Any idea if Immigration New Zealand will stop processing Work Visas in light of the covid lockdown? Would like to know if anybody has been receiving Visa approvals in the coming weeks.
Covid-19 update- Immigration New Zealand response;
New Zealand has issued the Epidemic Management Notice effective from Thursday, 02 April 2020.
This means that people with any kind of temporary visas like work, student, visit etc, which expire before Wednesday, 01 April 2020, who are unable to leave New Zealand, must apply online for a new visa to receive an Interim visa.
People whose temporary visas expire anytime between 01 April 2020 and 09 July 2020, will have their visas extended automatically till late September without the need to apply for an extension on their temporary visa.
More details here
The current extension, that was announced today, is only for those currently IN NZ already - primarily added because at this point, people simply cannot get back home and this alleviates honest travellers from suddenly becoming illegal and overstaying when Covid19 is the cause.
It does not extend the arrival dates for anyone not yet in NZ.
People who are here on temporary visas which will expire within the next couple month, are allowed to stay longer. The border is closed until further notice to everybody who is NOT a NZ citizen, Resident or a partner of either of them.