I have explained my case to another advisor as well who happens to work in the same place of mine. He then enquired with possible options with Senior Customer Service Officer
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment. Following is the response from them:
A resident visa granted to a person offshore merely gives the holder the rights in section 74(1)(a) of the Act below - i.e. to travel to N.Z. and to apply for entry permission on arrival. The full rights in section 74(1)(b) are only obtained if the resident visa holder is
granted entry permission (activates the visa) so the application isn’t finally ‘successful’ until then.
Please see below:
74 Currency and nature of resident visa
- The holder of a resident visa—
- is entitled to—
- travel to New Zealand; and
- apply for entry permission (whether before or after travelling to New Zealand); and
- if granted entry permission, is entitled, in accordance with the conditions of the visa (if any),—
- to stay in New Zealand indefinitely:
- to work in New Zealand or in the exclusive economic zone of New Zealand:
- to study in New Zealand.
- Subsection (1)(a) applies only if the visa holder’s travel to New Zealand is consistent with the conditions of the visa relating to travel.
You can find the legislation on the link below:
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/p...LM1440689.html