Renew passport after citizenship application is submitted

[ozman750]

Hi,
I applied my citizenship application Nov-21. I have plans to visit dubai during up comming Christmas Dec 2022. As am not sure what will be status of my application during my upcoming holidays,

- whether application decided ( i have nz passport - least likely case)
- CO assigned,
- citizenship approved waiting for ceremony ( most likely case)
or
- passport pending...

most likely case, my citizenship would be approved and i will waiting for ceremony.

So in this case....I have 2 questions

1) Should i renew my current passport which will expire in Feb-23 and transfer my nz visa on new passport then inform DIA about this? Because for dubai visit visa i need 3 month validity of my passport. Will DIA delay my application, coz i will be out of country?

2) i heard that when citizenship application is approved and certificates are printed. Your visa from old passport is canceled. What happens if i am out of country and my visa is cancelled. In this case should i travell, and if i have to travell what should i do?

Thanking in advace.

[Kelerei]

1) Should i renew my current passport which will expire in Feb-23 and transfer my nz visa on new passport then inform DIA about this? Because for dubai visit visa i need 3 month validity of my passport. Will DIA delay my application, coz i will be out of country?

If that's what you need to do in order to travel, then that's what you're going to have to do. You absolutely do have to notify the Citizenship Office (more about this coming up). This shouldn't result in too many processing delays (unless your travel raises red flags about your intention to reside in New Zealand, and personally I believe that a Christmas vacation is unlikely to do so), but you can expect a delay in either your citizenship ceremony, or the issuance of your citizenship certificate if the requirement to attend a ceremony is still waived on public health grounds at the time. However, you probably will want your citizenship ceremony or certificate issuance to be deferred until your return, because...

2) i heard that when citizenship application is approved and certificates are printed. Your visa from old passport is canceled. What happens if i am out of country and my visa is cancelled. In this case should i travell, and if i have to travell what should i do?

What you've heard is entirely correct. Legally, no New Zealand citizen may hold a visa (see Section 13(4)(b) of the Immigration Act 2009), and therefore on the day that you are granted New Zealand citizenship (this will either be the day of your ceremony, or the day your citizenship certificate is issued if the requirement to attend a ceremony is waived) INZ must immediately cancel your visa (also see Section 64(1)(g)).

This will cause problems if you are out of the country at the time, as you will not be able to use your foreign passport to re-enter New Zealand. You can apply for a New Zealand passport offshore, but for a first New Zealand passport you will require your citizenship certificate number (on the paper form at least, I have no idea what the online form looks like), and for obvious reasons, you will struggle to provide this if you do not have your citizenship certificate at hand. The option to have INZ place a citizen endorsement in your foreign passport also exists, but INZ will want to see an original or certified copy of either a New Zealand passport or your citizenship certificate, and for the same reasons this will be extremely difficult to provide under these circumstances.

This is why you should notify the Citizenship Office of your travel plans: in my opinion, the best solution in such a scenario is to arrange for your citizenship ceremony or certificate issuance to be delayed until you return to New Zealand. In fact, the Department of Internal Affairs states as much on their citizenship ceremonies information page (expand the "If you change your address, plan to travel, or are unable to attend the ceremony" section).

[ozman750]

Thanks Kelerei for taking time in replying.

I will renew my passport soon, then transfer my visa to my new passport and notify the DIA of this transfer.


Since I have booked my journey from December 24th to January 23rd, I will wait for the DIA process; if my application is finished sooner, great; otherwise, I will contact DIA about my travel arrangements in October or November so that they may process my application but not print my Citizenship certificate while I am out on NZ.