Man2Auck

Hello,

I have got an offer from a NZ company (an accredited employer) and will be applying for a work visa next week. I am not sure what kind of visa will be required for my son who is going to be 4 years now.
Is it the visitors visa or student visa ? He will be attending preschool/ kindergarten so seems student visa will be the case.
I had a look on the Visitor's visa application & guide (INZ1017 & 1018) but couldn't find any guidance on when the visitor is a dependant child
Also, looking into Section I of INZ 107 , seems like me (as a father) would be required to fill INZ 1025 (sponsorship form for temporary entry).

Looking for the guidance.

thedtb

You apply for the work visa and include your dependant child in that application.

My wife applied for a work permit/visa in 2009 and incuded myself and our two kids in this way. Whilst her work permit was for a particular employer, off the back of her permit, I was granted an open work permit allowing me to work for any company, our 4yr old was granted a student permit and our 2yr old was granted a visitors permit.

It was all very straightforward.

Regards

Man2Auck

Hi thedtb,
Thanks for your reply.
I called the NZIS yesterday and got to know that based on the age ( near to 4 years), my kid should apply for visitor visa and not the student visa. Once he becomes 5 year old and access primary schooling, he then should apply for student visa. I am seeing that your 4 yr old kid was given a student visa.
Did you choose student visa specifically or were you advised at that time for this?

thedtb

My son was 5 yrs old mid March and if I remember correctly, his student permit/visa was granted in the February.

To be honest I don't remember ever having any discussion about what type of permit/visa to apply for for him, I genuinely don't believe there ever was such a discussion. The forms where all sent to us in the post by NZIS, therefore I would assume that based on his age at the time of application and the possible time it would take for the application to be approved, they probably sent the student permit/visa forms by default.

If your child is not yet 4 years old, then yes, you're probably going to have to apply for a visitor visa first and then change it to a student visa in time... assuming you haven't got for PR by the time he's 5 of course!

But at least it's a very straightforward medical etc for <5yr old. :-)

Regards

Man2Auck

Thanks thedtb. Yes, seems visitor visa is the way forward for the time being.
Hopefully, PR will be there before the need for student visa.

simonsi

Try to get the student visa, then you get the 20hrs/wk free kindy places...

Man2Auck

Simonsi,

I called NZIS again just to check the right visa type. They say they will never issue a student visa for a 4 year old. It has to be strictly a visitor visa.
Its a shame as after 6-7 months I will doing all paper work again to get a student visa.

thedtb

My youngest has been here until recently on a visitors visa but still qualified for the 20 hours ECE allowance.

Man2Auck

Hi thedtb,

That is wonderful to know. I don't mind my kid having a visitor status as long as he gets the 20hrs free ece allowance.
Is there anything that he will miss really on visitor visa? What about medical care there (like NHS here in UK) ?

simonsi

Must be something different then as my 4yr old turned 5 last April. From Aug 2010 to April 2011 she had a student Visa.

Gorstsmit

Hi all, I'll introduce in a minute, but I just wanted to add to this thread quickly.

We've just been granted our work visas too, and my 4 yr old - 5 in December has bee granted a student visa - and this is what was requested by INZ. I also rung INZ Auckland, and they confirmed that this would probably be the way to go so that she has it in place when she starts primary school next Feb. Whether it's because we also have a residence application in as well, I'm not sure.

Cheers,
Chris

Man2Auck

Hello Gorstsmit,

A very welcome to you & thanks for sharing your experience.
I am submitting today visitor visa application for my kid who is going to be 4 years old this September.
INZ insisted that I should apply for visitor visa only for him.

BEVS

I think this is in the timing of the birthdays TBH. NZIS are probably looking at the length of time between arriving and then starting school.

Gorstsmit

That would seem fair enough then - if your child is still only 3, there's a fair period of time to go until they're 5 whereas my daughter will turn 5 in December and start primary school in Feb.
My one year old had to apply for a visitor visa - though it took ages as he could hardly hold the pen.