Visa Question for Infant changing to Student status
Jun 26th 2014, 12:24 am
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Joined: Oct 2013
Location: Devonport, Auckland
Posts: 40
Visa Question for Infant changing to Student status
Hi,
Looking for a bit of advice.
My husband has a 5 year work visa, specific to the job he was recruited for. I have a 5 year general work visa. Our son was 3 at the time of application, so he has a visitor visa - however, due to the fact that his passport expires in May 16 he was only granted a 2 year visa (as, obviously, the visa couldn't be valid for longer than his passport life).
We didn't think this was a problem, as such - because we know we need to apply for a new visa for him in time for him to start school when he is 5 (May 2015).
So, his visa/passport situation is:
5th Birthday May 2015 (Student Visa Required)
Visitor Visa expires Feb 2016
Passport expires May 2016
Our Visas expire - husband Jan 2019; me Feb 2019
So, the fly in the ointment now appears to be the huge backlog of passport renewals if I leave it until we are in NZ.
(I should quickly explain that my husband has been in NZ since early January to take up his new job - myself and our son have been over twice (Feb and April) but returned to UK for me to finish my UK work contract and to keep our dogs at home until they can fly in early August. Me and our son have our final one way tickets booked for the end of July.)
I'm thinking maybe it would be worth renewing his passport early before we leave UK (could travel to Cardiff and do it on the fast-track system for peace of mind regarding having it in time to travel in July) (it will then have an expiry date of April 2020 (assuming we get 9 months of unexpired time added onto the new passport).
My questions are therefore:
1. If I renew his passport now would I need to get his Visa transferred onto his new passport or is it OK to travel with his new and old passport together so that I can show the Visa stuck in the old one?
2. How far in advance of his 5th birthday (and school start date) would we need to apply for a Student Visa - ie, any idea of turnaround time and whether it's essential to have it in place in order to apply for a school place?
3. Am I worrying about nothing and would be better off forgetting the whole thing for now and applying for a new passport from NZ in advance of needing to apply for his Student Visa?
Many thanks for any suggestions.
Looking for a bit of advice.
My husband has a 5 year work visa, specific to the job he was recruited for. I have a 5 year general work visa. Our son was 3 at the time of application, so he has a visitor visa - however, due to the fact that his passport expires in May 16 he was only granted a 2 year visa (as, obviously, the visa couldn't be valid for longer than his passport life).
We didn't think this was a problem, as such - because we know we need to apply for a new visa for him in time for him to start school when he is 5 (May 2015).
So, his visa/passport situation is:
5th Birthday May 2015 (Student Visa Required)
Visitor Visa expires Feb 2016
Passport expires May 2016
Our Visas expire - husband Jan 2019; me Feb 2019
So, the fly in the ointment now appears to be the huge backlog of passport renewals if I leave it until we are in NZ.
(I should quickly explain that my husband has been in NZ since early January to take up his new job - myself and our son have been over twice (Feb and April) but returned to UK for me to finish my UK work contract and to keep our dogs at home until they can fly in early August. Me and our son have our final one way tickets booked for the end of July.)
I'm thinking maybe it would be worth renewing his passport early before we leave UK (could travel to Cardiff and do it on the fast-track system for peace of mind regarding having it in time to travel in July) (it will then have an expiry date of April 2020 (assuming we get 9 months of unexpired time added onto the new passport).
My questions are therefore:
1. If I renew his passport now would I need to get his Visa transferred onto his new passport or is it OK to travel with his new and old passport together so that I can show the Visa stuck in the old one?
2. How far in advance of his 5th birthday (and school start date) would we need to apply for a Student Visa - ie, any idea of turnaround time and whether it's essential to have it in place in order to apply for a school place?
3. Am I worrying about nothing and would be better off forgetting the whole thing for now and applying for a new passport from NZ in advance of needing to apply for his Student Visa?
Many thanks for any suggestions.
