You are not allowed to stay after your visa expires. Find out what to do if you need to stay past your visa expiry.
You can find the date your visa expires in your passport or the eVisa letter we sent you when we granted your visa. You must leave New Zealand on or before this date.
If you are in New Zealand and need to stay past the date your visa expires, you cannot extend your visa — instead, you must apply for another visa or a temporary visa before your current one expires.
To apply for a temporary visa, you must:
You should apply for another visa at least 1 month before your current visa’s expiry date.
How long it takes to process a visa application
You are breaking the law if you stay after your visa expires. You:
Your actions can also affect other people. For example, if family members or other people help you to stay in New Zealand they:
The longer you stay after your visa expires, the greater the risk you run of being deported and of not being able to return to New Zealand in the future.
If you are still in New Zealand after your visa expires, you can:
Requests under section 61 are only granted in some cases.
We cannot grant you a visa under section 61 if a deportation order has already been issued to you.
Section 61 of the Immigration Act 2009: Grant of visa in special case - New Zealand Legislation
Put your request in writing and email it to:
Explain your circumstances as fully as possible and attach to your email any evidence to support your request.
Do not provide credit card details with your request. We will contact you for payment once your request is assessed and we decide to grant you a visa.
In your request include:
When you email your request attach a copy of the personal details page in your passport.
There are no other documents you must provide, but it is recommended to attach copies of any supporting evidence to back up any claims in your request.
The process for assessing a Section 61 request is different from assessing a visa application. All requests are handled by a senior immigration officer at the INZ Manukau Area Office.
Under the law, the officer has no obligation to consider your request and does not have to:
Each case is different and there is no time frame for assessing Section 61 requests.
You must leave New Zealand immediately. If you do not depart voluntarily, we can serve you with a deportation order and deport you.
Deportation liability and appeal rights
You cannot appeal a Section 61 decision. You can apply to the High Court for judicial review of the decision, but the judge can only consider Immigration New Zealand's decision-making process and not your circumstances.
We approve your request in principle. You must pay the correct fee for your visa, and for anyone else included in your request, before we issue your visa.
Use our online 'Fees, decision times and where to apply' tool to find out what you will pay for your visa if we approve your request in principle. Search for 'section 61' and select the visa type that applies to you.
Fees, decision times and where to apply
We will contact you to ask for the fee.
Information valid as at 2023/05/23 16:32:16.733481 GMT+12