Passport validity for visa application

[sakitran]

Anyone can help me to clarify requirement on passport validity when applying for visa?

My spouse is planning to apply 1-year Post Study Work Visa - Open, and one of requirement is "Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months after you plan to leave New Zealand". Does it mean her passport must be valid for at least 15 months? If the passport expires in 14 months, will her Post Study Open Work Visa be granted for 11 months only? We are not sure whether passport can be renewed when it is still valid for 14 months.

Also our kids' passport will expire in about 6.5 months. Can we apply 1-year dependent student visa for them or do we need to change to new passport before lodging dependent visa application?

Thank you!
Sakitran

[JandM]

ChrisMwn, any thoughts, please?

[ChrisMwn]

Anyone can help me to clarify requirement on passport validity when applying for visa?

My spouse is planning to apply 1-year Post Study Work Visa - Open, and one of requirement is "Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months after you plan to leave New Zealand". Does it mean her passport must be valid for at least 15 months? If the passport expires in 14 months, will her Post Study Open Work Visa be granted for 11 months only? We are not sure whether passport can be renewed when it is still valid for 14 months.

Also our kids' passport will expire in about 6.5 months. Can we apply 1-year dependent student visa for them or do we need to change to new passport before lodging dependent visa application?

Thank you!
Sakitran

Any visa granted may only be valid for three months less than the expiry date of a passport which cant be renewed in NZ and for one one month less that the expiry date in the case of a passport that can be renewed in NZ.
see
A2.5 Criteria for acceptable travel documents

Acceptable travel documents must be:

authentic and not unofficially altered or tampered with; and
valid in the country of issue; and
issued by an official source recognised by the New Zealand Government;
and valid for travel to and from New Zealand; and
in the case of people coming to New Zealand permanently, valid for enough time to allow them to travel to New Zealand; and
in the case of people coming to New Zealand temporarily, valid either:
for at least 3 months beyond the date they intend to depart; or
for one month beyond the date they intend to depart, if the issuing government has consular representation in New Zealand that is able to issue and renew travel documents.



Is always best to present a passport with maximum validity as this will save (costs of) repeated visa renewals.

Best to advise your own government that renewed passports are required for ongoing overseas travel

[sakitran]

Thanks ChrisMwn for your explanation. Our Government has established embassy in New Zealand, so perhaps we should renew passports for our kids first.

My next concern is when our kids have new passport (then the old passport will expire), can we apply new student visa immediately with new passport, or have to inform Immigration on passport change, put new sticker on, and only apply for new visa after that?

Kind regards,
Sakitran

[ChrisMwn]

Thanks ChrisMwn for your explanation. Our Government has established embassy in New Zealand, so perhaps we should renew passports for our kids first.

My next concern is when our kids have new passport (then the old passport will expire), can we apply new student visa immediately with new passport, or have to inform Immigration on passport change, put new sticker on, and only apply for new visa after that?

Kind regards,
Sakitran

Visas don't expire because a passport has been renewed, but travel conditions do. No you dont need to advise INZ of new passport issue, until the next application is made. You wont be able to renew dependent student visas until the parents visa is also renewed.

[sakitran]

Visas don't expire because a passport has been renewed, but travel conditions do. No you dont need to advise INZ of new passport issue, until the next application is made. You wont be able to renew dependent student visas until the parents visa is also renewed.

Yes, we will apply parent visa first, and at the same time renew children passport. Most likely passport number will change after being renewed. Can we apply student visa for childen straight forward with new passport?

Thank you!
Sakitran