Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

I aam sorry I posted on the wrong site, but can anyone tell me if the times for a parent visa are as long as 2-3 years now. Our daughter who is sponsoring us phoned the offices and was told this:confused:

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

Hi there and welcome to our wee NZ forum YvonneWTE.

This place is all about info exchange, caring and sharing so don't ever be sorry for asking away.

I know that the timelines for parent sponsor visa can be long & 2 years is often given as a guideline . Not sure why they would have been extended to 3 years though.

The website is still stating 18/24 months - click Link. Maybe this has been effected by the Xch quakes and under-staffing

Have you thought about multiple entry in the interim. Scroll down the link provided to see about this visa click Link

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

Thank you Bevs, this makes it a little better, we are contemplating going over later this year and staying a few months, do you know if whilst we are there and we get a visa could we activate it from NZ or do we need to do it from England

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

You can activate it from within NZ, they won't make you leave to just come back again...

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

That is great news, thanks Simonm I only hope that the visa comes whilst we are over in NZ so we dont have to too and fro .

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

hi,
We are currently here on a parent grandparent multi entry visa .our son is sponsoring us and we have put in for residency also .You have to have medicals done in britain and chest x rays.
the multi entry visa means that you can come out to n/z now instead of waiting for your residency to go through.We have got to go out of n,z every 6 months in order to get our visa stamped again and can stay for another 6 months ,when again we shall have to go out of the country for one day,then have our visa stamped again for another 6 months
After 3 times immigration say our residency should be through and the visas then will cease.At least we are here with our family thats all that matters.

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

Good stuff... at least your here.... my Mum comes out in a couple of weeks like yourself on a multiple entry visa, having just sold her house. She submitted her residency application in Oct 2010, so is quite a step through the whole process and hopefully will have received her residency in the first 6 months she's here, so she won't have to pop across the ditch for a weekend...

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

I think you'll find the waiting time is nearer 18 months than 3 years.
Just got mine.

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

did you come out on the parent g/parent multi visa system like we have done?

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

Yes I did but I ping ponged backwards and forwards on it rather than do the straight 18 months.

(Haven't done a winter anywhere for 5 years now. Which is nice ;o)

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

Sounds good but i think we will do 3 in 18 months and trust our residency comes through before the 4th is up .we are planning to visit sydney for the first one then fiji for the second and have a good look round for the 3rd

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

FYI, my Mum lodged her application in Oct 2010, and just got allocated a case officer last Month... So 14 mths... just waiting to see what they say...:fingerscrossed:

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

Wow, good news, we are 7 months into our waiting time, would be great if it was only another 7 months away to getting our case officer, however we are resigned to the 18-24 months wait so as not to be disappointed!! Hope all works well for Mum!

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

Hi everyone,

Do any of you know that if a parent was to go to NZ for 9 months on a visitors visa and then return to the UK and apply for a multi entry visa, would they still have to be out of NZ for the 9 months??!! I'm trying to find the best way possible for us to not be apart for too long as our family basically consists of me, my 7 yr old daughter, and my mum.

Thanks in advance everyone!
Deb x :D

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

Hi Deb, I thought if you are a Brit you can only get a 6 months visitor visa, I am going to NZ next week for 3.5 months as daughter is having our first grandchild :) I am going to ask customs if I can come and go as I please as a visitor as long as I stay no longer than 6 months (the visitor visa max time) until we get our residents visa under the parent category as no-one on the forum has answered an earlier question, similar to yours i.e. do you have to be away for a length of time if returning on a visitor visa. I cannot find anything on websites so thought best to ask at customs! will post the answer if I get one in a couple of weeks!

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

Hi wendy_woo, thanks for getting back to me!

You can apply for a 9 month visa and in some cases a 12 month visa as a Brit, as long as you have sufficient funds etc and can show that you are not there to work. I believe to apply for 12 months you have to have a medical etc and then of course you have to leave for 12 months which is not ideal!! :( The 'normal' visit visa is for 6 months as you say. You DO have to leave NZ for the same time as you visited though :thumbdown: eg if you stay in NZ for 6 months, you will then have to leave for 6 months. The longest you can stay is 9months in any 18 month period unless you apply for the parent multiple entry visa, which is 18 months max in 3 years. On this visa, you can only stay a max of 6 months in one go, but can then leave for a day/week etc (nip over to Aus, Cook Islands etc) and then return to do another 6 months. Great for emergencies etc where you may want to get back quickly. Lots of parents seem to use this visa whilst waiting for residency as it means they can pretty much be in NZ the whole time the application takes :) but it depends on how long your particular visa takes.

I have just read on the NZ immigration website that if applying for a multiple entry visa after visiting NZ for 9 months, they do not count the time you were already there! You do have to be out of NZ though to apply for the multiple entry visa and have to have a medical.

Hope some of that helps!!

Bet you're sooo excited about your first grandchild. When is he or she due?
xx:)

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

Thanks Bev, baby is due 5th May, very excited! So what you are saying is if I go this time for 3 months, I have to stay away for 3 months?

If so that should work for me as I will leave 17th July and if I go back it will not be around Christmas as our daughter will be going back to work after then and may need me out there for some baby minding, and at that time we would be 15 months into our wait for a case officer, I really don't like to be away from "home" for too long at a stretch, we just need to move our "home"!!

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

Hi again, sorry, I know it is confusing!! ;) Basically, the most you can visit for is 9 months in any 18...so, if you only go for 3 months you are fine to return again straight away if you wanted to :nod: My mum once went out about 4 times in 2 years and stayed more than 9 months in 18 (she didn't have a clue!!!) but nothing was said at immigration...although it is defo not something I'd recommend :thumbdown: lol...if you're only going for 3 month each visit, then you'll be fine. And like you said, before you know it you'll have your residency :fingerscrossed:

All the best for the new arrival :fingerscrossed::thumbsup:

Deb x

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

You always seem to get a six month visa on entry (no matter how long you officially have left of the 9 months in 18) and an email when that's about to expire.

I know from experience that if you contact immigration close to the 9 month deadline you can be asked to leave, and I was - however, I rang back next day and a different officer said 'don't worry, he was having a bad hair day, leave after your current 6 months are up'.

I guess that if your families here, you're spending money here and not taking a Kiwi's job then some officers may take the view that your presence benefits the economy.

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

Ha ha, that is interesting :D depends how they feel then?! So how long did that mean you were in NZ for in one stretch? There's no way my mum would 'chance' it though...she's a bit of a stickler for sticking to the rules...besides, she wouldn't want to risk not be allowed back in lol...I agree with what you are saying about the family spending money whilst they're in NZ. My mum for example gets both a state and a private pension, owns her own house so no mortage, and is fit and healthy (at 65). She's not well off by any means but she would only be putting money into the economy and not taking away. Isn't the 9 months thing to do with being classed as a resident or something...to do with tax??!! Or so I've heard anyway! :confused:

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

I initially spent six months here, returned to the UK for six months and then returned to NZ for six months (during which time I breached the nine months in eighteen but was able to stay). I returned to the UK and applied for what was then the new eighteen month visa and have used that up in three visits over two and a half years. Fortunately just six weeks prior to it expiring, and whilst I was still in NZ, my residency was approved.

I now have to return to Yorkshire later this year, probably early May, to sort out my bits and pieces in the UK.

Re: Bit of a downer parent visa time line
 

Took my mum around 18 months. Now just trying to figure out her pensions etc-which seems more complicated than the vias process!