Blog Archives

INZ Visa Processing Update After Lockdown

28/5/2020

With more staff re-entering the office, visa processing capacity continues to grow. INZ now has 97% of onshore Immigration Officers currently able to work. All offshore offices remain closed.

While we now have more onshore capacity, we do expect visa applications may take longer than usual to process. There will also be an increase in the time and effort required in processing some visa application types due to additional requests for information or comment being required.

We often receive applications that have errors or are missing required information such as medical information, police certificates, employment agreements or the correct legal name of the business. It’s important to get all information correct in applications; otherwise this slows down the process.

All applications are still required to meet normal immigration requirements, which for some will include providing a police or medical certificate. If individuals are unable to provide this documentation at the time they make their application they should include details of this and the reasons why the documentation is not available. This explanation will be considered when the application is assessed.

INZ is committed to processing visas as fast as practicable but application processing times always depend on the complexity of an application. It is critical that the right level of scrutiny is applied to ensure the right decisions are made for New Zealand.

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SMC Processing during Pandemic

27/5/2020

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Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) and Residence from Work (RFW) Category applications will be prioritised for allocation if the principal applicant is onshore and:

is paid twice the median wage or higher (currently NZD $51 an hour or NZD $106,800 a year), or
works in an occupation where registration is required by immigration instructions and holds that registration.

Applications that don’t meet either criterion for prioritisation are allocated to an immigration officer in the order they are received.

As of 26 May 2020, INZ is allocating:

non-prioritised SMC and Residence from Work applications received in December 2018, and
prioritised SMC and Residence from Work applications received in November 2019.

Once an application is allocated, an immigration officer will then assess the application to check that the applicant and any family included can be granted a visa.
Applicants will be contacted when an application is allocated to an immigration officer.
The time taken to assess an application can vary considerably and will depend on the quality and of supporting documents and whether further information or verification of information is required.

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Extending the deadline for applying for residence following an ITA

22/5/2020

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Immigration New Zealand understands that as a result of COVID-19, it has been difficult for individuals who have been invited to apply through the Skilled Migrant or Investor 2 categories to submit their applications within the required timeframe.

Normally, applicants have four months from when they are invited to apply to submit their application with all the required documents. However, during the COVID-19 lockdown some applicants found it hard to obtain all the documents necessary for their application or were otherwise unable to submit their application.

As a result, the Government has decided to extend the timeframe that applicants have to submit their application.

Individuals who were issued an Invitation to Apply between 1 November 2019 and 15 April 2020 will now have an additional six months to submit their application.

This provides applicants with 10 months in total from the date they were invited to apply to submit their application. INZ believe this is sufficient time for individuals to obtain the necessary documents for their applications.

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