All New Zealand residents who have a permanent resident visa, from the day of the visa grant, are eligible for publicly funded health and disability services. Your child's education is free between the ages of 5 and 19 at state schools (schools that are government owned and funded) if they're a New Zealand permanent resident. Higher education will have subsidized fee and varies between courses. New Zealand's social security system is based on residence. Therefore, in order to receive a payment, apart from holding a permanent resident visa, a person must have lived in New Zealand for a specific period of time and be resident in New Zealand. Depending on your situation, you may be able to get an appropriate financial benefit or some other financial help from New Zealand such as jobseekers support or a veteran's pension.
