Within fourteen days of your application being received by London Branch you will receive an acknowledgement letter. This will give you further information about the application process, your application number and may request additional information where necessary.
The next step is for your application to be allocated to a visa officer.
It can be difficult to give an accurate timeframe for the processing of applications, as circumstances differ. Health problems, character issues (such as a criminal record) and missing documentation can all cause delays in reaching a decision. Including an explanation of any criminal convictions, or doctors' reports on medical issues can help a case officer progress your application faster. Please note that when a file is allocated to a visa officer for assessment you will receive further information regarding the likely timeframe for your application.
As a guideline, please use the following timeframes. Please note that the processing timeframe indicated is from the date of allocation of the file.
Partnership/Dependent child applications
Allocation timeframe - 1 month
Processing timeframe - Within 3 months
Adult Child/Sibling/Parent applications
Demand for places under family stream of Government’s residence policy exceeds the number of places available. Under the family category, priority is given to the immediate family (partners and dependant children) of New Zealand citizens and residents. The result is that we are required to queue the other family category applications and allocate them to a case officer as places become available.
Historically, there has been some inequity in the length of time people in various locations have had to wait for their family parent applications to be allocated.
To ensure fairness, changes have been made to the allocation of applications to better ensure cases are processed in the order that they are received and that the oldest applications, no matter where they are submitted, are processed first. This has meant changes to the number of places allocated to the London branch based on the age of the applications held there. This has had an impact on the length of time before a case can be allocated to a case officer in the London branch.
For these reasons, applications will take up to 15 months to be allocated to a Case Officer after being accepted. Once allocated, the average processing time frame will be four to six months, unless there are complicated health or other issues to determine. Please note that the times given for allocation and decision are indicative only and may be subject to change.
NOTE: People who are waiting for their application to be allocated to a case officer are strongly advised not to make irreversible plans, such as buying one-way travel tickets or selling their houses, until they have a decision on their application. Applications will not be prioritised for these reasons.
Some family parent applicants may be eligible for a visitor’s visa under Parent and Grandparent Multiple Entry Visitor's Visa Policy. If approved, this visa would allow them to visit New Zealand for up to six months at one time, and up to eighteen months in total over a period of three years. There is more information about this visa at this link here:
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/general/generalinformation/qanda/multipleentry.htm
Please note: If an applicant chooses to travel to New Zealand visa free before a decision is made on their residence application, they will be granted a standard temporary permit with normal entitlements on arrival. They will then be expected to leave New Zealand once their permit expires. If the applicant is a national of the United Kingdom they can travel to New Zealand visa free for up to six months. An application may be made in New Zealand to extend that to a maximum of nine months. If an applicant chooses to travel visa free they will be required to hold a return ticket from New Zealand to a country where they have right of entry as well as evidence of funds to support themselves. Applicants are strongly advised not to overstay their visas as this may impact on the time it will take to decide their residence application.