Interim Visas
The topic for this week is a bit more technical than usual, but a timely one, given the number of clients we speak to, who have either misunderstood the interim visa process (and then ended up in hot water) or who simply don’t know that it even exists at all. To be fair, whilst the interim system is designed to be automated, it is also pretty complex, in terms of the conditions that are provided along with the interim when it is handed over. Some interim visas allow you to carry on working, some don’t and when and how they expire is a puzzle in itself. So we wanted to try and add a bit of clarity to the process for those of you who might need to move on to one of these visas during your visa process.
Interim Visas - Bridging the Gap
Interim visas aren’t exactly a new process, they have in fact been around for well over a decade, but for anyone who ends up on one (and doesn’t understand how they work), they can be a bit like realising that you have only read volume one of the immigration rules, before you discover volumes two, three and four. The interim visa process was issued to essentially bridge the gap between your current visa expiring and your new visa application being approved (hopefully). In the past, when people were here on a temporary visa and that was due to expire, as long as their new application was submitted before the current visa expiry date, INZ never took any action, even though technically that person became unlawful. It was more a case of turning a blind-eye, than having any sort of system in place. Whilst that period of unlawful stay wasn’t an issue for the rest of the visa process, it did create some challenges for applicants who were working or studying here (and not being able to carry on working or studying), for those seeking to apply for citizenship or when applying for visas in other countries.
Enter, the interim visa process, to help solve that unlawful status problem and give people some additional security, and crucially the potential ability to carry on doing what they were doing, whilst their new visa was being processed. It also helped take the pressure off INZ, because applicants were now lawful and not forced to “stand-down” from their jobs or studies. Initially rolled out for temporary visas, a new interim visa was added to the Skilled Residence Category as well, giving a wider range of applicants the ability to remain here lawfully pending a decision on their applications.
However the interim visa process itself comes with an entirely separate set of rules, that specifies not only how long they last for, but what you can actually do with that visa. The problem is that a lot of people either don’t read the conditions or their interim or simply assume that they can carry on as they were and that is not always the case. Interim visas are also not guaranteed and there are situations where interim visas are not granted or are not granted straight away.
When are interim visas issued?
For most applicants an interim visa is issued by INZ automatically or rather it is issued without the applicant having to actually apply for it. If you hold a temporary visa and are in New Zealand and you submit an application for a new temporary visa, before your current visa expires, then INZ will send you an interim visa, usually a day or two before your current expiry date. The same process applies if you hold a temporary visa and have applied under the Skilled Migrant Category (points based system) and are also in New Zealand. The same applies to the older Resident Visa 2021 applicants, although most of those have now been processed. However for other resident visa options, there is no interim visa available and so you have to apply for a further temporary visa as per usual.
This doesn’t however mean that the system is entirely automated and there are human beings overseeing this process as well, which means that for some applicants, the interim either might take longer to secure or not be granted at all. Most interim visas are discretionary meaning that no applicant has a right to be given one, but provided there are no significant issues, they almost always are.
The interim visa process
Whilst most interim visas are issued automatically, just before the expiry of your current visa, there are situations where an interim might be delayed or not issued at all.
However if you are an applicant who perhaps has something unusual on their file, particularly in relation to character (INZ refers to these alerts or warnings), then your interim will have to be manually considered by an officer and may not arrive as soon as you would hope. Other scenarios that can lead to interim visa problems include being liable for deportation, undergoing compliance reviews, holding an MFAT supported student visa or if you have an appeal in process. In rare cases INZ will decline to issue an interim visa at all and that then means you become unlawful, leading to other options, usually under Section 61 of the Immigration Act.
So, if your interim hasn’t arrived, despite you having done all the right things, there might be either a technical glitch, the email has ended up in your spam folder, or something more serious might be at play. If you are unsure, contact INZ or better yet, get in touch with someone specialised in this process. Once you have identified what the issue is, then dealing with it becomes a lot easier.
Even if there are issues with your file or INZ has an ‘alert’ or ‘warning’ in place, that doesn’t mean you wont get the interim, however you may have to tackle the reason as to why INZ has not decided to issue it right away. In these cases a DIY approach is the least likely to succeed.
When do interim’s expire?
The answer to this question depends on a few things, but mostly which interim visa you have secured (one based on a temporary visa or one based on your skilled migrant resident visa application). We will tackle the temporary visa timeframes first as these are the most common and then move on to the resident visa details.
Save the date
Interim visas come with a fairly complex set of expiry date timeframes, most of which depend on what happens with the new visa application you have filed.
Start date - Even though your temporary visa might arrive a few days before your current visa expires, it doesn’t actually take effect (or start) until the day after your existing expiry date. So for example, if your work visa expires on 10 August 2024 and your interim visa is issued on 05 August 2024 - it will only start and become active on 11 August 2024 (the day after your original expiry date). This is important because the conditions contained in the interim (if they are different to the conditions on your original visa) only start on the day the interim visa takes effect.
