Immigration Law - Your Inside News

Laurent Lore

October 2024

Good morning Simon,

Immigration New Zealand has announced that the maximum duration of Visas for Partners of New Zealanders is increasing. For those who have been living together with their New Zealand partner for at least 12 months, the maximum stay allowed on a Temporary Visa will increase to 3 years. Immigration NZ says this will give couples additional time to save for Residence application fees and that it better aligns with the visa durations provided to Partners of temporary migrants.

The new Visa duration will apply for applications received from 01 October 2024 and applications that have been submitted but not yet decided on that date. A Residence application will still be able to be filed by the Partner of a New Zealander after the couple have been living together for at least 12 months.

Lawyers at Laurent Law stand well equipped to answer your questions about Partnership applications, prepare and file Partnership applications, where there is a case to be made. We have a lot of experience assessing whether a Partnership application will succeed, and we will not agree to represent you unless we believe your application has a good chance of success. Feel welcome to contact us to discuss.

Simon Laurent

Principal

slaurent@laurentlaw.co.nz

Vlog on Partner Visas

James Turner has prepared a Vlog recently, describing New Zealand Visa options for those in the United States. Our experience of Americans we have met, is that New Zealand offers something different to what they are used to. New Zealand a is a great place to raise a family, has a different pace of life, while remaining English-speaking, culturally compatible and relatively wealthy. In the Vlog James Turner speaks to some of the key themes arising in our discussions with US citizens looking to move to New Zealand. Watch it now.

For contrast, James Turner has also recently prepared a written article, regarding our successes in obtaining Visas for people from Afghanistan and other disadvantaged countries. Read it now.

SUCCESS STORY

We continue to help clients facing deportation action by Immigration New Zealand. Usually, we see Residence Visa holders liable for deportation because they have been convicted of a criminal offence. Drink driving is common, but we have recently assisted with deportation action relating to other types of convictions such as assault, indecent assault and burglary.

We find that if responses to Immigration New Zealand on the question of whether a deportation liability notice will be issued are prepared well, there is a good chance that a client’s liability for deportation will be suspended ie. so that if the Residence Visa holder does not receive any further criminal convictions during the period of suspension (which is usually 3 – 5 years), the person will keep their Residence Visa.

Simon Laurent has been busy responding to Lawyers and clients in Auckland and around New Zealand, seeking him to prepare expert affidavits of evidence regarding the immigration consequences of a criminal conviction, in applications for discharge without conviction. If it is clear that a person could lose their Residence Visa as a result of a criminal conviction, sometimes this can help a Court to agree to grant a discharge without conviction.

ANZSCO

The Australia and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (‘ANZSCO)’ has been used for Immigration NZ for many years to classify jobs, especially for people applying for Work Visas and Residence under the Skilled Migrant category. However, Immigration NZ has announced that ANZSCO will be replaced by a new New Zealand classification system called the National Occupation List (‘NOL’). Statistics New Zealand and the Australian Bureau of Statistics say comparability between the two countries will be maintained, but the time has now come for each country to have their own tailored classification systems. Immigration NZ will take some time to transition to using the NOL.