Am I crazy or in trouble? Resident Visa Travel Conditions

[avow]

Hi there, I have been looking at moving to a Permanent Resident Visa from a resident visa and am confused about something. The travel conditions state "visa is valid for further travel for 24 months from first arrival". I arrived Feb 1 2018, so I am able to freely travel until Feb 1, 2020 and from there I would need a Permanent Residence visa or would not be allowed back into the country.

Here is where I get confused, RV2.5 states "their first day in New Zealand as a resident (R5.66.1) was at least 24 months before the application is made; and" in regards to the application for Permanent Residence Visa.

Does this mean I can not apply for my PR until my Residence visa travel conditions have expired? What happens if I need to take a trip in February and the PR hasn't been processed yet?

[holroyd]

Hi there, I have been looking at moving to a Permanent Resident Visa from a resident visa and am confused about something. The travel conditions state "visa is valid for further travel for 24 months from first arrival". I arrived Feb 1 2017, so I am able to freely travel until Feb 1, 2020 and from there I would need a Permanent Residence visa or would not be allowed back into the country.

Here is where I get confused, RV2.5 states "their first day in New Zealand as a resident (R5.66.1) was at least 24 months before the application is made; and" in regards to the application for Permanent Residence Visa.

Does this mean I can not apply for my PR until my Residence visa travel conditions have expired? What happens if I need to take a trip in February and the PR hasn't been processed yet?

I'm pretty sure you have got that correct. PR takes 40 or so days to process so you're not bound here for too long. I think you may be able to look at getting an extension in your Residence visa conditions in advance to cover the interim period if you're worried you may need to travel in between.

[Hagar1]

You arrived in Feb 2017? So 24 months is Feb 2019.....

[avow]

I'm pretty sure you have got that correct. PR takes 40 or so days to process so you're not bound here for too long. I think you may be able to look at getting an extension in your Residence visa conditions in advance to cover the interim period if you're worried you may need to travel in between.

Thanks for confirming! I will probably have apply to do just that and extend my travel conditions. It seems insane that the way this is set up your travel conditions expire before you can apply for PR, especially with the current 30+ day estimated processing time.

You arrived in Feb 2017? So 24 months is Feb 2019.....

Sorry, arrived Feb 2018. Resident visa was issued April 2017 from abroad.

[newarrival]

Thanks for confirming! I will probably have apply to do just that and extend my travel conditions. It seems insane that the way this is set up your travel conditions expire before you can apply for PR, especially with the current 30+ day estimated processing time.

But isn't that only the case in a situation like yours, when you arrive almost a year after your residence visa was issued? If you had arrived in, let's say, May 2017, you would have been abe to apply for Permanent Residence almost a year before your travel conditions expire.

[Hagar1]

But isn't that only the case in a situation like yours, when you arrive almost a year after your residence visa was issued? If you had arrived in, let's say, May 2017, you would have been abe to apply for Permanent Residence almost a year before your travel conditions expire.

No, bc arriving earlier means that travel conditions also start earlier I think. 24 months for both from day of arrival, not from day of issue of residence visa if offshore.

[parpalhou]

It's a mess at the moment. Hopefully things will have improved by the time you apply. If not, yes, you can find yourself stuck and unable to travel. In the case of an emergency such as a death or serious illness, they can give you a same-day appointment to vary your travel conditions or move you to PR. But if you think you will want to take a holiday or travel for business during the time you are waiting for your PR, I would apply for a variation of travel conditions far in advance so that you are safe.

We recently ended up in this situation, waiting for our PR to go overseas, and it was very frustrating.

[newarrival]

No, bc arriving earlier means that travel conditions also start earlier I think. 24 months for both from day of arrival, not from day of issue of residence visa if offshore.

You are right, my mistake.