been selected, and selection is not final approval.

This route is also distinct from the special citizenship rules for some Samoan citizens and people born in Western Samoa before 1949. Those citizenship routes do not use the quota ballot.

Next Steps

  1. For a future ballot, confirm Samoan citizenship, age, birth or parent-birth evidence, and registration location.
  2. Include every partner or dependent child who may need residence.
  3. If selected, calendar the 8-month application deadline.
  4. Secure a compliant job offer and recalculate the income threshold in force at filing.
  5. Prepare passports, birth and relationship records, proof of location, medicals, police certificates, English evidence, and employment documents.
Compare your options

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