Visa situation if you leave NZ??
 

Hello All,

Once you have your Sec 18A conditions removed after the 3 months of being in Nz - and then you go back to the UK for a while (maybe a year or two) what happens to your visa? Do you still have permenant residency?

Thank you an advance for all of your helpful replies :)

Re: Visa situation if you leave NZ??
 

Yes! We came over in 2005 (OH in Feb & me in May) & activated our visas then. We left in July 2005 (long story) & OH had fulfilled his Sec 18A & had it removed. We decided to return & had until the end of Feb 2007 to return. We actually returned in Jan 2007.

HTH

Re: Visa situation if you leave NZ??
 

So do you have to return within a certain amout of time?? If so how long do you have to stay the second time??

Re: Visa situation if you leave NZ??
 

You have two years to return in from when you first enter the country under the PR visa. After that it started getting complicated & i'm having difficulty remembering as OH had to leave NZ a couple of times to go on business in Oz. I know we only got our IRRV in July 2008.

He had to get a 14 day RRV in Jun 2007, then we got a 1yr RRV in July 2007. Best to check out NZIS website to clarify the rules.

Are you leaving us:(?

Re: Visa situation if you leave NZ??
 

Thanks vital :)

We're thinking of going home but would like the option to return to NZ at some point in the future - just dont know how long in to the future (or if that point will ever come).

Looks pretty much impossible after looking at NZIS unless we stay here for a minimum of 2 yrs - go home for a while then come back for another long period . . . arghhhh!! Decisions decisions!!!

Re: Visa situation if you leave NZ??
 

oh no thats not good- can we help with anything????
lily
xx

Re: Visa situation if you leave NZ??
 

Are we wrong in thinking that should we get PR, we could activate visa and then leave again?
Do we need to stay for a certain amount of time?

Re: Visa situation if you leave NZ??
 

We have PR and 2 year RRV visas.

My daughter wants to complete her uni course in the UK - and she won't finish her degree until June of 2012. the RRV expires in Feb of 2012.

does anyone know of a way in which she can complete her degree without losing residency?

thanks

Re: Visa situation if you leave NZ??
 

The way I understand it, and it could well have changed, was that your PR is activated once you land in NZ, your RRV is then valid for 2 years. There will be a date printed on it to say when it expires so you must be in NZ before that date. Your activated PR gives you permanent residency. The RRV allows you to leave and return to NZ between the day PR was activated and the expiry date of the RRV.

In order to qualify for an indefinite RRV, after 2 years of PR, there are certain criteria you must meet, one being that you've resided in NZ for at least 185 days each year.

However, if you return to NZ before the RRV expires you still have your PR but you won't qualify for an IRRV yet. If you need to leave NZ for any reason you can always apply for a 2 week or 1 year RRV.

If you activate your PR and then leave again and do not fulfil the 2 year PR criteria and attempt to return after the RRV expiry date you will be declined entry as you do not have a valid visa and will have to start the PR process again.

AFAIK, it is only the principal applicant who has to meet these conditions so I don't think spouse and dependent children who obtained PR on the back of the principal applicant necessarily need to. But like I said, its a long time since I last looked into it and things might have changed so it's always best checking with NZIS about your own personal case.

Re: Visa situation if you leave NZ??
 

Actually this link shows it better than I can attempt to explain it:

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...eroctober1995/

Re: Visa situation if you leave NZ??
 

Hi Guys

Thanks for your help...panic over:D

My problem with the NZImmi website was that it kind of suggested that IRRV was dependent on the main applicant, and yet on the other hand, you could also interpret it as being independent and individual after the first RRV expired.

It says that the RRV expires two years after the issue of the visa- which i took to be last Friday, when the PR visas were issued. If this were the case then her RRV would expire Feb 12 and her course finish May 12- so she would have to choose between finishing her course and keeping her PR--not good! But the blue sticker is not the actual visa - apparently you get the 'real' visa when you land in NZ, so we are okay anyhow!

I contacted the CO, because i had to be certain. For your info--
the CO said :-

"Your daughters RRV will be valid for two years from the date she first enters NZ as a resident, i.e. if she enters in August 2010, her RRV will expire in August 2012.
...
As your daughter is included in your application as a dependent child, she will be entitled to the same currency of RRV as you in the future, so if you qualify for the indefinite RRV, then she too can apply for the indefinite RRV regardless of whether she is in NZ or the UK."

some people are just SO lucky!:thumbsup:
my guardian angels are constantly on overtime!