Applying for new Passport while waiting for Resident Visa Letter

[garima21]

I received my AIP letter this Tuesday(17/11) and the letter asked to send only husband's passport to INZ(he renewed it last year and it was not scanned by INZ, I guess). We sent his passport the same day and it was delivered to INZ office on 18/11 morning. Now, I am waiting for our e-visa to be issued which might take a while depending upon how busy the INZ support officers are.

I want to apply for my passport renewal meanwhile (its not expiring but I am planning to take on husband's surname officially and hence need to get the passport reissued). The reissue might take 3-4 weeks.

My question is: Can I apply for my passport reissue while waiting for the resident visa letter? What if I don't receive the visa letter before I get the new passport? Do I just need to update INZ of my new passport in that case and ask for the visa label to be issued/transferred for my new passport? Or I should wait until I get my visa letter issued before applying for the passport reissue in case it will interfere with the process?

[Kelerei]

The eVisa letter shouldn't take long to issue -- within a week or so, 2 weeks if you're unlucky.

Keep in mind though that INZ can't issue a visa in an invalidated travel document, and most countries will invalidate your previous passport when they issue a new one. In your place, I would therefore wait for the eVisa letter before starting the passport renewal process. Another way of looking at it is: you're so close now to having the eVisa issued, so it's in nobody's best interest (not yours, and also not INZ's) to throw a last-minute spanner in the works!

(EDIT: There's a reference in the operational manual, A2.5, that describes "acceptable travel documents". If your country invalidates the previous passport when they issue the new one, A2.5(e) will catch you out.)

Once you receive your new passport, you'll need to get in touch with INZ to transfer your Resident Visa to your new passport, and there's a well-defined process for this. There's no fee if you want a new eVisa letter to reflect your new passport's details, but if you prefer a visa sticker in the passport instead, it will set you back $130.

[garima21]

Thanks so much Kelerei. I will wait until next week and if I don't get my evisa until then, I will give INZ a call to request for expediting issuing my e-visa.