resident visa expiration and conditions

[slowrock12]

Hi,
question regarding resident visa expiration and conditions for a friend of mine.
Due to Covid 19 impact chances are his job might get redundant.
His resident visa got approved through skilled migrant category this Feb 2020 and it states as listed below.
If he gets redundant is there any impact on his resident visa??
Does he has to be in same skill job with the remuneration as quoted for SMC category for consecutive two years.
what will be the steps if he has to apply for permanent resident or extend travel conditions in two years time??
Please any advice on this matter will be appreciated.


the start date of your visa is:........XXXXX
you must arrive in New Zealand before:N/A
The number of times you may enter NZ using this visa is :Multiple
The last date you may travel and renter to Nz is : .........xxxxxx
visa expiry date: Indefinite

the conditions of your visa: Visa is invalid if holder is outside NZ with expired travel conditions. Please apply for transfer if this visa when the passport expires.

[Kelerei]

It all depends whether or not the Resident Visa was issued with Section 49(1) conditions. SM11 has all the details on this for the Skilled Migrant Category: they usually compel the visa holder to remain in skilled employment for a certain period of time and above a certain remuneration threshold, and they are typically only applied if the applicant had only been in skilled employment for under 3 months at the time of application (SM11.5).

From the "conditions of your visa" that you have posted, I can tell you that your friend probably doesn't have Section 49(1) conditions: those conditions are identical to my own visa conditions, and I definitely don't have any Section 49(1) conditions to worry about! Your friend should however check his visa confirmation letter: it will tell him in no uncertain terms if he has Section 49(1) conditions applied (there may be Section 49(1) conditions that you haven't been told about).

For completeness though (e.g. someone in a similar position but with Section 49(1) conditions searching this forum), I'm going to carry on answering as though there are Section 49(1) conditions applied:

If Section 49(1) conditions have been applied, one has five years to meet them (SM11.15), so all is not lost -- and if one ends up in alternative employment, one can still use this new employment to meet Section 49(1) conditions for the Skilled Migrant Category, provided that this new employment "meets the requirements for current skilled employment including requirements for bonus points if the employment qualified for bonus points under SM6.40 or SM6.50". However, the consequence for non-compliance can be deportation (SM11.25), so it is in one's best interest to prove to INZ that one has met them, as soon as one has met them (SM11.20). The visa acceptance letter will contain information on this.

For someone with Section 49(1) conditions that have not been met yet, there is no consequence for an application for a variation of travel conditions, provided that the applicant is onshore (offshore applicants who have failed to meet Section 49(1) conditions will be declined; see RV3.1). However, not having met Section 49(1) conditions renders one ineligible for a Permanent Resident Visa (RV2.5(d)) as well as the grant of New Zealand citizenship (Section 8(3) of the New Zealand Citizenship Act 1977).

[JandM]

A resident visa granted with no Section 49(1) condition (see above for Kelerei's explanation of that, and I agree it looks as though your friend doesn't have any) does NOT expire. Residence is for ever while the person is in New Zealand. It is the "travel conditions", a strange name for permission to re-enter NZ after being away, which expire after two years, but if the person is IN the country, that expiry makes no difference to their status.

Full Residence without conditions gives the holder the right to live and work in NZ at whatever they want, skilled or not, or to drop out and do nothing (if they've got the means to support themself), or to start a business, or be a student at domestic rate. (There are restrictions on how long a person would have to be in NZ before being eligible for state support, or a student loan, though.) The requirement to be in a skilled job is to make the person eligible BEFORE the issue of the visa. Once the visa without conditions is granted, they are not restricted.

Eligibility for PR does not include any requirement about work, EXCEPT as involved in fulfilling Section 49(1) conditions if the person had any. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...anent-resident