Visitor Visa

The expiry date of the visa or permit will be clearly marked on it. It is your responsibility to leave New Zealand before that date, or to arrange for an extension of time, before that date.

Because it is among the most temporary and limited of visas, a visitor’s visa, is usually associated with few conditions; in many cases no prior application is necessary provided the traveller holds return tickets; and the New Zealand government relies on self-declaration as to health or criminal history, at the time of entry.

But unlike residence policy, which manages “risk” through formal policy, temporary policy manages “risk” by giving power to immigration officers to “assess risk” case by case or category by category.

What are these “risks” that need to be managed? Some are obvious-say, the risk of terrorism; the entry of criminals; or the intention of an individual to take up unauthorised permanent residence. But others are less obvious – like the “risk” of working without a permit; or the “risk” of falling in love with a New Zealander; or the “risk” of a grandma staying an extra month to nurse a sick grandchild; or the “risk” that a tourist may so enjoy the skiing that they pass an extra week spending money in New Zealand. Some of these hardly seem to be risks, at all; but they are taken very seriously by Immigration New Zealand.

In a general discussion, we have described how, in the case of temporary visas, decisions are allowed to breach New Zealand’s normal Human Rights requirements. The way the “risks” associated with visitors visas are assessed demonstrates how unfair governments become when they are not restrained by law. For example, citizens of UK, Canada and USA are regarded as low “risk” and are given visitors visas on arrival, provided they have return tickets and sufficient funds, and the individual declares no criminal record and good health.  Citizens of India and China, on the other hand, (and other countries as well) have to apply in advance and pass a stringent (and secret) set of “risk profiling” tests because it is assumed they are likely to be terrorists, and/or are likely to want to break New Zealand’s immigration rules and/or are, in some other way, up to no good.

How is an intending visitor to approach these issues?

• Check with your travel agent, a New Zealand government office or an official New Zealand government web site to find out whether a person of your nationality is presently entitled to enter “visa- free” (without prior approval), or whether you need to apply for a visitors visa in advance. (Note: the lists change. What was true yesterday may not be true today. Only rely on official information).
• If you are entitled to enter “visa-free” you do not need the help of an immigration adviser. (But note: if you have any convictions or charges of any type, even if “forgiven” or “expired” under local law, or if you are not in perfect health, you should seek the help of an adviser.)
• If you are going to be required to apply in advance you need to work out how to avoid being declined for no good reason. Most people from “at risk” countries who are travelling on pre-booked, pre-paid, fully-catered tours run by large companies seem to get visas with little difficulty. Others should think carefully about how damaging an unexpected refusal would be and seek help from an adviser if necessary.

Good general advice is: be careful coming to New Zealand on a visitors visa, with a short expiry date, if your real intention is to do something else like getting work, married, or staying longer. It can be tempting to say; “I’ll come on a visitor’s visa now and sort the real issues out, later”; but the risk of Immigration New Zealand interpreting your actions as “attempting to subvert the intentions of policy” (or “trying to trick them”) are very high. The consequences can be severe beyond all reason and can even affect your ability to travel to other countries. Be honest with Immigration New Zealand. If you have a problem, doubts or complications, talk to a Licensed Adviser.