Application Incomplete…

These four words “your application is incomplete” are probably going to be fairly commonly heard amongst the many applicants who rushed to file their New Zealand visa applications, before the 01 October fee increases, which came in to effect on Tuesday of this week. Judging by the wobbly status of INZ’s online systems on the previous Thursday, Friday and then the final Monday before the increase, there were a lot of people clicking buttons, to avoid those extra costs and overwhelming the system.

Inevitably that will also mean there are a lot of applications that have been submitted with items missing, documents incomplete or potentially for some who don’t actually qualify. For those who have submitted their applications, taking a few shortcuts along the way, the next few months could become very stressful, and potentially very expensive, if INZ decides not to move the application forward. You might have saved some money now, only to find you end up paying twice for your application to be successful.

While online applications make life a lot easier for applicants and also advisers, there are some technical complications, the biggest one being that you can potentially submit anything you like, and once you click that button and pay the fee, you are committed to the process. Before online processing, when applications were filed in hard-copy, an INZ support officer would check the file first, before taking your money and receipting the application formally (so there was a bit of a buffer). There was always a nervous wait, for the courier to drop the application off and for INZ to do that check, but once you got the confirmation letter, you knew you had passed the first hurdle.

So for those of you out there, wondering if your application will pass or fail, or whether INZ will give you some time to make up for what might be missing, this article might just give you a bit more clarity on what to expect and potentially what to do, if you hit a road-block with INZ.

Mandatory Lodgment Requirements

All visa applications, whether for a temporary or resident visa, come with mandatory lodgment requirements, which are essentially the key documents that must be submitted with an application, in order for INZ to accept it for processing. These usually consist of basic identity documents, health, character and English checks where required and then evidence to support your eligibility under the category you are applying under. These documents need to be provided with the application in order for INZ to accept it for processing.

RFI or PPI?

INZ has two “official” letters they can send in terms of missing information or issues with your application, both have quite different outcomes.

If your application is incomplete, then one of two things might happen. The first and most likely is that you will be sent an email from INZ requesting more information, commonly known as an “RFI” or “Request for Further Information”. This is simply INZ asking you to provide the information that is missing and there is usually a deadline attached. The deadline will vary depending on what is missing, but two weeks is fairly common in these situations. If you dont provide the information within that timeframe, INZ can then potentially refuse to accept the application, and can potentially give you the option to withdraw the application and file again later. In these situations and because INZ hasn’t really done anything substantial, you are likely to secure a refund. Of course if you can provide the further information then things will hopefully progress from there.

An RFI can also be sent, even if the application has been accepted. In some cases, if you lodge an application with missing information, INZ might waive those details for lodgment purposes and so your application moves to the next stage and then eventually to an officer for processing. If you haven’t provided that information before your case reaches an officer, then the officer might send you an RFI for that information. If you fail to meet that deadline, then the RFI, can become something more significant, referred to as a “PPI” or “Potentially Prejudicial Information” letter.

A PPI is sent when an officer determines there is something wrong with your application (which can include missing documents) and is essentially saying if you don’t remedy the issue, your application can be declined. Technically INZ needs to send you the PPI and give you a reasonable chance to respond, before they make a decision. The question however is what is considered “reasonable” and how much time can you expect to be able to negotiate, in terms of providing the information they need.

How Much Time Do I Have?

This is the really interesting part, because whilst INZ can and do dish out timeframes to applicants, there is actually nothing in the rule book that specifies what those timeframes should be. In fact the rule book only provides a more general instruction to officers, to provide a “reasonable” timeframe to respond to harmful information - harmful information can include missing documents.

Managing Deadlines

There is no official timeframe for responses set in to the instructions, instead INZ uses its own deadlines based on their standard processes.

This becomes complicated by the fact that INZ might ask for the information before the case is allocated to an officer and in that scenario, they potentially can enforce a very tight deadline and strictly. This is because the rules do confirm that there are specific documents you need to provide when you file the application - if you haven’t done that, then there are grounds for INZ to refuse the application, and you effectively have to start again. Negotiating these deadlines can be quite difficult to do, but again it all comes down to what is considered “reasonable” and of course not all officers agree on what that word might mean.

If your application is accepted and allocated to an officer, meaning INZ have taken your fees, and have undertaken substantive work on the file, then things get a bit more interesting, because the officer needs to now meet that test of reasonable in terms of setting a deadline for you to respond. Because the official rules make no mention of what that timeline looks like, it falls back to INZ’s standard operating procedures. In most cases if you get an RFI or PPI, you are given two weeks to reply. If the issue is a very minor one, then it might be a shorter period, such as a few days.

The problem is, that you have left out some relatively key documents, such as a Police Clearance or an English test, then getting those sorted in two weeks (or less) might be a real headache. Also INZ do have a tendency to not really think some of these deadlines through. We have a client at the moment, who needs to provide further medical information, which will take at least three to four weeks to be reviewed, when it is submitted - so nothing can really happen for another month. Yet we have been given deadlines for other documents and information of only two weeks.

The tricky part is being able to reason with the officer to explain why you might need more time and that comes back to being able to argue the point over what is “reasonable”. It also helps if you can show that you are actively working on gathering the information that is missing.

The key point here is that while the rules do not prescribe how long you can be given, this works for and against you. It means that you can potentially request more time, but INZ doesn’t always have to give it to you. Being able to argue that test of what is and isn’t “reasonable” is something best handled by someone more comfortable in dealing with INZ.

When To Get Help?

There is a certain irony in this deadline issue and that is how INZ handles applications when their own officers go on leave or the application is reassigned to a new officer (which happens fairly regularly). In those scenarios, officers will often return to work or pick up the file and tell you they need “some time” to assess or reassess the file and will be in touch. There is no mention of a deadline or when they might actually be in touch - you just have to wait it out. So whilst it is okay for INZ to take as long as it likes or for officers to go on leave, whilst your application gathers dust, the minute they want you to do something, their clocks start working again.

Pointing this out to INZ, when you have been given a ridiculous timeframe to work with, or if you have been given a timeframe that just isn’t reasonable based on what you need to provide, is something best handled by someone familiar with the language that INZ speaks. Being able to negotiate a longer timeframe, or to explain why the documents were missing in the first place is part art and part science.

If you find yourself in this situation, don’t expect INZ to always play nicely. Some officers can be very accommodating and will work with you to give you that extra time. Others are not so flexible and see their roles as one of enforcement, rather than facilitation. If you receive an RFI or worse a PPI, then it pays to think carefully about whether it is time to call in the heavy artillery or run the gauntlet on your own. Given the costs involved and the potential for having to pay not one, but two application fees, it might just be more sensible to hand the problem over. Our team have been able to successfully negotiate these situations for many applicant and bring some reason to the word “reasonable”.

Until next week!

P.S. Don’t forget to register for our upcoming employment and immigration seminar - click here to register now.