How long it takes to process a visa application
Immigration New Zealand is operating under Alert Level 3 lockdown requirements, this means our offices are currently closed. Visa processing timeframes will be impacted.
Information for visa applicants outside of New Zealand
Visa processing for most applicants outside of New Zealand is still on hold. This is because people who are not New Zealand citizens or residents are unlikely to meet the current entry requirements. Immigration New Zealand is not able to legally grant a visa to people who are unlikely to meet the entry requirements.
Immigration New Zealand is resuming the processing of residence applications from outside New Zealand that were received before March 2020.
Timeframes on this page reflect average processing times of the past 3 months.
If you are travelling from a quarantine-free travel zone the processing of your application will be prioritised.
Check your status online
If you applied online, you can check the status of your application and find out if we need more information from you.
Checking your application status
Average processing times
Find out how many calendar days it has taken us to process applications for our most common visas in the 3 months to 1 November 2021. For applications that take more than 90 days we have rounded that number to the nearest month. For example, if applications take 110 days, we say it takes 4 months.
Most visa processing for applicants outside New Zealand is on hold due to Covid 19.
Processing times for visas we are considering varies for each visa.
Visitor visa
| Visa | 50% of applications completed within: | 75% of applications completed within: | 90% of applications completed within: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visitor (holiday) | 50 days | 4 months | 12 months |
Find recent processing times for other types of visitor visa, for example business and group visitor visas.
Fees, decision times & where to apply
Student visas
| Visa | 50% of applications completed within: | 75% of applications completed within: | 90% of applications completed within: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee Paying Student | 17 days | 33 days | 60 days |
| Variation of conditions on a student visa | 18 days | 42 days | 54 days |
Find recent processing times for other student visas.
Fees, decision times & where to apply
You can also find out how long it takes to process visas for international students depending on the type of education provider they study with.
Visa processing times for international students
Work visas
| Visa | 50% of applications completed within: | 75% of applications completed within: | 90% of applications completed within: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials Skills | 41 days | 69 days | 90 days |
| Essential Skills – Instruction changes from 19 July 2021 | 10 days | 13 days | 22 days |
| Partner of a New Zealander | 58 days | 89 days | 5 months |
| Partner of student | 33 days | 51 days | 3 months |
| Partner of worker | 40 days | 60 days | 86 days |
| Post-study work visa | 15 days | 24 days | 42 days |
| Variation of conditions on a work visa | 33 days | 56 days | 69 days |
Find recent processing times for other work visas
Fees, decision times & where to apply
Residence visas
| Visa | 50% of applications completed within: | 75% of applications completed within: | 90% of applications completed within: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner of a New Zealander | 4 months | 6 months | 10 months |
| Permanent Resident Visa | 58 days | 85 days | 5 months |
| Skilled Migrant | 24 months | 26 months | 29 months |
| Transfer of visa to new passport | 2 days | 5 days | 37 days |
| Variation of travel conditions on a resident visa | 7 days | 18 days | 33 days |
Due to the impacts of COVID-19 we are experiencing delays in the processing of Permanent Resident Visas and Transfer of Visas to new passports. We apologise for any inconvenience and we are working hard to improve this.
Find recent processing times for other residence visas.