The Christmas Rush
It almost feels wrong to be talking about Christmas and the holiday season already, but with only 55 days left until the big day arrives, there will be plenty of people thinking about travelling this way for the summer (or to escape their winter. For a lot of families in New Zealand, the Christmas holidays are a great opportunity to invite their extended family members here - with most of us taking at least two weeks off, over late December, and through to mid-January. Schools go on leave from December through to February and everyone is packing up their bags and heading to the beach.
For some families however, this also means having to navigate the visa process, because to get the parents, siblings, cousins, aunties and uncles in to New Zealand, requires a visa. Making sure you do that properly and also making sure time it right, particularly as the busy season approaches is really important. We often find that as November slowly fades away, we are approached by an ever-increasing number of applicants, whose visas might be “stuck” in the system…as the clock counts down on their intended arrival date.
If you are considering travelling out to New Zealand this holiday season, to spend time with family or even just to explore the country on your own, it pays to plan well ahead, in order to avoid the peak season. It’s also a good idea to be prepared and to understand exactly what you will need to show INZ in order to be unwrapping presents under the tree in time.
Avoid The Rush
INZ has various peak periods, which tend to coincide with holiday periods or the start of the academic season, and these periods tend to see a significant spike in application volumes and of course that results in slower processing times. Generally the holiday rush begins to creep in around mid-November, with people frantically submitting their visa applications in an attempt to travel in mid to late December.
Don’t Be Late
Leaving your application until the last minute, during a peak INZ processing period, could mean you miss out on making the trip.
Unfortunately some applicants, who have done all the other travel preparation to book flights, and insurance, tidy up their itinerary and ensure they have the right seats on the plane, leave the visa application (arguably the most important part) until the last minute.
What might seem like a fairly straight forward application to make, given it is online, can actually be a bit more complex than you think and the documentation required, as well as the evidence needed to support your genuine reasons for visiting as well as your incentives to return to NZ, might need a little bit more time to secure.
For some applicants, INZ tends to place a greater level of scrutiny on the reasons for their visit, and they will want to see strong ties back to the home country as well as good reasons for that person to leave New Zealand at the end of their intended stay. This often involves showing that you have a job to go back to, with leave confirmed, business committments that will require you to leave New Zealand or any other number of documents to show that you are not coming here to disappear in to the New Zealand wilderness.
Most applicants who apply for visitor visas offshore are granted a visa that allows travel for up to twelve months, with either a three or six month stay on arrival, so applying well ahead of your intended departure date is both feasible and recommended. If you are considering a trip here for the 2025/2026 holiday season, applying now would be a smart move, giving you both time to prepare as well as time to respond to any requests for additional information.
Tips For Visitors
Some people heading here don’t actually need to secure a visa before hand, if they are coming from a “visa-waiver” country - this is a country that has an agreement with New Zealand to allow short term stays as visitors without having to secure a specific visa ahead of time. However those applicants do need to still secure an Electronic Travel Authority (NZETA), which is not actually a visa at all, but just permission to arrive here and be considered for entry permission. So if you come from a visa-waiver country (UK, US, Singapore, Hong Kong and many others) then remember to secure your NZETA before you travel. The ETA process is pretty quick and easy and is done via an App, just make sure you use the official one and not a third-party who will charge you extra for the same process.
Tips To Apply
Even visitors have to prove that they have a genuine reason to travel here and a valid reason to leave at the end of their stay.
For those who need to secure a visitor visa before travelling here, either because they are not from a visa-waiver country or perhaps have another reason why a visa might be required, then it pays to be prepared, in terms of the documents INZ will want to see.
In general terms (and not to act as formal instructions) but INZ wants to see that you have a genuine reason to visit New Zealand, for example coming to see friends or family or a confirmed tourist itinerary, as a starting point. Next, they will want to know that you can support your stay either through having your own funds to cover the cost of accommodation and maintenance, which is $1,000.00 per person, per month or $400.00 per person, per month, if you are staying with friends or family and can provide confirmation. You also need to have funds to cover your incoming and outgoing flights, although we always suggest you only book flights once the visas are issued.
Then they will also potentially want to see evidence that you have a reason to go back to your home country, usually in the form of a job or business to return to, or possibly other family (if they are not travelling with you). For some applicants this part of the process can be a bit tricky, particularly if they dont have any employment or business ties in their home country. Proving your “incentive to return” isn’t a tick box exercise however and often we have to be a bit creative with what we can provide INZ to satisfy this part of the process.
For some applicants, proving the above can be pretty straight-forward, however for others it can become a complete nightmare, particularly if INZ isn’t initially satisfied with what you have to offer. Understanding what they are looking for and the documents you can use to prove that you are a genuine visitor (not about to disappear in the New Zealand countryside, never to be seen again) can be a bit of an art-form and one that we are particularly good at working with.
Hand Over The Holiday Stress
Spending time with family over the holiday period is a great reason to travel and for many it is the highlight of the year, as parents reunite with children and grandchildren or partners find their middle ground, in middle earth - people travel here over the holiday season for all sorts of reasons, but of course a lot more people travel during that period than any other. Making sure your holidays are filled with family and fun and not stress and anxiety involves planning well ahead and making sure your application is presented early enough and also fully prepared.
I do recall last year, working with several “last-minute” clients who wanted to secure visas in the days leading up to the Christmas period and whilst we were able to sort them out, my advice is always to avoid that eleventh hour panic. Plan ahead, beat the queues and travel stress-free.
If you’re unsure about what evidence to include in your application, how to explain your circumstances, or how to respond to INZ’s concerns if they raise them, it’s worth getting professional guidance early on. Whilst our team helps clients with all sorts of applications, most of which revolve around staying here permanently, we can also assist people with their holiday plans, making sure they apply on time and with all the right information to hand.
For advice or assistance with your visa application, contact us on 09 486 2169 or email immigration@turnerhopkins.co.nz.
Until next week.