How long they last - This gets a bit more complicated, because the expiry date will depend on what happens with your pending application for a new temporary visa. However the following sets out the timeframes based on that new application.
If your application for a further temporary visa is approved within six calendar months of the interim visa start date - then your interim will be cancelled when your new visa starts.
If your application for a further temporary visa is declined within six calendar months of the interim visa start date - then your interim visa will expire 21 calendar days after the date of decline.
If your application for a further temporary visa is withdrawn within six calendar months of the interim visa start date - then your interim visa will expire 21 calendar days after the date of withdrawal.
If your application for a further temporary visa is still under consideration (being processed) - then your interim visa will expire after six calendar months from the date it started (and you could end up becoming unlawful).
To boil this down, your interim lasts for a maximum of six months - if your new application is declined or withdrawn, it then only lasts for 21 days from the date of decline or withdrawal, if your application is approved, then the interim becomes redundant and if you reach the end of that six months with no decision, you become unlawful (but INZ wont throw you out).
For the interim visa granted to those applying for residence, it follows very much the same schedule as above, except the interims are valid for a maximum of 24 months not six and instead of 21 days to stay (after a decline or withdrawal) you are given two months.
Example: Bob’s original work visa expires on 20 May 2024 and his interim visa was issued on 18 May 2024. Bob’s interim will start from 21 May 2024 and be valid for six calendar months, until 21 November 2024. Bob’s new work visa application is declined on 30 July 2024 - so now Bob’s interim visa will expire 21 days from 30 July (rather than the original six months).
It is really important to understand these timeframes because they determine your options to have a declined visa reconsidered and then also how long you have in NZ, should things not work out as planned.
Interim visa conditions
If the expiry question wasn’t confusing enough, just wait until you see how the conditions on your interim visa will work. Essentially when you are granted an interim, the main reason for that is to ensure you can remain in New Zealand lawfully, whilst your new visa is being considered. What you can do on that interim is generally dictated by whether your new application and the purpose of it differs from the previous visa you held..
Stay on the right track
When your interim visa is issued, it will come with conditions and these conditions will vary depending on the visa you previously held and what you have applied for.
However INZ does like to make things complicated and so there actually 20 different combinations of how these conditions work within the rule book. Some of them are quite obscure and don’t happen very often, but the more common ones are also split up in to different options.
Without taking up an entire blog post with these different situations, I have distilled it down in to the key things to watch out for, however as always each person’s situation needs to be considered separately so a) check the details of your interim visa, which will specify the conditions you now hold (and any changes) and b) if you are unsure, get in touch with us.
Visitors - If you are a visitor, applying for another visitor visa, then your interim visa will have the same conditions, e.g. that of a visitor. If you are a visitor applying for work, your interim will still have visitor visa conditions. The only odd one out here, is if you are a visitor, applying for a student visa (of any flavour), then your interim will have student visa conditions (to study anywhere, doing anything).
Work Visas - if you hold a work visa, then the conditions on your interim will be dictated by whether your new application is for the same type of work visa and in the same role, with the same employer or for something new. If you are applying for another work visa to stay in the same role, with the same employer and the same location, your interim will allow you to continue to work and the conditions will match. However if you change to another visa, or are applying for a work visa in a different role, with a new employer or location, then your interim will change to visitor visa conditions or open student visa (if you are moving from work to study).
There are also some quirks in there for people who hold open work visas, moving to similar (but not exactly the same) visas, which can often result in a change to visitor visa conditions.
The main thing to bear in mind is that even if you are currently working, any changes in that work, as part of your new application could mean that you end up on an interim visa as a visitor and may have to cease work until the new application is finalised. Plan ahead and find out before you apply, which conditions you will end up with and also double-check your interim visa when it is issued to make sure you abide by those conditions. We have seen a fair few people caught out by this, and being penalised later for working when they perhaps shouldn’t have been.
For interim visas issued to resident visa applicants, the same rules generally apply, but are a bit simpler…if you hold a work visa, you will carry those conditions over. If you hold a student visa, then you get an open student visa and visitors, carry on visiting. Only four variations, rather than twenty.
What to watch out for…
As mentioned above, the world of interim visas is slightly more complicated than the automated process everyone assumes it to be, although thankfully for most applicants, they will never have to worry too much about whether the interim will arrive, however they will need to consider carefully what that interim visa allows them to do.
If you are in New Zealand and in the process of securing a new temporary visa, meaning that an interim is likely to be issued to you at some stage, make sure to think ahead as to what that interim visa will allow you to do and whether you will be able to carry on studying or working. Check the details contained in your interim visa (when it arrives) to make sure you stay on the right track and adhere to the conditions issued (particularly if they have changed).
If you are still unsure, then obviously seeking out some professional advice, might be the next best step.
Until next week!
