Citizenship presence requirements

[Anudeep]

Hi all,

I have a question related to the presence requirements in NZ post the resident visa. In my first year after the resident visa approval, I had to fly back to my home country because there was a family emergency as my parents were involved in a car crash. I had to support them as they couldn't walk for months. I have all the documents i.e. hospital reports etc. However, I had to leave my job as it's was close to 6 months of being away from NZ and work from home was not normal at that time.

What are my options to get the citizenship approved? Do I need to give any other documents? I rang the DIA office and they said to submit all the documents but they couldn't say anything on the call as you would expect. Any advice would be great and also keen to hear if anyone else has similar experiences.

Thanks in advance!

[avow]

Because the calculations count backwards from when you apply for citizenship you need to look at the numbers in reverse. It sounds like you will simply need to wait a few extra months before applying to ensure you meet the criteria.

[Anudeep]

thanks avow, I did the calculations backward and I missed the presence requirement in the first year. Is there no way DIA would not accept my issue and why I couldn't stay in NZ? Also when you say a few extra months, will it be another 8 months given I dont travel outside NZ in the 6th year to qualify?

[JandM]

I've never heard of exceptions made on this. The applicant was either there in NZ for the required number of days in that 12-month section, or they weren't.

You will need to keep checking your numbers (days in NZ), then submit on a date when you can show 5 12-month periods BACK from then, each of which meets the regulations. Here https://www.enz.org/forum/showthread...289#post598289 is a recent post where I linked to a good example of how this works in practice.

[avow]

Why wouldn’t you be allowed to stay in New Zealand without citizenship? You should already be eligible for Permanent residence.

[pedditi03]

Hi @JandM, I have similar issue and I have been following the other thread and makes a lot of sense. Will do the reverse calculations from year 5. I wanted to know if the DIA approves citizenship under a few circumstances under section 8 (7) without meeting the standard requirements and need to complete minimum 450 days in last 20 months at the time of applying for citizenship. We founded a company and will have to travel overseas and likely going to stay more than the presence requirements which will again screw my application.

thanks

[avow]

Hi @JandM, I have similar issue and I have been following the other thread and makes a lot of sense. Will do the reverse calculations from year 5. I wanted to know if the DIA approves citizenship under a few circumstances under section 8 (7) without meeting the standard requirements and need to complete minimum 450 days in last 20 months at the time of applying for citizenship. We founded a company and will have to travel overseas and likely going to stay more than the presence requirements which will again screw my application.

thanks

Very unlikely from everything I have seen. They will just tell you that is what permanent residence is for if you can not meet the presence requirements. But you could always apply and see what they say.

[Kelerei]

Hi @JandM, I have similar issue and I have been following the other thread and makes a lot of sense. Will do the reverse calculations from year 5. I wanted to know if the DIA approves citizenship under a few circumstances under section 8 (7) without meeting the standard requirements and need to complete minimum 450 days in last 20 months at the time of applying for citizenship. We founded a company and will have to travel overseas and likely going to stay more than the presence requirements which will again screw my application.

thanks

You may indeed be considered if you meet the reduced presence requirement (450 days in the previous 20 months), but you must also have exceptional circumstances. Exceptional circumstances arise when the situation is well outside the normal run of
circumstances found in citizenship grant cases generally. The circumstances do not have to be unique or very rare, but they do have to be truly an exception rather than the rule, or out of the ordinary and comparatively rare. Assessment is generally required on a case by case basis.

Current policy per the Citizenship Guidance Document is that, if genuine reasons for absence exist that are directly related to work-related travel, study, personal or family illness, or a combination of these, this will be considered to be an exceptional circumstance.