Temporary entry visa holder needing to confidently leave NZ and re-enter NZ

[sunshine99]

I am the primary holder of a WTR visa and NZ has been our home since 2017. My husband (holds partner of a worker work visa) and son have work (holds a student visa) have visas linked to mine.
I need to go back to UK as my step-dad has died. Any immigration advice given to me so far has been not to risk travel - they advised if I go I will forgo my current WTR visa upon my return because I would only be able to get a critical purpose visitor visa to re-enter NZ. My husband however will stay in New Zealand while I am away.

But I am confused, because the immigration advisors I've spoken to seem to be giving me contradictory advice to the operating manual, which clearly states in the Covid H5 section:

H5.25.10 Determining an application for a variation of conditions (for holders of a valid temporary entry class visa)

a. A variation of conditions can be granted where an immigration officer is satisfied:
i) the applicant has a critical purpose for travelling to and being in New Zealand as described at H5.25.15; and
ii) all the other requirements of the visa the person currently holds continue to be met. (assuming ii just means i am meeting the WTR visa requirements)

I believe I meet the criteria of having a critical purpose to travel:

H5.25.15 List of critical purpose for travelling to New Zealand:

g. People who hold a visitor, work or student visa and:
i) are ordinarily resident in New Zealand; and
ii) are the partner or dependent child (see E4.1) of a work or student visa holder who is in New Zealand. (my husband is a work visa holder and he will be in New Zealand)

Am I missing something? Is it because my husband isn't the primary visa holder? Is it because I'll only have been overseas for a matter of a couple of weeks? It's just such a desperate situation because I don't want to leave NZ if it means not being able to come back, I just can't risk that for my family's future. Any advice would be gratefully received - in order to make the funeral next Weds I need to leave on Monday night and now firms are closed over the weekend.

[JandM]

I see no-one else has answered, so I'll comment, but please bear in mind that I'm only a lay person, nothing official. These are just my thoughts after reading your post.

If, as immigration advice to you has been, the fact of leaving NZ at this time would mean your present WTR visa being lapsed, that would ALSO mean that your husband and son would become illegal in New Zealand, because their visas depend on yours. If your visa ceases, so do theirs.

In the present circumstances, with time so short that you can't get any authoritative advice from INZ, in your place, I would not risk leaving.

I'm sorry for your loss. In case it helps, many churches and crematoria in the UK have set up facilities to stream funeral ceremonies, as there have been so many people unable to be present during the lockdown. You might be able to ask to link to your stepfather's funeral. Or if there's no formal arrangement, one of the attendees could do a Zoom call for you - I "attended" a register office wedding last year this way, when there were only allowed to be 5 people actually present in the room.

[LemonAndPaeroa]

I’m sorry for your loss. I was thinking the same as JandM, I would risk leaving either. It’s really rough.