Question around NZETA "6 months"

[rektest1]

Hi,

My partner is from the U.K. and we will be living together soon to eventually apply for a Partnership Work Visa, one concern we had was around the NZeTA she used to visit me earlier this year. She applied for the NZeTA and then visit me for a holiday together in February for 3 weeks, however, she arrived in New Zealand on 30 January 2023, does this mean she has used up an entire 1 month of the 6 month allowance? even though it was only 2 days of January? This also brings me to the same question regarding February, she left NZ on February 17th to fly back to U.K does this mean she has used up the entirety of February too?

I am trying to understand the whole "you are allowed in New Zealand for 6 months" and how they calculate it, it would seem quite unfair to consume a whole month when you're only here for 2 days of that month?

any advice would be appreciated.

[Kelerei]

The visa waiver facility granted to British citizens (and other British nationals with the right to reside permanently in the United Kingdom) only applies if the person concerned is seeking a Visitor Visa current for not more than 6 months (in other words, the person must leave New Zealand or apply for a further visa within 6 months from date of entry), and the purposes of the visit do not include medical consultation or treatment. See E2.1. Also, refer to the Visa Waiver Visitor Visa factsheet.

[rektest1]

apologies, she already has an NZeTA my concern was around how they calculate the 6 months, or are you saying the 6 months is 'reset' every time she enters the country? we are confused because on immigration nz it states the following:

You can only visit New Zealand for up to 6 months in any 12-month period.

We figured she has already used up a few months, as per my dates listed above, but we weren't entirely sure how they are calculated.

[Kelerei]

My apologies, missed that earlier.

Per V2.5(d), a Visitor Visa granted at the border to a visa waiver traveller may not allow the applicant to stay in New Zealand for a total of more than 6 months in the 12 months period before the proposed expiry date of the visa. Thus, in the case of a British citizen who has already spent one month in New Zealand in the past 12 months, a Visitor Visa current for 5 months should be expected.

As to how this would be calculated, while I am not sure, it would probably go something like this:

• A British citizen, travelling on a British citizen passport and holding a NZeTA, is travelling to New Zealand visa waiver.
• This person may therefore seek a Visitor Visa of not more than 6 months at the border (per E2.1(k)).
• If this person arrives on 1 August 2023 (by means of example), the proposed expiry date of the visa would therefore be the end of February 2024.
• INZ would then look at the length of time previously spent in New Zealand between (in our example) 1 February 2023 and 29 February 2024.
• If, by means of example, that person previously spent 1 month in New Zealand within those date ranges, any Visitor Visa granted may therefore only be current for no more than 5 months (per V2.5(d)).

If this will not be enough time to meet the requirements to apply for a partnership based visa (in particular, the living together requirement), an appopriate visa should be sought before travelling to New Zealand.

I should also add that, based on other people's experiences that they have shared on this forum, INZ usually wants a minimum of around 2-3 months of living together to meet this requirement for the purposes of a partnership-based temporary entry visa. There is no minimum requirement defined in immigration instructions (see E4.5, and contrast this to residence class visas where a minimum of 12 months is clearly defined, e.g. F2.5(d)), and as such INZ has considerable discretion in this regard.

EDIT: Once in New Zealand, your partner can use the Visa Verification Service to verify the period of stay that has been granted. If going through the manual processing queue at the airport, your partner can also enquire with the Immigration Officer at the border. I don't know if this information is provided to people on entry going through the eGates: I've never gone through one myself as I don't hold a passport entitling me to go through them.

[rektest1]

Thanks! yup we will be living together for 3 months and collating evidence before we apply. I understand your monthly calculations but what if she came here on 30th of January, does that still count the entirety of January or just 2 days?

Also, one other question we had was: When she arrives in New Zealand in September, she will still need a flight out of NZ despite intention to stay, we understand that. However, can we just buy her a cheap flight to Australia one way? as long as she has a flight out of NZ that should satisfy customs right? Australia law states you don't need a return flight for Australia, as long as you have funds available to purchase one.

[Kelerei]

Thanks! yup we will be living together for 3 months and collating evidence before we apply. I understand your monthly calculations but what if she came here on 30th of January, does that still count the entirety of January or just 2 days?

Given how INZ looks at time periods (which I have experienced myself when meeting the requirements for a Permanent Resident Visa), they would almost certainly be looking at 30 January 2023 to (and including) 29 January 2024 in such a case.

Also, one other question we had was: When she arrives in New Zealand in September, she will still need a flight out of NZ despite intention to stay, we understand that. However, can we just buy her a cheap flight to Australia one way? as long as she has a flight out of NZ that should satisfy customs right? Australia law states you don't need a return flight for Australia, as long as you have funds available to purchase one.

This depends. If your partner is travelling to a country that also has an onward travel requirement, INZ may ask to see the ticket departing that country as well as the ticket departing New Zealand. I know from experience that Australia asks for proof of onward travel if applying for a standard Visitor Visa (subclass 600), and while I don't remember them asking this when applying for an eVisitor (subclass 651) that a British citizen visitor may apply for, I can tell you that last time we visited Australia (last year; my partner is a British citizen by descent and was travelling on her British passport), our itinerary was checked at the border.

[rektest1]

So basically... our situation is incredibly annoying but I'll do my best to explain.

• Her NZETA only has 4 months remaining because she was here in January and February.
• She is arriving here September 24th (that's another month gone from the NZETA, dropping it down to 3 months remaining).
• We will be living together end of September, October, November, December (she MUST leave the country by 31 December as her NZETA will expire).
• We need to purchase a one-way flight back to London or she won't be able to enter the country, this flight must leave New Zealand before 31 December.

This is the part I'm stressing about... how long does it take once you apply for a Partnership Work Visa to be switched over from NZeTA to an Interim Visa? because if it happens automatically and very quickly, then everything is fine... but if we apply in December for the Partnership Work Visa and they haven't switched her over to an Interim Visa by 31st December, she must leave the country right?

What options do we have then? NZeTA might be cutting it short, is she better off getting a 6-9 month Visitor Visa, which will buy us time to collate evidence and then apply for Partnership Work Visa - or is the 4 month remaining NZeTA fine?

[Kelerei]

This is the part I'm stressing about... how long does it take once you apply for a Partnership Work Visa to be switched over from NZeTA to an Interim Visa? because if it happens automatically and very quickly, then everything is fine... but if we apply in December for the Partnership Work Visa and they haven't switched her over to an Interim Visa by 31st December, she must leave the country right?

As long as you lodge the application for the Work Visa before the Visitor Visa granted at the border expires, you should be fine as far as the Interim Visa is concerned. An Interim Visa is usually granted automatically (but not always, see I1.10).

In my case (back in 2018), I had an Interim Visa automatically issued exactly one week before my previous temporary entry class visa was due to expire... and then it was automatically cancelled, as my further temporary entry class visa was granted a few days later before the Interim Visa itself started.

[rektest1]

Thank you for that link, does this also apply to NZeTA or only Visitor Visa? so for example if we apply early December, she will move from NZeTA to an Interim visa automatically before Dec 31st and she won't need to leave the country right?

[Kelerei]

Thank you for that link, does this also apply to NZeTA or only Visitor Visa? so for example if we apply early December, she will move from NZeTA to an Interim visa automatically before Dec 31st and she won't need to leave the country right?

The holder of an NZeTA is effectively granted a visa at the border (see the Visa Waiver Visitor Visa factsheet that I linked to earlier). This therefore satisfies I1.5(a)(i).