New expiry date for VOTC on resident visa

[waigor]

Hi everyone

Has anyone recently applied for a Variation of travel conditions (VOTC) on a resident visa?

Due to the long processing time for PRV, I have no choice but to apply for a VOTC so that I could travel overseas.

When I searched up on INZ website, I can see that if the applicant meets the following requirement:
"in at least 1 of the 2 years before you apply, you spent 184 days or more living in New Zealand"

INZ could:
"extend your travel conditions for up to 12 months"

I want to know when this 12-month-extension starts from? From the original travel condition expiry date? Or from the day the VOTC is granted?

Example:
Original travel condition expiry date: 1st Dec 2022
VOTC application date: 1st Oct 2022
VOTC granted date: 1st Nov 2022

When will the new travel condition expiry date be if the VOTC is granted?

Thanks everyone in advance 😀

[Kelerei]

I can't find any official information on this, but would expect it to be from the date of grant.

[JandM]

I agree, that seems likely, but if nobody has experience to share, I recommend checking with INZ to be absolutely certain.

[desilva]

Hi everyone

Has anyone recently applied for a Variation of travel conditions (VOTC) on a resident visa?

Due to the long processing time for PRV, I have no choice but to apply for a VOTC so that I could travel overseas.

When I searched up on INZ website, I can see that if the applicant meets the following requirement:
"in at least 1 of the 2 years before you apply, you spent 184 days or more living in New Zealand"

INZ could:
"extend your travel conditions for up to 12 months"

I want to know when this 12-month-extension starts from? From the original travel condition expiry date? Or from the day the VOTC is granted?

Example:
Original travel condition expiry date: 1st Dec 2022
VOTC application date: 1st Oct 2022
VOTC granted date: 1st Nov 2022

When will the new travel condition expiry date be if the VOTC is granted?

Thanks everyone in advance 😀

So PRV queue is a new queue similar to SMC in making

[waigor]

Correct, even VOTC has a queue, for up to 30 days for processing, just a simple action that use INZ to check your travel record and give you a new travel condition which shouldn't take more than 15 minutes...

[Kelerei]

Correct, even VOTC has a queue, for up to 30 days for processing, just a simple action that use INZ to check your travel record and give you a new travel condition which shouldn't take more than 15 minutes...

There's also a check to ensure that RV3.1(d) (and by extension, RA9 and R5.100) do not apply. That said, it should be a quick check in the overwhelming majority of cases.

The longer than usual processing time is due to the impacts of COVID-19: there have been consequent disruptions in the number of people on hand to process such applications, and has led to a backlog that is still being cleared out (no applications were processed while Auckland was in Level 4 last year!). Also, it's possible that some Immigration Officers who would normally process these have been temporarily reassigned to get through all the 2021 Resident Visas.

[waigor]

There's also a check to ensure that RV3.1(d) (and by extension, RA9 and R5.100) do not apply. That said, it should be a quick check in the overwhelming majority of cases.

The longer than usual processing time is due to the impacts of COVID-19: there have been consequent disruptions in the number of people on hand to process such applications, and has led to a backlog that is still being cleared out (no applications were processed while Auckland was in Level 4 last year!). Also, it's possible that some Immigration Officers who would normally process these have been temporarily reassigned to get through all the 2021 Resident Visas.

This is an absolute joke, COVID is not an excuse. VOTC is not much different from Australia's 155 visa(you can also call renewing the PR in Australia), checking how many days you had stayed in Australia in the past 5 years as a PR, then giving you the new travel facility (equivalent to travel condition in NZ).

The processing time for 155 VISA is:

25% of applications: Less than 1 day
50% of applications: Less than 1 day
75% of applications: 3 days
90% of applications: 75 days

Most people can get it automatically within a day.

And look at INZ:
Variation of travel conditions on a resident visa:
50% of applications completed within:13 days
75% of applications completed within:22 days
90% of applications completed within:31 days

[JandM]

Different countries with different rules and different staffing in place... Yes, NZ could be doing things another way, but they're not, and it is what it is, unfortunately.