Immigration New Zealand have announced that from 10th August 2020 overseas applicants will not be allowed to apply for temporary entry visas for a 3-month period.
Exceptions to the visa suspension:
The following overseas temporary entry class visa applications are not affected:
- relationship-based visas for partners and dependent children of New Zealand citizens and residents
- visas for diplomatic, consular and official staff and accompanying dependants
- Antarctic Traveller Visitor visas and Antarctic Work visas
- Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) Limited visas.
Visas will still be processed for applicants who have a critical purpose for entering New Zealand and have received an Invitation to Apply.
This suspension also does not apply to residence class visa applications as these applications take longer to process and may be less impacted by border restrictions.
If you are currently living in New Zealand there is no change to the visas you are able to apply for.
Why have these changes been implemented?
Due to the border closures, INZ haven’t been processing overseas visas unless they meet the strict border exception criteria. The changes will help to manage applicants’ expectations and put INZ in a better place to process new applications when the border restrictions change.
Find out more on INZ’s website.
