O'Brien on the way to NZ citizenship

Richard O'Brien. Photo / Ross Brown

Rocky Horror Show creator Richard O'Brien has been granted New Zealand residency and now hopes to have his citizenship application fast-tracked.

O'Brien's immigration adviser, Dion Smart, had confirmed the Government had approved residency for New Zealand-raised O'Brien, the Dominion Post reported today.

O'Brien, 68, who was born in Britain, came to New Zealand as a 10-year-old with his family in 1952 and lived in in Hamilton and Tauranga, before leaving in 1964 for London.

In 2004, he was honoured with a statue in Hamilton of his Rocky Horror character, the creepy butler Riff Raff.

Mr Smart said an application would now be made to Internal Affairs Minister Nathan Guy to waive the usual requirement for people to have had residency for five years before applying for citizenship.

O'Brien has been back to New Zealand regularly since the 1960s and wants to retire to Katikati, north of Tauranga, where he has a property.

Two of his siblings live in Tauranga. His son, who lives in Wellington, is also applying for residency.

-NZPA