Legal status of minor of non-citizen parents in New Zealand

[wootwoot]

I'm a little sketchy on the details, but a friend of a friend in New Zealand was there with her parents, at least one of whom has a work permit to be in the country. She has been there for seven years and is now seventeen. They're originally from the UK.

She recently was kicked out of her home and does not have her passport or any identification. I imagine she and my friend are going to have to go retreive it.

What I want to know, is: is she a citizen, and, if not, is she eligible to become one? I was looking at some NZ government sites, but I didn't see a lot pertaining to minors. It's a bad situation - I don't she won't be able to work without a tax identification number, and I don't think she'll be able to get a work-permit for non-citizens until she's eighteen, which is several months away.

I'm in the US and am two hops away from her in terms of social networking, so please excuse my ignorance on the subject.

Thanks.

Oh sticky one, well she should have residence status after 7 years but unless they have applied for citizenship it doesn't automatically get granted so would have to know the background. She does need her passport and may qualifiy for a New zealand one if indeed her parents went ahead and gained citizenship.