Expired resident visa travel condition

[Harryk]

Hi can anyone please help?
My wife’s Resident visa travel condition expires on 4th march and she has already booked return ticket to NZ on 22 march which means her resident visa would already expire by then.
Can we apply for VOC and submit application in NZ while she is outside NZ. Mean she can send me the documents and i can submit her documents in NZ? Thanks

[Kelerei]

Can we apply for VOC and submit application in NZ while she is outside NZ. Mean she can send me the documents and i can submit her documents in NZ? Thanks

No: the Resident Visa would be invalidated upon departure, and one cannot vary the conditions of such a visa (see RV3.1(b)).

Your two options are:

• Apply for a variation of travel conditions before the Resident Visa becomes invalid; or
• Apply for a Second or Subsequent Resident Visa if the Resident Visa has become invalid.

[Harryk]

No: the Resident Visa would be invalidated upon departure, and one cannot vary the conditions of such a visa (see RV3.1(b)).

Your two options are:

• Apply for a variation of travel conditions before the Resident Visa becomes invalid; or
• Apply for a Second or Subsequent Resident Visa if the Resident Visa has become invalid.

Thanks Kelerei, but can we submit the resident visa VOC application in NZ even though the applicant is outside NZ?

[Kelerei]

Thanks Kelerei, but can we submit the resident visa VOC application in NZ even though the applicant is outside NZ?

This is possible if (and only if) the Resident Visa in question is still valid. If the Resident Visa in question is expired (as you have implied), any such application will be declined per RV3.1(b).

Per my previous post, if the Resident Visa in question is expired (or will be expired at the time of application), a Second or Subsequent Resident Visa must be applied for instead. You may submit this application in New Zealand on behalf of the applicant, provided you have the applicant's consent and you are in compliance with all legislation pertaining to providing immigration advice; if you are not in compliance, the application will be returned unprocessed.

EDIT: It's probably also worth noting that INZ may grant a Permanent Resident Visa instead of a Second or Subsequent Resident Visa, with the permission of the applicant, if the Resident Visa in question expired less than three months before the application is lodged and all other criteria to be granted a Permanent Resident Visa are met. See RV2.5, and in particular RV2.5(a)(ii).

[Harryk]

This is possible if (and only if) the Resident Visa in question is still valid. If the Resident Visa in question is expired (as you have implied), any such application will be declined per RV3.1(b).

Per my previous post, if the Resident Visa in question is expired (or will be expired at the time of application), a Second or Subsequent Resident Visa must be applied for instead. You may submit this application in New Zealand on behalf of the applicant, provided you have the applicant's consent and you are in compliance with all legislation pertaining to providing immigration advice; if you are not in compliance, the application will be returned unprocessed.

EDIT: It's probably also worth noting that INZ may grant a Permanent Resident Visa instead of a Second or Subsequent Resident Visa, with the permission of the applicant, if the Resident Visa in question expired less than three months before the application is lodged and all other criteria to be granted a Permanent Resident Visa are met. See RV2.5, and in particular RV2.5(a)(ii).

Thanks Kelerei for your quick response, resident visa is still valid, only travelling condition expires on 4th march. Applicant has lived in NZ since the grant of her resident visa. She went for a visit to India in January and was meant to travel to NZ on 22 march. We thought since Permanent visa application taking longer time to process, Variation of travel conditions can be a option.

[Harryk]

Hi Kelerei, we have submitted our variation of travel condition on resident visa, but my wife’s resident visa condition expires on 4th march, if the variation application takes longer time to process and her resident visa expires overseas, would she be able to return to NZ once variation in travel condition granted after her travel condition expiry date.

[Kelerei]

Hi Kelerei, we have submitted our variation of travel condition on resident visa, but my wife’s resident visa condition expires on 4th march, if the variation application takes longer time to process and her resident visa expires overseas, would she be able to return to NZ once variation in travel condition granted after her travel condition expiry date.

I can't find anything in the operational manual that answers this. My guess is that, were the Resident Visa to expire while an application for a variation of travel conditions is in progress, INZ would (with the applicant's permission) instead process the application as one for a Second or Subsequent Resident Visa. A lot of the criteria to be granted a Second or Subsequent Resident Visa is linked to the criteria to be granted a variation of travel conditions (see RV4.10(a)), so this would make sense.

[Harryk]

I can't find anything in the operational manual that answers this. My guess is that, were the Resident Visa to expire while an application for a variation of travel conditions is in progress, INZ would (with the applicant's permission) instead process the application as one for a Second or Subsequent Resident Visa. A lot of the criteria to be granted a Second or Subsequent Resident Visa is linked to the criteria to be granted a variation of travel conditions (see RV4.10(a)), so this would make sense.

Thanks so much Kelerei, we hope for the best just want to be able to travel back to NZ. Fingers crossed 🤞