Send in application without police check?

[neddrick98]

I have everything ready to hand in my Essential Skills Work Visa tomorrow, but my police check is still in process in the UK.
Is it possible to hand in my application now, and then hand in the police cert tomorrow?
Or, hand in my application with a police cert scan, and then hand in the original?
Does the country of origin (UK) of the cert have any sway on whether I can do this?

Thanks! Very excited to be sending in my own papers!!! And with a whole 19 days before my current WHV runs out...(!)

[Karen Phillips]

HI. If you send it in without a police check (assuming this is required) it will be refused. You will just have to hang on. If you are already on a work visa, you only need to be sure it is lodged (accepted for processing) before your current visa expires. The UK police check takes either 2 - 3 days if you pay for Fast-Track or 8 - 10 days otherwise. You can pay to get it couriered to NZ - maybe 3 days, instead of 5 - 6 by airmail. If you have gone for a slow method and now feel you need to speed things up you could just phone them (the number is on the form) and pay the extra. Good luck!

[neddrick98]

Hey Karen - will they just outright refuse to start processing? I've now got scans of the police check, so it's just the original i'm waiting on.

[Karen Phillips]

You could try asking INZ if they would accept a scan for now, but they may well not only refuse to start processing it, but return it as "Refused Failed Lodgement". Is it in the post on its way to you? If so, it should be with you in 5 - 6 days. As you have 19 (well may be 18) days left, you should be fine. As I said, so long as you get your application accepted for processing before your current visa expires, you should get an Interim Visa. The only thing is, as you are changing visa types, that interim visa would keep you legal but may not allow you to work.

[neddrick98]

They're in the post from my parents in the UK - I wanted it to go back to them first so I could at least get a scan, and it had to go from them to the PCC anyway since I needed somebody to sign my photo (have only been here 1 year, so nobody here could fulfill the person requirement for it).

What would 'Refused Failed Lodgement' mean? I'm going in today to check on my partner's visa status, so i'm going to ask them about it then. I was going to just put it straight into the 'post box' in their Welly office but from what you say that might be a bad idea.

I've heard that INZ used to give people a visa verdict there and then? Do they ever still do this, or is it urban myth? My logic is that you can't read a ton of paperwork in just a few minutes, but maybe they used to have a quick glance and tell you it all looks in order?

I've heard about the interim visa, but yes, that would mean not being able to work during those days. Which isn't really an issue; the issue is more that i've heard that if your visa app is then denied, the interim visa becomes void the same day, which means you're illegal the same day they refuse you, and that doesn't give us enough time to buy tickets and sell our car/other stuff, so I really want to get this processed ASAP so we can have some certainty about our future!!! If we get kicked out, we don't even know where we could move to due to visa restrictions in our respective countries, so NZ is really what we want/need at the moment (although i'm aware that everybody is going to be saying the same thing as me...!).

[Karen Phillips]

Hi. Don't panic. I think you will be fine. RFL just means they don't accept it. No long term repercussions. I have never heard of an instant decision
It can take up to 25 days. Talk to them. You could use the helpline if you don't have time to call in person.

[neddrick98]

Ah good! I was worried it would have long-term consequences!
I'm only about 3 mins away from their office so I can easily visit them in person during my lunch break today.
I suspected as much about the instant decision - seems logistically impossible! The person who told me this processed their visa at least 10 years ago, so maybe things have changed, or it was in his home country or something.
Thanks, Karen! I'll do as you suggest and ask them if they'll accept a scan for now.

Fingers crossed!!

[ChrisMwn]

Unless there is some real reason (such as a current visa expiring in the next few days < you say not for 19 days), I would not bother lodging the application. I'd be pretty certain it would be RFL'd as the support officers looking at the application simply work from a checklist, and if required documents are not there, they will just return it to you. Your parents post from the UK should only take 7-10 days.

[neddrick98]

Thanks for your comments on this! In the end, I decided to ask INZ in person, and they said that a scan of my police certificate would be enough for now. I'm hoping that the guy who told me wasn't wrong, and wasn't just trying to get on his lunch break by fobbing me off, but if he was wrong, at least I have a name I can point to if INZ turn back my application. I gave it in yesterday afternoon so it's still not logged on the system, but I have my fingers mega-crossed!!

Thanks for all your help!

[Karen Phillips]

Sounds ideal to me! I am sure it wil be fine. Make sure you let us all know how you get on.