confused about PRV
 

I am a bit confused about getting PRV and what passport one must have to get PRV as it may cost the visa holder much more if the passport for PRV is different from the one in which the permanent residency (obtained outside NZ) is stamped. For example I have heard make sure the passport has some years to run so that PR and PRV are both in the same passport otherwise it will cost more to transfer the visa into the new passport once the old one has expired. I believe the condition is that a PRV must always be in a valid passport not an expired one. Since I may be facing a situation where 4 family members will be in such a predicament as they have less than 2 years left on their passports and now have the PR in those passports so I can trying to ascertain what this will mean for us once we come to getting PRV after staying in NZ for 2 years. Thanks !!

Re: confused about PRV
 

as far as I'm aware until you are able to get a NZ passport you have to pay every time you renew a different countries one to have the NZ visa's put into them.

Re: confused about PRV
 

Until you have a New Zealand passport, everytime your current passport runs out you will have to renew your visa in your new one - sorry!!

Re: confused about PRV
 

Thanks and I presume each time there is a cost to this?? Is it best to renew a passport before the PRV is due to be granted? Is it ok for a residency visa to be in an old passport? I suppose this wont matter as long as pne doesnt leave NZ.....any thoughts?

Re: confused about PRV
 

Yes there is a cost each time.

Definitely renew if you've got less than 5 years on your UK passport and have the intention of staying in NZ longer term, I.e. long enough to get (and pay for) NZ citizenship.

Any visa in an out of date passport is NOT ok, nor valid.

Re: confused about PRV
 

Thanks Tommy Luck- since we are 5 people the cost could be considerable, any idea how much INZ charge each time to insert the visa in a new passport? Also now that we have the PR if I ask for new UK passports for the kids will that mean the PR will have to be endorsed in the new passports before they can enter NZ?

Re: confused about PRV
 

looking on Immigration site the fee is $105 per transfer. I put citizen of UK as not got NZ citizenship yet

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/templ...=Guest&level=1

Re: confused about PRV
 

I see you have PR, is that for the whole family?
you say in Feb it expires in 6 mths so that would make it August so you and your family would have to be here before then to "activate" the visa or am I missing something?

Re: confused about PRV
 

I am confused too! I think some of it is the use of PR which with the issue of the PRV now means a slightly different thing to being a 'resident'.

Have I got this right? Your resident visas are in your current passports, some of which will expire within 2 years. You have yet to travel to NZ?

If you have spent enough time in NZ then all of you will require a current passport in order to get your PRV stickers. This does not have to be the same passport as the one the original resident visa stickers were in, in fact they cannot insist on this anyway as when a passport expires, it expires. You would need to send in the original expired passport so they can match up the passport numbers though.

There is a fee for applying for PRV in the first place and then there are fees for transferring a visa to a new passport - these are two separate issues.
The reason it's best to renew a passport if you're getting close to the issue of a new visa and your passport hasn't got long left is that it means you don't pay to get the visa in your current passport and then have to pay again to get it in your new passport soon afterwards.
If you renew a British passport before its expiry date then up to 9 months of time can be added onto the new one.
It seems that you already have residents visas so best to get a new passport later on so you do not 'lose' passport time. There seems little point in renewing them now, given that you already have the visas in place.

However it is cheaper to renew a British passport in the UK so you would have to do some maths to ascertain whether it is worth doing, taking all the costs into account. They would need the visa in their new passport before travelling.

Re: confused about PRV
 

Thanks for the clarification but yes you are right the entire family has been granted permanent residency, the visa's stickers were placed in our passports in Dubai INZ in Feb 2013, so there is a deadline to travel to NZ by 05 Feb 2014 or we lose the PR. We have NOT traveled to NZ ever before. My plan was to come in Oct and call the family over in Jan 2014 before the Residency date deadline. Planning to live in chch, hava a friend so can stay myself for 3 mths and find a job before the family move over. Question is that if I vigorously start job hunting the moment I arrive in Oct would I have a job in 1-2 mths? or is that unlikely. No point querying for jobs and applying from outside as quite correctly the employer does not know if you would really come over or not. Once on the ground it is clear the applicant is serious and able to start pronto!

Re: confused about PRV
 

.....one last point, read a blog quite recently that some members have been in chch and in other parts of NZ for almost 18 mths and cant find work ! baffling really, it seems for the motivated, experienced and keen job seeker, there are jobs in NZ, or is that just a myth? Seems NZ is better placed at the moment for jobs than the UK where PhD holders are now on job seekers!

Re: confused about PRV
 

I know the person in question who has been hunting for an IT job for 18 months and is now moving to Auckland and I sincerely hope they find something as they have been through alot - it's tough in NZ just as it is in the UK (and many other countries) and it's a tiny job market of course.

Teachers, some nurses and other professions have been taken off the immigration lists for very good reasons. Each teaching vacancy at primary level certainly is getting over 100 applicants and there aren't enough jobs to go round, just like the UK, but on a smaller scale and there are many doing relief work or on short term contracts. Same with many other jobs. My OH often receives over 100 CVs for each admin job in Wellington.

My best advice is to tune your CV and cover letter for NZ. Ensure there are absolutely no mistakes on it, but still there can be absolutely nothing wrong with your CV but employers can pick and choose exactly who they want in the current market.

Be prepared to volunteer to gain NZ experience, make as many contacts as possible and accept every invitation to 'have a chat and a coffee' as that's how it can often work in NZ.

I sincerely hope you find something quickly, often it's a question of luck, being flexible in terms of position and salary and being in the right place at the right time.

Re: confused about PRV
 

very true Moso, lets see how it goes...cheers

Re: confused about PRV
 

Just one point you might want to consider - the job market in NZ is very quiet in Jan as most people will be on holiday during that period. Things tend to pick up in Feb/March.

Re: confused about PRV
 

Hi,
Just to clear up any confusion - your entire family will have been granted Residency Visa's (RV).....NOT Permanent Residency Visa's (PRV).
Common misconception.
They are two different things but ultimately allow a person similar status.
One only becomes eligible for PRV when you have been in NZ for 2 years on RV.
When you cross the border on RV, one can remain in NZ permanently and one is also allowed to leave/return in the initial 2 year period.
The issue comes if you wish to leave then come back after the 2yrs.
After the initial 2 yrs your eligibility to return to NZ expires and the only way to solve this is to apply for PRV before you leave which removes the travel condition.
PRV can only be obtained when one has remained in NZ on RV for a minimum of 2 years and in that time has demonstrated they have spent the majority of the 2 years here and have contributed to the economy etc.

If you're coming to Christchurch to assist in the rebuild and you have a manual skill then I doubt you will have any problems finding work within the first couple of weeks if you are determined. You need to be realistic though that you may have to start at the bottom or carry out other roles / work types than you are otherwise used to in order to prove yourself before an employer gains the confidence that you are going to stay etc etc.

Good luck.