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Thread: non-priority SMC Application and adding newborn baby

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Auckland
    Posts
    41

    Question non-priority SMC Application and adding newborn baby

    Hi All
    Our lodgement date for SMC visa 1 May 2019, non-priority application onshore
    Baby born 22 January 2020 in NZ
    I need Passport to add baby to SMC application but no passports are being processed in my home country due to COVID-19 and I suspect it will probably be like this for a long time.
    I do not want to delay our residency coming through with having to wait for baby’s passport so what are my options?
    How much time will a case officer give me to send in required documents to add baby?
    Can baby be added to application without a passport and only birth certificates from NZ and home country? (they are processing birth certificates but not passports)
    If we can’t submit in this time frame can our residency go ahead and are we then able to add baby separately?
    If yes, will this be a dependent child resident visa application with an additional cost of $1500?
    Our Temporary visas expire April 2021, how long before then should we reapply for temporary visas if SMC is still pending? (I really hope it will not still be pending by then)
    Any advice would be highly appreciated.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    37,824

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    Quote Originally Posted by Zanique View Post
    Our lodgement date for SMC visa 1 May 2019, non-priority application onshore
    Baby born 22 January 2020 in NZ
    I need Passport to add baby to SMC application but no passports are being processed in my home country due to COVID-19 and I suspect it will probably be like this for a long time.
    I do not want to delay our residency coming through with having to wait for baby’s passport so what are my options?
    Am I right in thinking that your case has not so far been assigned to a CO? If you DO already have a CO, your best course is to ask her/him about this matter.

    If you don't have a CO and your case is waiting in the date-order queue, then I'm sorry to say that probably, there is no hurry at the moment. There has been no movement in the non-priority queue since well before the pandemic began.

    There is an obligation on you to let INZ know of the change in your circumstances - the baby born into your family - so you should write in and let them know his/her details. In your case, I would add a certified copy of his/her NZ birth certificate. In this way, whenever your case is allocated for processing, the CO will have the whole picture from the outset. If by chance this should happen, and the CO processes the application and is ready to recommend an outcome (all of which can take months) before you have been able to obtain the baby's passport, and if the CO is unable to include her/him without it, you would be given the choice of waiting, or withdrawing your application to have her/him included.

    A CO is able to add a baby into a residence application even after it has been processed and has gone through second-person checking to approval, any time up till the residence visa(s) for the parent(s) has/have been issued. So you see, you have quite a lot of time in hand - you would have done, even before the INZ delays set in at the end of 2018.

    Can baby be added to application without a passport and only birth certificates from NZ and home country? (they are processing birth certificates but not passports)
    During the pandemic, INZ have accepted SOME visa applications without all the documents that are usually required, if the applicant noted that for instance, it was not possible for them to them from their home country because public offices were closed, but I never heard of the particular instance of a baby's new passport. This is a matter that I believe you will have to check with INZ themselves.
    If we can’t submit in this time frame can our residency go ahead and are we then able to add baby separately?
    Yes.
    If yes, will this be a dependent child resident visa application with an additional cost of $1500?
    It will be that visa, at whatever the fee is at the time.
    Our Temporary visas expire April 2021, how long before then should we reapply for temporary visas if SMC is still pending? (I really hope it will not still be pending by then)
    You can apply for further temporary visas at any time while the present ones are still current and INZ will be able to issue Interim visas https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...t/interim-visa to keep you legal while your next visas are being processed. Some people have even done this on the day before expiry, but I don't recommend that for anyone's peace of mind - perhaps a month beforehand would be sensible.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
    Location
    Auckland
    Posts
    41

    Default

    Thank you for the reply, I did let INZ know of baby so I guess it is now just a waiting game. I just wanted to be 100% sure of my options so I can be proactive and not cause any more delays from my side.

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