GVV or Parent/ Grandparents Visitor visa

[elsa25]

Hello!

I (Resident visa holder) am thinking of bringing my parents to NZ from India in October (I am due then - pregnant now!). They are wanting to stay here for like 2 to 3 months.

Was browsing through and saw the Parent or Grandparent Visitor visa. I only knew about GVV before (my parents had come on GVV back in 2017 when I was on student visa)

Which is a better option to apply? I understand that the Parent visitor visa is valid for 3 years and can stay unto 6 months in a year (or something like that right?) My parents are in a situation to financially support them - so I wouldn't have to show my finances? Does it go under the same visitor visa category and same queue as GVV for processing? More scrutinizing?

Is there a higher chance of getting declined in that category? Haven't really heard many people who have applied for that.

Thanks!

And have a great rest of the day !

[Kelerei]

The Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa allows for periods of longer stay in New Zealand and has longer validity than the general Visitor Visa. However, it has a requirement for sponsorship (see the INZ 1025 form for more on this), and a requirement for medical certificates to be provided, making it the more expensive (in terms of overall cost: the visa fees themselves appear to be identical) and potentially more time consuming option (due to additional verification required) to obtain.

Whether to go for the Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa or the general Visitor Visa will largely depend on your parents individual circumstances: in particular, length of time per visit and number of planned visits should be taken into account. For example, a parent or grandparent wanting to visit New Zealand frequently, or have lengthy visits to New Zealand, would get more mileage out of the Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa than the general Visitor Visa, but a more sporadic traveller may not get the same value out of the Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa.

If you want advice on which visa to go for, tailored to your circumstances and those of your parents, you should speak to a Licensed Immigration Advisor. We are unable to provide you with more specific advice here.

As an aside, the Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa would not have been an option while you were still on a Student Visa: in all cases where sponsorship is a requirement, a temporary entry class visa holder is not considered to be an acceptable sponsor. Do however note that you cannot sponsor the Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa if your Resident Visa is subject to Section 49(1) conditions: see E6.5(c)(i).

[elsa25]

Thanks for the info, Kelerei

Also, would the queue the same for both visas? Just asking because I saw the processing time as the same as GVV

[Kelerei]

Also, would the queue the same for both visas? Just asking because I saw the processing time as the same as GVV

Given that Visitor Visas have been generally closed for the past 2 years, I wouldn't read too much into the current quoted processing times. I have no idea what the processing times in the Before Times were like.

I would expect the Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa to take longer to process though, based on the criteria that must be met alone -- but not too much longer.

[manutd]

Hi elsa,

I am also planning to apply GVV for my mother. As you have experience with getting GVV for your parents in the past, I have a query about the validity of the visa:

Once the parent gets a GVV, does the visa has a fixed start and finish date?? or does it have a validity of some period (for example a year or 2 year) and start date of visa starts from the first entry to NZ?

[cricfor]

@elsa, manutd - Have you applied for this visa yet? I presume, borders are opened end of July - so we can only apply by then?

@kelerei : Do you know approximately what figures should we have to sponsor our parents?

[Kelerei]

@kelerei : Do you know approximately what figures should we have to sponsor our parents?

No, but I would presume that it would be as per the generic Visitor Visa funding requirement (V2.20).