About the 2021 Resident Visa

[genegeney]

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political...a-applications

Interesting! Very excited, but trying not to get hopes up, to hear the announcement tomorrow.

[Kelerei]

Here we go:

https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...residence-visa

Essentially, this gives people currently in New Zealand on temporary entry class visas, and who have contributed to New Zealand during Covid, a pathway to residence that they may not have had previously. This would probably also reopen a residence pathway to those affected by the closure of the Skilled Migrant Category.

There is no announcement regarding those who currently have residence class visa applications in progress (including stuck in the queue). In the absence of any specific announcement around those, assume that the situation around those will not change. (EDIT: Oops, that's not entirely correct -- those currently in the SMC or RfW queues can switch over to this new category if they choose.)

[hab]

Thanks for the links both, those in the SMC and RfW queue or with a submitted EOI get early access as it were from the 1st December whereas others have to wait until the 1st March which is good news for all enduring the backlog!

Lots of happy migrants today I suspect

[genegeney]

Lots of happy migrants today I suspect

Yup, myself included. Devil's in the detail, of course, but this sounds like a very sensible thing and I'm pleased to hear it will be an online process rather than heaps of paperwork. I'm already on a WTR work visa, so will have to wait until March, but that's all good. It means my medicals will still be within the 36 months validity window, which they won't if I have to wait to apply through the WTR process.

Also, I assume these will not be permanent residence visas....guess we'll have to 'watch this space' to find out.

[genegeney]

https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...residence-visa

[genegeney]

https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...residence-visa

Ah, this was already provided above - my bad

[genegeney]

Interesting Hansard: https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hans...30_20210930_16

[JandM]

I'll be interested to see how it actually pans out in practice.

[Kelerei]

The immigration instructions for the 2021 Resident Visa have been published in Amendment Circular 2021-48. As of the time of this post, they have not yet been merged into the operational manual.

[Kracius]

Hello!

I was checking the eligibility and I think I won't be able to make it to the first wave of applications the 1rst of December....

Applications will open in two phases from 1 December 2021 for:

people who have already applied for residence under the Skilled Migrant or Residence from Work categories on or before 29 September 2021, or
people who have submitted a Skilled Migrant Category Expression of Interest, and have included a dependent child in the Expression of Interest aged 17 years or older on 29 September 2021.

I have an Expression of Interest and I work as a teacher (requires registration), but I don't have a child included in my EoI. I suppose this means I will be applying 1rst Match 2022????