Some changes to an Interim visa due to Covid-19 outbreak.
If you had a student visa or work visa (post-study work visa) before you have an interim visa, then normally you can NOT work. Immigration NZ just announced (7 April 2020) that those people CAN work between 3 April to 7 July 2020 for essential health care roles and supermarket roles. Click below for more details.
Interim Visa
You might find yourself in a situation where your New Zealand visa is about to expire. If that is the case, if you apply for another visa then you will get an interim visa except a resident visa.
What is an Interim Visa?
An interim visa legally allows a person to stay in New Zealand while his application for another temporary visa is being assessed. It is recommended that visitors and students that are staying in New Zealand apply for another visa before their interim visa expires. A person interested to visit or study in the country does not have to apply for it, the visa is granted automatically, given that conditions and corresponding criteria are met. With this electronic document in hand, you can continue working or completing your studies.
Interim visas are considered valid starting from the expiration date of your current visa up to the day that a decision has been made to your application for another visa. The processing time usually lasts up to a maximum of 6 months. In terms of costs and fees, it may depend on what the nationality of the applicant and the country he or she came from before arriving to New Zealand.
To understand how interim visas work, here is an example.
Lucy is a foreign exchange student currently taking up a Master’s in Psychology. She came to New Zealand under a student visa. Unfortunately, her visa is about to expire in a month. In order to continue studying, she applied for the renewal of her student visa. Although her initial visa already expired, her interim visa (if granted) will let her legally stay in New Zealand while she is waiting for the renewal of her student visa.
With this visa you can:
What is an Interim Visa?
An interim visa legally allows a person to stay in New Zealand while his application for another temporary visa is being assessed. It is recommended that visitors and students that are staying in New Zealand apply for another visa before their interim visa expires. A person interested to visit or study in the country does not have to apply for it, the visa is granted automatically, given that conditions and corresponding criteria are met. With this electronic document in hand, you can continue working or completing your studies.
Interim visas are considered valid starting from the expiration date of your current visa up to the day that a decision has been made to your application for another visa. The processing time usually lasts up to a maximum of 6 months. In terms of costs and fees, it may depend on what the nationality of the applicant and the country he or she came from before arriving to New Zealand.
To understand how interim visas work, here is an example.
Lucy is a foreign exchange student currently taking up a Master’s in Psychology. She came to New Zealand under a student visa. Unfortunately, her visa is about to expire in a month. In order to continue studying, she applied for the renewal of her student visa. Although her initial visa already expired, her interim visa (if granted) will let her legally stay in New Zealand while she is waiting for the renewal of her student visa.
With this visa you can:
- Stay in New Zealand while INZ assess your application for another visa.
- Depending on your situation, you may be able to continue working or studying too.
Some notes:
- You can’t apply for an Interim Visa, it will be granted automatically if you’re eligible.
- Your Interim Visa will be granted electronically. There won’t be a physical visa label in your passport.
- Your Interim Visa will be valid from the day your current visa expires, up until the day we make a decision about your new visa application, or up to 6 months.
- Immigration NZ only grant Interim Visas to people who have applied for temporary visas.
Instructions about the currency of interim visas have been amended so that once an interim visa is valid, it will expire 21 days after the further temporary visa application is declined or withdrawn, or after 6 months if the application is not decided (or withdrawn) in that time.
Currently, if while you are on an interim visa when your temporary visa application is declined, your interim visa will be automatically be terminated and you become unlawful. However, you have an extra three weeks wherein you are advised to apply for a reconsideration.
There is so much to discover in New Zealand. The activities and the photographs one would usually see in travel brochures are just the "tip of the iceberg”. If you have any concerns regarding your interim visa, you can avail the services of Immigration Trust that we will guide you throughout the whole process.
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