Is getting income relief payment legal?

[Degor]

Hi guys, as far as i know when you fill up your Residence application you have to declare that you "have sufficient personal resources to maintain myself and my dependants for at least my
first 24 months as a resident in New Zealand".
But for people who were made redundant due to impact of Covid there's a special subsudy scheme. WINZ website says that New Zealand citizen or a resident with a residence class visa holders are eligible for COVID-19 Income Relief Payment.

So my question is if i apply and receive this payment while looking for a new job, will it affect future PR application?

[JandM]

I don't think anyone here is going to be able to give you a definite answer. The NZ government have been and are making up ways to deal with the Covid-19 crisis as it goes along, many of these cutting across existing arrangements which work in normal times.

In natural justice, I think it would be very unfair for it to be held against any resident applying for PR, who took the COVID-19 Income Relief Payment because s/he found her/himself jobless due to the crisis, this relief payment being designed specifically for that situation.

If you're after certainty on this matter, you will need to ask INZ and/or WINZ. You may well discover, though, that nobody has yet thought to write up a decision.