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Thread: Status of newborn baby to parents holding resident visa

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2019
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    New Zealand
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    Default Status of newborn baby to parents holding resident visa

    Hi,

    Just wondering if you can clear up for me what the residency status of our newborn will be. We both hold a resident visa, but not yet permanent residency, so from what I understand the baby will not be a citizen by birth, but will be deemed to hold a residence visa. Is the correct?

    Would we need to take any further steps, other than the usual birth registration, when the baby is born?

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
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    New Zealand (ex: South Africa)
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    Default

    The Department of Internal Affairs will assess whether your child will be a New Zealand citizen from birth. I believe that your child may be a New Zealand citizen by birth, since your Resident Visa entitles you to remain in New Zealand indefinitely (and therefore Section 6(b)(ii) of the Citizenship Act is met), but you should confirm this with the Department of Internal Affairs, since their wording is "permanent resident" (which introduces ambiguity for Resident Visa holders). Birth certificates issued since 2006 will state whether or not your child is considered a New Zealand citizen by birth.

    If your child is considered a New Zealand citizen by birth, you will be able to obtain a New Zealand passport for your child.

    If your child is not considered a New Zealand citizen by birth, INZ will deem your child as holding a visa equivalent to the most favourable visa held by either parent (A17.1). INZ recommends that, in this situation, you ask them for a statement of your child’s immigration status to confirm the type and duration of your child's visa; this is done via the INZ 1137 form. Your child will later be eligible for the grant of New Zealand citizenship when you are.

    Note that if the New Zealand-born child leaves New Zealand without valid travel conditions, the visa they were deemed to hold (as above) will expire. Travel conditions which allow re-entry to New Zealand can be applied for separately, once the New Zealand-born child’s status has been confirmed. This is stated on the aforementioned INZ 1137 form.

    Regardless of your child's status in New Zealand, you may also be able to apply for citizenship, most probably via descent, of you and your partner's countries of citizenship. This depends on the countries concerned (while New Zealand allows dual citizenship, the other country may not -- and be particularly careful if the country concerned is South Africa, as formal citizenship retention procedures apply and one will be stripped of South African citizenship for neglecting them), and you should contact the relevant Embassy, High Commission or Consulate in this regard.
    Last edited by Kelerei; 25th January 2020 at 01:17 PM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2019
    Location
    New Zealand
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    Default

    Thanks for the info. I had thought initially the baby may qualify as a citizen, from what I'd read before. But looking at the govt site today, seems to indicate not. Not sure if this is a recent update to clear up ambiguity:

    https://www.govt.nz/browse/passports...h-and-descent/

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    I think you're right, that this is an amendment for clarity. The page is dated 2020.

  5. #5
    Join Date
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    Very interesting- we have friends whose son was born while they were still on resident visas, not permanent residents, and he is a citizen. That was about 6 years ago, so the regulations must have changed.

  6. #6
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    Feb 2019
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    Quote Originally Posted by newarrival View Post
    Very interesting- we have friends whose son was born while they were still on resident visas, not permanent residents, and he is a citizen. That was about 6 years ago, so the regulations must have changed.
    Hence the ambiguity that I referred to earlier. Certainly, Section 6 of the Citizenship Act hasn't changed either.

    I think the only way we'll know for sure is if lomsky contacts the Department of Internal Affairs directly and shares their response.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    New Zealand
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    Your kid will be New Zealand citizen. The act states that at a child born in New Zealand will be a citizen if at least one of the parent has a visa to allow him/her to reside in New Zealand for indefinite time. Resident visa in indefinite,so your kid will be a New Zealand citizen by birth.
    I think there are some confusions between residents and permanent resident because few years ago they were called in different way and the permanent resident was the first one.

  8. #8
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    There have been numerous cases where various official bodies in New Zealand failed to keep up with the change in name of the visa acquired after successfully applying under the Skilled Migrant Category, which happened in November 2010. Government departments, medical bodies, banks, etc., were among those who failed to change their literature and web pages so these continued to call for "permanent residence" when the same visa had been renamed "residence". Having looked back at past posts, I am fairly sure that the Citizenship website has been one such, and that we have heard on the forum of several babies born to resident-visa holders in NZ and being granted NZ citizenship.
    Section 6 of the act says this.
    Citizenship by birth

    (1)

    Subject to subsection (2), a person is a New Zealand citizen by birth if—
    (a)

    the person was born in New Zealand on or after l January 1949 and before 1 January 2006; or
    (b)

    the person was born in New Zealand on or after 1 January 2006, and, at the time of the person’s birth, at least one of the person’s parents was—
    (i)

    a New Zealand citizen; or
    (ii)

    entitled in terms of the Immigration Act 2009 to be in New Zealand indefinitely, or entitled to reside indefinitely in the Cook Islands, Niue, or Tokelau.
    As pointed out by ChrisMwn (the LIA) here https://www.enz.org/forum/showthread...814#post569814, "A resident visa, even with expired travel conditions, entitles a person to remain in NZ indefinitely." I hope lomsky, or anyone else concerned, will take this up with the Department of Internal Affairs, because it appears that the 2020 information page is in error. Or is a change in interpretation being pushed through, without much scrutiny?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    New Zealand
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    Default

    Our baby girl was born here Nov 2019. My partner and I have been residents for a year+ (not permanent yet), and our daughter is a NZ born citizen with her own Kiwi passport

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2018
    Location
    New Zealand
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    101

    Default Please read carefully the INZ text

    Use the online tool
    This tool can help you work out if you or your children are New Zealand citizens.

    If you are checking for your child, answer the questions as if you were your child.

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