Senior Member
One of the requirements for the grant of New Zealand citizenship is that you intend to continue to reside in New Zealand. I cannot advise you on whether or not your personal circumstances may affect this, but it's worth being mindful of this. You may want to discuss your circumstances with the Citizenship Office.Originally Posted by REEZ
Junior Member
Hello Everyone,
I have applied online on 1st March 2023 after presence calculator says I'm eligible to apply.
Now I have a question here, I have to travel overseas for at least 3/4 months due to family reasons. Does that impact on my application or what is the maximum time I'm allowed to stay overseas?
Any recommendations?
Thank you
Senior Member
This will make no difference with respect to the presence requirement: presence is calculated from the date that your application is received in Wellington, together with the application fee. It will be the intention to reside requirement that may be called in question.
I cannot give you a definite answer as to whether or not you no longer meet the intention to reside requirement, but I can tell you that, as this may be considered by the Citizenship Office as a material change in your circumstances, you are obliged to inform the Citizenship Office if you have not already done so (if you have indicated this on the application form, this is sufficient). Failure to do so may have severe consequences for you, including prosecution under Section 27 of the Citizenship Act. By notifying the Citizenship Office, the worst that can happen is the Citizenship Office advising you to withdraw your application and reapply at a later date.
There is no "maximum time": it is entirely dependent on your specific circumstances. The Citizenship Office will, at minimum, look at both your length and reason for absence in assessing your situation.
Testing the Water
Photo requirement
Hi everyone, I am about to start my citizenship application, but not sure on the photo section as I read that we can even use our cellphone to take it.
Is this photo going to be on my upcoming NZ passport?
Do you use professional service to take the photo?
Thank you.
Junior Member
Thank you Kelerei for your reply. Definitely there is no intention to stay away from NZ. NZ is our home.
Do we need to inform DIA for our travel dates?
Also I haven't mentioned anything in my application regarding travel plans as this one came up all of sudden.
Senior Member
Generally, no: applying for a New Zealand passport is a separate process that can only be undertaken once you have received your citizenship certificate (at the citizenship ceremony). You can re-use the citizenship application photo for your passport application, provided that the photo is not more than 6 months old at the time of submitting your passport application -- for most people, it will take longer than 6 months from citizenship application submission to citizenship ceremony.
This is totally up to you. If you believe that you are able to take a passport-quality photograph using your mobile phone, you are welcome to. The Passport Office has a how-to guide and an online photo checker that you can use if you go this route, and note that the Citizenship Office has identical photo requirements to the Passport Office (so, if it passes the Passport Office's requirements, it is fine to submit with respect to your citizenship application).
Personally, I would use a professional service, as I believe that there is less chance of a rejected photo this way. If you're in the Wellington area, I have used this service previously (for my Permanent Resident Visa in 2021, and for a Schengen Visitor Visa last year), and can thoroughly recommend it -- as do the Stuff journalists, apparently. (I'd recommend reading that Stuff article if you want to go the DIY route, too.)
Senior Member
Yes, you definitely need to inform the Citizenship Office. Under the "Applicant declaration" section in the paper application form (and I can't imagine the online form being much different), there is the following statement that you would have agreed to by submitting your application: "If there is any change in my circumstances which affects the answers I have given in this application, I will send written advice to the Department of Internal Affairs up until the point I have received my citizenship certificate".
Testing the Water
Thanks so much Kelerei. That's very clear answer.
I'll do with professional photo service just to make sure everything is smooth, and will take it again if my citizenship process takes longer than 6 months then.
Junior Member
Hi raleigh119, I am on the same boat now. I am wondering if you have any updates?
The calculator keep saying I am not eligible even though I did all calculation and confident about the presence requirements. However, I dig a bit more and understand why I am not eligible. I have written up a thread of steps to check the response from calculator. Do you mind following the steps and share the statusCode of your response?
Mine is statusCode 213
Testing the Water
Did anyone from Wellington heard ftom the citizenship ceremony team, I was approved on 23rd of feb and nothing yet.
Last edited by Nicole Davis; 2nd April 2023 at 11:13 AM.
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