Arrival timeline - after approval

Hi All,

We have filed our ITA a month ago and as per the letter, it may take till July/August to get some response. However, as things always happen, something has come up that may require our family to stay at our current place of residence for an extended period of time (next 2-3 years at least). So my query is that assuming we get approval in July 2013, can we 'postpone' our arrival to NZ till 2015/2016?

If so, what is the process for doing it? is there paperwork that we have to file with INZ?

We really want to move to NZ and live the good life... so we're trying to prep ourselves for any tradeoffs that we have to make.

Thanks!
NZ Aspirant

EOI submitted: 11-July-2012 (160 points)
EOI Selected/ITA Received: 14-Aug-12
ITA Filed: 14-Dec-12

You wouldn't have to do anything official, or drastic, to make this work.

Whenever you receive approval in principle, from the date of the offer, you have six months in which to pay the migrant levy and send in your passports for the visas to be stuck in.

From the date on the visas, you have 12 months to arrive in NZ to activate the visas by presenting them at Immigration at the airport upon arrival.

So already, built into the system, there is 18 months' leeway before you MUST make that first arrival in NZ, or see your visas lapse and everything go for nothing. (But don't forget, always, to allow a bit of time for possible travel delays, when booking that activation trip.) Assuming approval in July, 2013, that would take you up to January, 2015.

But you don't have to stay in NZ once your visas are activated - if you wanted, you could leave again on the next flight out. The Residence visa carries with it two years of travel conditions which permit limitless travel in and out of NZ. This would mean there would be no restriction on your coming back to NZ, ready to settle, any time up till January, 2017.

There would be a trade-off on this scenario. While Residence is, in theory, a 'forever' visa if you stay inside NZ, in order to be able to come and go freely after the first two years' travel conditions are used up, each person/family has to qualify for Permanent Residence, which is done by 'establishing commitment to NZ' under the conditions mentioned here. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...quirements.htm This would most likely mean that, after eventually arriving in NZ, you would need to accept not being able to travel outside the country again until you'd spent your qualifying time there (as time in the country is the most usual means of establishing commitment).

Thanks JandM for the detailed response.

So if I understand this correctly. Assuming that I stretch the family's final arrival till Jan 2017, then once we enter in Jan 2017, we will need to stay in NZ till such time that we meet the commitment to NZ requirements and get our "permanent" resident visa. Once we get this permanent resident visa, then we will be able to travel in and out freely again... Is my understanding correct?

Also, say something goes wrong and that causes the arrival to further get delayed, then will it be all of nothing? meaning that if we do not arrive in Jan 2017 - regardless of the reason, then we will loose our residence visa to NZ and at that point will effectively need to restart the process of NZ residency.

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Assuming that I stretch the family's final arrival till Jan 2017, then once we enter in Jan 2017, we will need to stay in NZ till such time that we meet the commitment to NZ requirements and get our "permanent" resident visa. Once we get this permanent resident visa, then we will be able to travel in and out freely again... Is my understanding correct?

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Yes, that's right.

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meaning that if we do not arrive in Jan 2017 - regardless of the reason, then we will loose our residence visa to NZ and at that point will effectively need to restart the process of NZ residency.

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Again, that's right, almost certainly.

Thanks JandM

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Originally Posted by nzaspirant

So if I understand this correctly. Assuming that I stretch the family's final arrival till Jan 2017...

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Don't forget that in JandM's scenario above, all of the family members would have at least had to visit NZ by January 2015 in order to make this work.

INZ don't care what the cause of the delay might be. They are a very process-driven organisation, and they have to be to ensure fairness.

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Originally Posted by nzaspirant

Thanks JandM for the detailed response.

So if I understand this correctly. Assuming that I stretch the family's final arrival till Jan 2017, then once we enter in Jan 2017, we will need to stay in NZ till such time that we meet the commitment to NZ requirements and get our "permanent" resident visa. Once we get this permanent resident visa, then we will be able to travel in and out freely again... Is my understanding correct?

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Actually , you may be still able to move around without need to meet requirements for Permanent Visa , this can be achieved by applying for 12 months variation in travel conditions , which have different set of requirements as listed below :
(There is 14 days variation of travel condition available in case of any emergency and you need to move out of country - This can be checked at INZ Manual :http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/ -----> Select Residence --> After Grant of Visa -->)

RV3.5 12-month variation of travel conditions

Principal applicants may be granted with travel conditions current for 12 months if:

they meet the requirements set out in either RV3.5.1 or RV3.5.5 below; and
their first day in New Zealand as a resident (see R5.66.5(b)) was at least 12 months before the current application for a variation of travel conditions was made; and
they continue to meet any conditions previously imposed under section 49(1) or section 50 of the Immigration Act 2009;

unless RV3.1(d) applies.

RV3.5.1 Time spent in New Zealand

To meet the requirements regarding time spent in New Zealand, the principal applicant must have been in New Zealand as a resident for a total of 184 days or more in at least one of the two 12-month portions in the 24 months immediately preceding the date the application for a variation of travel conditions was made (ie, in at least one of the two 12-month portions, a period or periods that amount to 184 days or more).

RV3.5.5 Tax residence status and limited time spent in New Zealand

To meet the requirements regarding tax residence status and limited time spent in New Zealand, the principal applicant must:

have been in New Zealand as a resident for a total of 41 days or more in at least one of the two 12-month portions of the 24 months immediately preceding the date the application for a variation of travel conditions was made (ie, in at least one of the two 12-month portions, a period or periods that amount to 41 days or more); and
be assessed as having tax residence status for 12 months in the 2 years before their application.

Thanks Manks and shawnankit

Hi All,

So we're now terribly confused about what our options are at this stage... here's what we've done so far:
1. We visited NZ in Jan 2015 for a 3 week period and love the country... However, I work in tech and in somewhat of a specialized field and haven't found a job yet, so we haven't moved...
2. On the other hand, the wife (who had taken a break after having kids) has found a job here, in the US, and has started working here...

Now, we're running the risk of loosing our travel conditions/ability to get IPR in NZ if we don't relocate to NZ by end of this year...

Is there any way for us to get IPR in NZ, without moving to NZ right away? (i.e. continue working here till the wife has gained another year or two of experience, I have found a job that aligns with my work or I figure out how to change my line of work)...

In case it matters, I am the principal applicant.
Thanks a lot for the help!

I've PM'd you. Might need some more information such as when your residence visa was issued, and when you made your first arrival in NZ as a resident, to provide any useful information