Yes, New Zealand PR has a lot of rights. Almost as many rights that I have as a British Citizen born outside the UK (my only passport from birth to now).
It's been my dream for the past 10 years to move to New Zealand, and thank God, I was finally granted a Resident visa in May 2021. If you're thinking about moving here though, please don't get your hopes up too high - the application process is very slow and it would've been faster if I'd moved elsewhere. People here have been wonderful, but the government's approach has been hostile to migrants, and I came close to despair several times on the long journey here.
November 2011 - February 2012 Working Holiday visa. Summer job at FPH.
early 2014 - Wanting to return, Skilled Migrant Category visa requires me to get "2 years continuous relevant work experience". Moved to Taiwan (an approved labour market), worked for a microSD manufacturer.
mid-2016 - NZ changes rules to "3 years continuous relevant work experience". Political problems in UK and US cause mass exodus of English-speaking people to NZ, Canada, Australia. Wait times start climbing.
mid-2017 - NZ changes rules to "3 years and a minimum salary of $70k"
mid-2018 - Left Taiwan. Applying for jobs remotely, getting nowhere. Parents supported me to come to NZ and look for a job.
Feb 2019 - Applied for Skilled Migrant Category resident visa.
May 2019 - Left, waited 6 months for temporary work visa to be processed. Working remotely, unpaid, for IoT startup in Auckland. Living in hostels, girlfriend's family in Taiwan, parents in France. Financially supported by parents.
Nov 2019 - Dec 2020 - working in North Shore, actually getting paid! Company already prepared for remote work, thankfully. But not paid every month because the company was running out of money. Began asking around for other jobs.
October 2020 - Case officer assigned to SMC visa application. Hired McVeagh Fleming lawyers to buy me time so I could try to get another job.
January 2021 - Started new job at FPH!
February 2021 - Resident visa approved!
May 2021 - Resident visa issued. After applying, the processing time took 2 years 5 months.
In theory, I could now have a family! My British passport can't be passed on to future kids, but my NZ Resident status should allow children born here to become citizens. However, it is not possible for my girlfriend to join me from Taiwan. It wouldn't help to get married - partnership visas would requires us to live together for over a year (which is obviously not possible these days). Every day my mind wonders whether it's still worth waiting, then every night we chat, and my heart falls in love with her all over again. She's stood firm through so many ups and downs, how could I turn away from that commitment now? She's wonderful, and worth waiting for, even if I never know when or if that day will come.