Temporary visas to be extended due to epidemic notice

[EGoodhue]

Thanks egoodhue. We have applied for a work visa for my wife in early March.she is here on a visitor Visa..we haven't received email of extension of visa til September and her visitor visa expires in end of June..so u think we have not received email as we have already applied for a work visa and waiting for a co to be allocated? And will be issued interim visa in end of June.. that seems a little scary

Your wife's Visitor Visa expiry date should have been extended to 25 September - did you receive an email from INZ yet? The INZ website says this about the emails it was sending last week:
"The email will be sent to the most recent email address that the visa holder provided Immigration New Zealand".
Did you check that email address? If you haven't received an email, it might be worthwhile calling the Contact Centre just to make sure of her visa extension - I know they are taking a long time to answer the phones at the moment but it's better to be safe than sorry.

[Sean_patel]

Thanks egoodhue. We checked emails and nothing about extension. Will give them in couple of weeks as they are busy and don't want to add to their staff stress. Our visa expires in June before all this

[EGoodhue]

Thanks egoodhue. We checked emails and nothing about extension. Will give them in couple of weeks as they are busy and don't want to add to their staff stress. Our visa expires in June before all this

Have a check of the Visa Verification Service: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/abou...-service/about. You can check your own visa details online, and this will have been updated if your visas were included in the automatic extension.

[robbo1234]

Does anybody know if the Epidemic notice has been renewed since the announcement to level 3?
I cannot work under level 3 guidelines but my ESV expires 31 July 2020.
I have applied for SMC but no CO.

Not sure if I will be put on a bridging visa?
Any info would be appreciated

[JandM]

I think you are going to have to wait a little longer to know what will apply to you. The NZ government are deciding what to do day by day in response to evolving conditions, and they must still be watching how the shift to Level 3 is affecting things. It's if they think it necessary to prolong the lockdown time that we're likely to see a further stretch of the dates when automatic visa extensions apply.

If the lockdown lifts so your work resumes within the life of this visa as it currently stands, or if by then it's been extended, you will have to apply for another ESV before it expires to keep your residence application alive - as long as you apply while the present visa is valid, you will be issued with an Interim visa to cover the processing time of the new ESV. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...t/interim-visa

BUT be aware that that's the situation under the present INZ regulations. Nobody knows what changes the government may decide to make in the light of how the national and world situation will have altered.

[robbo1234]

Thank you!

[robbo1234]

If I’m correct there is a specific essential skills visa for 1 year whilst you are waiting for SMC resident visa to be approved. I won’t need to show evidence of recruiting a kiwi for my job etc
Does anybody know the link?
I can’t find on the INZ website
Thanks

[JandM]

WK3.20 10 here. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/#66937.htm It's not a special kind of ESV, just that the circumstances mean there needn't be a Labour Market Test.

[robbo1234]

thank you. Do I just apply on the INZ website for a regular ESV and they will know I have applied for SMC?
Or is it a separate application?

[JandM]

You apply for an ESV as normal, and/but there are sections on the Employer Supplementary form which s/he does not have to fill in in view of your situation (waiting for Residence under SMC to be processed), and on your application form there is the question, "Do you hold a valid Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) Invitation to Apply, or have a SMC application currently under assessment, for the position noted above?" - your answer there makes it plain to INZ.