Panic Stations!!! Indefinite resident permit

[pitkennedy]

Hi Guys,

Can anyone put my mind at rest. Okay, I have real concerns about my visa. In my passport I have to stickers, (blue). One says returning residents visa, date of issue April 2009. Conditions: Please apply for transfer of this visa when the passport expires 2019. The holder may travel to NZ and on application shall be granted a resident permit. It does not state permanent.
Next Resident permit date of issue again April 2009. Date of expiry. Indefinite . Conditions the holder of this permit may remain in NZ indefinetely. This permit expires when the holder leaves NZ.
Do I have to renew anything before the end of this month. On the Immigration site it states that it is an indefinite visa, and I think it means I need to apply for a permanent. Am I correct in thinking this??
Please help, I thought we had permanent residency, but it does not state permanent in any of our passports.
When I arrived in Christchurch I had a work permit, and my residency was agreed in 2009.
If I do have to re-apply when and how. As one of the five criteria to meet is to have held a visa for 24months. Any advice would be helpful. I have a resident permit and OH has a resident visa, whats the difference??
Thanks Guys.

[Duncan74]

You will be able to apply to convert to the new version of IRRV after July. Someone at work mentioned $70 earlier this week for that new sticker that means that you can come and go for life.

If you're not intending to leave NZ in the near future there's absolutley nothing to worry about. If you weer planning an overseas trip in the near future it would be worth a trip / call to Hamilton to get the details sorted.

Sure Ian will be along soon with the latest wording as its changed since the new act has come into effect.

[pitkennedy]

Duncan, does this mean then that because mine was issued in April 2009 and it's valid for two years then it's up in April 2011. Am I covered from the April till July till the new version of the IRRV is available. Am I legally okay to be here. OMG!! I didn't even know I had to renew anything, I thought we were okay to come and go etc.
thanks

[Clappy]

Duncan, does this mean then that because mine was issued in April 2009 and it's valid for two years then it's up in April 2011. Am I covered from the April till July till the new version of the IRRV is available. Am I legally okay to be here. OMG!! I didn't even know I had to renew anything, I thought we were okay to come and go etc.
thanks

I haven't put too much thought into your situation so I don't want to say either way what the situation is in your case.

I would say that the whole Visa and Permit combination does tend to confuse people,

The Visa means that you can get a Residence Permit every time you enter the country,

The Residence Permit is what allows you to live and work here.

The Permit lasts as long as you remain in the country and then expires when you leave.

If you leave the country and wish to return then you need to have a valid Visa to get a new Permit on your return. If the Visa expires this does not cause any issues until you leave the country.

[victoria24]

mine is the same.. im assuming this is when we apply for the irrv or equiv?

[Duncan74]

All I can talk about is my understanding of my visa / permit (and yes I know that the terminology has been streamlined now). Via SMC.

You get PR, and that gives you the right to live and work in NZ for ever. Simple as that.

The tricky bit is the visa side of the old system that meant that you were only guaranteed the right to be allowed into the country for 2 years from the date you first entered. So long as you met some requirements (typically work here for over 6 months in each of the first 2 years) then you could 'upgrade' that visa to match the permit side, ie to allow you to come and go as you like, for the rest of your life.

So as I understand it Pitkennedy, then with a PR visa then there's never any need to worry about anyhting else so long as you don't leave NZ. If you are intending to leave NZ after July 2011 then there is some issue that needs tidying up to ensure that you can get back in. But it's a fairly straightforward process. Look back for 'IRRV' posts as there's been a few recently about how to do that after the 24 months are up. THe term IRRV has now been dropped, but my reading was that there's nothing in the recent changes that makes any practical difference, simply changes in terminology.

[JandM]

Calm down. Nothing is any different in practical terms from under the old system, except the names. (And confusingly, INZ have used 'Permanent Residence' in the new system to mean something different from what it did in the old system.)

Old scheme. You got PR, and when you activated it, you had RRV for two years, which allowed you to come and go at will from NZ for those two years. Your PR allowed/allows you to stay in NZ indefinitely - it's only if you're travelling out of the country that you had to think about RRV. After two years from PR activation, having shown commitment to NZ in one of the ways listed, usually by being in the country for more than 184 days in each of the two years, you could go to INZ and get IRRV in your passport, which means you have the right to come and go from NZ at will indefinitely.

New scheme. You get Residence, and when you activate it, you have travel conditions for two years, which allow you to come and go at will from NZ for those two years. Your Residence allows you to stay in NZ indefinitely - it's only if you're travelling out of the country that you have to think about travel conditions. After two years from Residence activation, having shown commitment to NZ in one of the ways listed, usually by being in the country for more than 184 days in each of the two years, you can go to INZ and get Permanent Residence in your passport (no conditions any more), which means you have the right to come and go from NZ at will indefinitely.

It's all here. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra.../residence.htm

Visas and Permits. Under the old system, visas gave you the right to travel to NZ, and permits gave you the right to live there - this got confusing, and the new system ONLY uses the word 'visa', for both things.

There is no hurry to apply for anything unless you're planning a trip out of the country shortly. You already have the right to STAY in NZ unrestrictedly. But what you need to do when your 24 months are up is to go to INZ, and they will give you (new) Permanent Residence, which will entitle you to come and go freely from the country forever.

[pitkennedy]

Thanks guys, always can rely on people on here for expertise advice and info. Due to it not stating Permanent resident on anything, I was worrying. Also because OH Dave's is a visa and mine a resident permit, I didn't understand what was going on, so I have this straight. Issue date was April 2009, two years is up April 2011 but as long as we don't want to leave the country we are all legal. So in July we can get the visa's permits changed to permanent residency. I did panic today, cos OH went to change his driving licence. Can you believe it only to be told that because he had a paper UK licence they couldn't do it. What a load of codswallop.
I had mine done with the AA two years ago in Christchurch, some people just don't do a good job. Anyway, he has a number to ring.

[JandM]

What's with July in particular?

[Duncan74]

PK - are you serious about the license? Rules change, and the paper ones are no longer accepted. Seems fair to me that someone actually was doing their job?