2015-Apr 24: Assessing length of permitted stay in New Zealand as a visitor

Visa Pak 208: Guidelines for Immigration Officers when determining the duration of stay for a visitor visa application to ensure consistency across Immigration New Zealand

Visa Paks

24 April 2015

Assessing length of permitted stay in New Zealand as a visitor

To ensure a consistent approach is taken, when determining the length of permitted stay in New Zealand as a visitor, please note the following advice when assessing these General Visitor Visa applications.

If someone is applying for a visitor visa under general instructions (V2), officers must apply the 9 in 18 month rule. V2.5 if the Immigration Instructions specifies that only the following four categories of applicants are not subject to a maximum stay of nine months:

  1. Genuine tourists (see V2.5.10) who require no more than an additional three months to complete their itinerary
  2. Applicants for a visitor visa under a special category of visitor visa instructions which allows a longer stay in New Zealand
  3. People who cannot leave New Zealand because of circumstances beyond their control
  4. First-time resident visa applicants that have been accepted for consideration, and a decision is unlikely during the currency of their existing visa

Therefore, if an applicant has spent time in New Zealand on a visitor visa issued under a special category in V3 of the Instructions (such as parent/grandparent), the time already spent in New Zealand as a visitor will count towards the 9 in 18 month rule to determine the length of visa they are eligible for.

For example:

Parents and grandparents of New Zealand citizens or residence class visa holders are able to apply for a multiple entry visitor visa under instruction V3.110. This allows the parent or grandparent to be granted a 3 year multiple entry visitor visa for a maximum of 18 months but allows for visits of six months from each date of arrival.

Once the visa has expired, or the parent or grandparent has stayed the maximum 18 months, then under instruction V3.110.10(a) the parent or grandparent is not eligible for a subsequent visa under instruction V3.110 within three years of the date that the most recent visa was granted under V3.110.

In these instances it is not uncommon for the parent or grandparent to lodge an application for a general visitor visa. When this happens it is important to consider the time that the applicant has previously spent in New Zealand and whether or not the applicant is subject to V2.5.1(b) which only allows and applicant to stay in New Zealand for a total of no more than nine months in the 18 month period before the proposed expiry date of the visa.

Action

Ensure that all staff are ensuring parents or grandparents applying for visitor visas after having had an parent/grandparent visitor visa are not subject to V2.5.1(b).