Ho, Ho…How Long?!

Tis the season (almost) where INZ starts to gear up for the holiday shut-down and at the same time, more and more people are rushing to get their visas filed. Whether it be heading to NZ for a holiday to catch up with friends and family or waiting for that crucial Work Visa to be approved, the end of the year is a tricky time for Visas, because volumes go up and resources (within INZ) tend to go down, or rather to the beach.

Don’t Delay

This is the busiest time of the year for temporary Visa processing.

The end of the year, brings about the crazy in many of us and for the would-be migrant, it can get down-right ludicrous, trying to beat the holiday rush to achieve that crucial Visa approval. So, a simple message to anyone looking to get their Visa sorted before the end of the year - don’t wait and be sure to plan ahead.

For Immigration New Zealand there is a lot going on at this time of the year, largely because of the surge in temporary Visa applications, namely visitors and students. People obviously want to travel here to be with friends and family over the festive season or to start their course in the new year, so application numbers in both categories start to increase gradually from mid October.

However in addition to that, it is also the time of year that Resident Visa holders in NZ want to think about travelling out of the country and perhaps heading back to see family offshore. Often in these cases they have forgotten to renew their travel conditions or secure Permanent Residence (PR) and so there is a mad rush to get that organised before they depart (harder to organise when you have already left). We tend to see a fair number of inquiries from people who have been granted Residence, but their two-year travel conditions are up and so if they depart, their Residence departs with them, unless they sort out Permanent Residence (PR) or a variation of travel conditions. Easy to do, but even easier to forget about.

Travel Conditions

For Resident Visa holders, it is easy to forget that these can expire.

Then comes the slow and steady build up of Student Visa applications with courses due to start in the new year. This includes, people who are already here and need to extend their existing Student Visa to continue their course, or those who are coming here for the first time to start their studies in February or March. Student Visa numbers generally spike between now and March, depending on how late people have left things before they apply.

Then of course there is the ongoing work that INZ needs to consider including a significant volume of Work Visas as demand for offshore talent continues, other Work Visa categories (there are plenty of them), partnership and family applications and then each separate category of Residence. In short, the applications pile up, a lot like traffic on the Northern Motorway before a long-weekend.

Immigration New Zealand, doesn’t increase its head count over this period, or at least not by much and instead often shuffles deck chairs (case officers) around, to try and let everyone get a seat. Case officers who have spent their entire visa history processing Student Visas, might be pulled in to process Visitor Visas or vice-versa. Of course, unlike an adviser, tasked with knowing almost every category, most case officers are tasked with processing just one. It can be deer in the headlights for some of them. Naturally that leads to slower processing overall (and a fair few mistakes being made).

Backlogs

Apply ahead of time to avoid the holiday rush and inevitable queues.

This happens every year of course and it is largely predictable, yet every year INZ goes through the same rather bizarre performance of trying to manage it all, largely unsuccessfully. This year will be slightly different, given INZ has now been tasked with doing additional verification on Work Visas and Accreditation, so those applications will slow down further. Currently INZ is quoting 50 days plus to process a job check (the stage before the Work Visa) and so when you add the second stage in, which is where the actual Work Visa is considered, the timeframes can be quite daunting.

As we talked about last week, timing is crucial and planning ahead with the right documentation is also really important - more so at this time of the year than any other.

Some top tip for those who are here or planning to come here soon:

• Make sure your application is absolutely rock-solid and decision ready because the last thing you want is for INZ to ask for more information, before they promptly go on holiday for two weeks.

• Plan ahead - usually a month or so is enough time, but with holidays coming and increased application numbers, give yourself more time to apply.

• Don’t book flights until you have the Visa in hand, or at least if you do book them, ensure you can change them if you need to.

• If you are here as a Resident Visa holder, make sure you keep an eye on your travel condition expiry dates and when you are eligible for PR (and apply for PR as soon as you are eligible).

• If your application is slightly more complicated or requires something out of the ordinary, seek some professional assistance, even straight-forward applications can get lost in the shuffle.

Whatever your holiday plans are, if they include the need for a Visa or for your existing Visa to allow you back in to the country, make sure you get on to it sooner, rather than later. If you need urgent assistance then get in touch as we can often help people to navigate the festive chaos, making for a much less stressful holiday.

Speaking of holidays and although it is well in advance, we will be closing from midday on 21 December, up and running again on 10 January 2024.

Until next week.