One-off Resident Visa

With the first phase of One-off Resident applications opened this 1st December 2021, Immigration New Zealand was marred by technical difficulties till 6th December 2021. Applicants, immigration advisers, and lawyers struggled to log into the system to prepare applications. Only 2,498 applicants, out of 15,000 applicants, managed to complete and lodge their applications on Thursday (2nd December 2021). This system outage raised severe concern from specialists regarding Immigration New Zealand's capacity and competence to serve further 95,000 more applicants in March 2022. To my surprise, during the webinar hosted by Immigration New Zealand in November 2021, they spoke with confidence that the system is ready to welcome the influx of applications. However, it seems like Immigration New Zealand failed to cope with the sudden spike in visa application demand and was not ready as they promised.

Brushing aside the surge in people's access to the Immigration website and whether Immigration New Zealand online platform can be smoothed out in March 2022, what can we do to manage our frustration well?

To start preparing necessary documents as soon as you can

The sooner you get your application organized and checked up, the sooner you can sit back and relax. Immigration NZ published the one-off resident visa requirements on their official website. It is worth wrapping up all documents before submission and just hitting the "submit" button when the time arrives. Particularly to those who plan to include their overseas partner in the one-off resident visa application, it is crucial to prepare your documents as early as possible. Immigration will consider your separation due to Covid19, but it does not necessarily signal the relaxation on assessing your partnership in line with Immigration requirements.

Wisely use your interim visa

As you may be aware, Immigration NZ plans to issue a special 2021 Interim Visa to those whose temporary visas expire while waiting for a decision on the One-off resident visa. This interim is valid for 12 months. Applicants cannot change employers or apply for other types of visas while on an interim visa, which gives applicants significant restriction and uncertainty. Suppose the one-off resident visa application was declined – out of surprise, you should expect to only lodge the S61 request after two months from the date of decline. This means that applicants whose resident visas declined can only apply for a further visa after their visa status becomes illegal in New Zealand.

Thus, it may be worth to consider applying for a further temporary visa though you are eligible for a 2021 interim visa. But we will leave the decision to you.

Nevertheless, we all hope Immigration New Zealand dedicates itself to introducing a better system in 2022. A system truly reflects the input of all taxpayers, and a system genuinely excludes frustration, anxiety, and uncertainty. Immigration New Zealand has obligation and is accountable to serve all stakeholders in a transparent and efficient manner. Palpable efficacy is the baseline of this One-off Rollout, not efforts just little more than window dressing. For now, we hope all your applications process smoothly, and 2022 will be a triumphant year!