April 29, 2021
What’s the time span to process a visa application for New Zealand?
by Arunachalam
What’s the time span to process a Visa Application for New Zealand?
Except for offices in the UK, US and India, Immigration New Zealand offices in New Zealand and processing offices outside New Zealand are open at present. New Zealand’s border is even now closed to everyone except for New Zealand citizens and residents. There are certain exceptions to this, but the criteria for granting an exception are very strict.
Information for visa applicants outside of New Zealand
Except for New Zealand’s citizens and residents, New Zealand’s border is still closed for everyone else. The criteria for granting an exception are strict but there are some exceptions to it.
For most offshore applicants, visa processing is still on hold. The reason for this is that people who are not citizens or residents of New Zealand are not likely to meet the current entry requirements. Immigration New Zealand is unable to in a legal way grant a visa to people who are doubtful of meeting the entry requirements.
Check your status online
In the event that you applied online, you can check the status of your application and find out if Immigration New Zealand requires more information from you.
Average processing times
The timeframes detailed on this page indicate the average time taken in the previous three months to process a visa application. This is from the time, the application was submitted to Immigration New Zealand up until the point the application is completed.
Important Note
For the most part visa processing for applicants outside of New Zealand is on hold, because of COVID-19 19 pandemic.
Processing times for each visa varies.
Visitor visa
| Visa | 50% of applications processed in a span of: | 75% of applications processed in a span of: | 90% of applications processed in a span of: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visitor (holiday) | 64 days | 4 months | 5 months |
Find current processing times for other types of visitor visa, such as example business and group visitor visas.
Student visas
| Visa | 50% of applications processed in a span of: | 75% of applications processed in a span of: | 90% of applications processed in a span of: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee-Paying Student | 14 days | 31 days | 55 days |
| Variation of conditions on a student visa | 10 days | 14 days | 22 days |
You can also find out the time taken for processing of visas for international students depending on the type of education provider they study with.
Work visas
| Visa | 50% of applications processed in a span of: | 75% of applications processed in a span of: | 90% of applications processed in a span of: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials Skills | 22 days | 38 days | 59 days |
| Partner of a New Zealander | 66 days | 4 months | 6 months |
| Partner of student | 40 days | 68 days | 3 months |
| Partner of woker | 46 days | 68 days | 3 months |
| Post-study work visa | 10 days | 20 days | 35 days |
| Variatio of conditions on a work visa | 20 days | 30 days | 36 days |
Residence visas
| Visa | 50% of applications processed in a span of: | 75% of applications processed in a span of: | 90% of applications processed in a span of: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner of a New Zealander | 6 months | 9 months | 13 months |
| Permanent Resident Visa | 11 days | 30 days | 69 days |
| Skilled Migrant | 20 months | 22 months | 23 months |
| Transfer of visa to new passport | 2 days | 3 days | 8 days |
| Variation of travel conditions on a resident visa | 7 days | 21 days | 69 days |
Written by
Arunachalam
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