NZ Citizenship Presence Calculator
To apply for New Zealand citizenship by grant, you must have spent at least 1,350 days in New Zealand across the 5 years before you apply, with at least 240 days in each of those years - all as a resident. Enter your dates below to see where you stand and when you could apply.
Add each time you left the country since becoming a resident. The day you leave and the day you return both count as days in New Zealand.
How the presence requirement works
The requirement comes from the Citizenship Act 1977 (as amended in 2005). When you apply for citizenship by grant, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) looks at the five years immediately before the day your application is received. Within that window you must have been physically in New Zealand, while holding a resident visa, for a total of at least 1,350 days - roughly 270 days a year on average. On top of the total, there is a per-year minimum: at least 240 days of presence in each of the five 12-month blocks counting back from your application date. A strong four years cannot make up for one year mostly spent overseas.
Days are counted generously: if you were in New Zealand for any part of a day, it counts as a full day of presence. That means the day your flight departs and the day you land back both count as days in New Zealand - only the full days in between are absences. Immigration New Zealand holds your official travel movement records, and DIA checks your presence against them, so the calculation is based on hard data rather than estimates.
Why days before residency don't count
Time spent in New Zealand on a work, student or visitor visa does not count towards the 1,350 days - the clock effectively starts when your resident visa is granted. This is one of the most common surprises for applicants: someone who lived here for years on work visas still needs to build up five qualifying years as a resident. It also means the earliest anyone can apply is five years after becoming a resident, and only if they have stayed in the country enough in every one of those years.
If you're short on days
There is very little discretion in the presence rules. If travel for work or family has left you below 1,350 days, or under 240 days in any single year, the usual answer is to wait: as time passes, the five-year window moves with you, old absences drop out of it, and new days in New Zealand accumulate. The calculator above estimates the earliest date you could qualify if you stay in the country from today. Narrow exceptions exist - for example, certain people serving the New Zealand government overseas - but they are rare, and worth confirming directly with DIA before relying on them.
Presence is only one requirement
Meeting the day count doesn't by itself qualify you for citizenship. You must also hold a resident visa when you apply, intend to keep living in New Zealand, meet the good character requirement, and be able to hold a basic conversation in English. The government has also announced an upcoming citizenship test covering New Zealand's history, values and system of government - which is exactly what this website helps you prepare for. Once your dates line up, our free practice sets and timed mock tests cover the knowledge side of the application.
For the official rules and to check your own records, see the citizenship pages on govt.nz and the Department of Internal Affairs. This page is general information, not legal or immigration advice. Last reviewed August 2026.