Permanent Residency & Sponsorship

[Harosho101]

Hi there,

My family first moved to NZ from the U.K in 2002, and all hold Permanent Residency, myself included. I moved back to the UK in 2008 for work purposes and have been here since, my family still in NZ. However, I lost my passport in 2010 and never bothered to replace the residency sticker in my new passport. I now plan to return to NZ.

- Is my PR still valid? If so, is it just a case of sending my passport away to be stamped/processed?
- How long roughly does this take and how would I go about it?

Also, whilst back in the U.K I also married, and my wife is not British but a member of the EU.

- What is the best way to get a visa, if possible, for her?
- Again, how long roughly does this take and how would I go about it?

Many many thanks in advance,

Harry.

[JandM]

When you and your family went to NZ, the visa you first got was called Permanent Residence. To begin with, you would have had a two years' Returning Resident's Visa, which gave you the right to come and go from NZ, but then expired. After a minimum of two years, and having established commitment to NZ, you could have this changed for an Indefinite Returning Resident's Visa, so you could come and go for ever. DID YOU DO THAT? Did you have PR with IRRV?

I'm asking, because the names are changed these days - one first gets Residence with travel conditions, and only after two years and establishing commitment, PR.

As long as you had PR with IRRV, then it doesn't expire, and you still have the right to get it put in your passport. Here's the procedure. http://www.dol.govt.nz/immigration/k...base/item/1137 (If you DIDN'T get IRRV, and left NZ with just the original PR visa, then it would have lapsed, and you'd need to start again from zero.)

Any Resident or PR holder has the right to sponsor their partner for Residence. You will find all the details here. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...ly/default.htm The most important thing to note is that you have to prove live-in partnership - besides what is on the INZ website as suggestions for evidence, it may be helpful to look over old threads where people have discussed what they submitted. http://www.google.co.uk/#output=sear...iw=804&bih=502 (This is all checked out VERY carefully, because partner-sponsored visas are a prime target for fraud, people paying citizens and residents to lie for them for a visa.)

As to timings, nobody can tell you exactly. It takes as long as it takes, all cases are individual and require different amounts of work to check out, and the workload in INZ offices varies. However, if you Google "NZ immigration (whatever) branch processing times", you'll find a page telling you their current guess at timing based on recent averages - but it's never a promise, and ENZ time is elastic, so be prepared.

[mmcf]

Best thing to do is call up immigration and find out. If they tell you that your residency has expired, there is a way in which you can reapply for a further residency - http://www.immigration.govt.nz/NR/rd.../0/INZ1175.pdf

If however if you held Permanent Residence Visa or Returning Residence Visa, all you have to do is ask Immigration NZ to put the label onto your new passport. You may have to provide them with a report from police that your passport was lost. If you did not report it lost or stolen (often you have to do this in order to get a new passport), then just simply do a statutory declaration signed in front of a Notary Public or lawyer stating that it was lost and the details of when, where and how you lost it.

Hope this helps.