12 October 2023
T Singh
[FYI request #24169 email]
DOIA 2324-0624
Tēnā koe T Singh
Thank you for your email of 17 September 2023 to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), the following:
NZ Immigration Issues parent and grandparent (PGP) visa which is usually Issued with maximum
18 months stay in 36 months.
I would like to get clarity around below 2 things:
1) If applicant completed his or her 18 months stay prior to 36 months, can an another PGP visa
be applied prior to completion of 36 months?
If yes, are there any additional or separate visa Issuing guidelines for the new PGP visa application
based on above scenario? Also, how many such applications has been received by INZ in the last
12 month period along with it's Approved and Rejected number count.
2) Considering the same scenario where there is an active PGP visa where 36 months has not been
crossed but applicant completed his or her stay of 18 months in New Zealand, Can the applicant
apply for a visitor visa for 6 or 9 month duration prior to completion of 36 month visa validity of
current valid PGP visa?
If yes, are there any additional or separate visa Issuing guidelines for such applications? Also, how
many similar scenario applications has been received by INZ in the last 12 month period along with
it's Approved and Rejected number count.
Our Response
Question 1: If applicant completed his or her 18 months stay prior to 36 months, can an another PGP visa
be applied prior to completion of 36 months? If yes, are there any additional or separate visa Issuing
guidelines for the new PGP visa application based on above scenario? Also, how many such applications
has been received by INZ in the last 12 month period along with it's Approved and Rejected number
count.
If a Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa (PGVV) holder has completed their stay of 18 months they are
not eligible to be granted a new PGVV until the 36-month period of their visa has expired.
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Where there are exceptional circumstances an immigration officer may consider granting a visa as an
exception to immigration instructions.
We have interpreted your request for the number of applications received, approved, and rejected by
INZ in the last 12 months as the number of PGVV applications that have completed their 18-month stay
prior to the 36 months. INZ does not record this level of detail in a reportable format and obtaining that
information would require manually checking each application. We are therefore refusing this part of
your request under section 18(f) of the Act as the information requested cannot be made available
without substantial collation or research. This task would remove Ministry staff from their core duties
and therefore the greater public interest would not be served.
Question 2: Considering the same scenario where there is an active PGP visa where 36 months has not
been crossed but applicant completed his or her stay of 18 months in New Zealand, Can the applicant
apply for a visitor visa for 6 or 9 month duration prior to completion of 36 month visa validity of current
valid PGP visa? If yes, are there any additional or separate visa Issuing guidelines for such applications?
Also, how many similar scenario applications has been received by INZ in the last 12 month period along
with it's Approved and Rejected number count.
If a PGVV holder has completed their stay of 18 months prior to the limit of 36 months, they are not
eligible to be granted a six-month or nine-month visitor visa until the 36-month period has expired.
Where there are exceptional circumstances an immigration officer may consider granting a visa as an
exception to immigration instructions.
We have interpreted your request for the number of applications received, approved, and rejected by
INZ in the last 12 months as the number of PGVV applications that have completed their 18-month stay
prior to the 36 months and have applied for a six-month or nine-month visitor visa. INZ does not record
this level of detail in a reportable format and obtaining that information would require manually
checking each application. We are therefore refusing this part of your request under section 18(f) of the
Act as the information requested cannot be made available without substantial collation or research.
This task would remove Ministry staff from their core duties and therefore the greater public interest
would not be served.
In accordance with section 18A of the Act, for the parts of your request that we have refused under
section 18(f), I have considered whether fixing a charge under section 15 or extending the time limit
under section 15A would enable the request to be granted but it is my view it would not. In accordance
with section 18B of the Act, I have considered whether consulting with you would remove the reason
for refusal, however, in my view it would not as to obtain the specific information would inevitably
involve the manual search of applications.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this decision. Information
about how to make a complaint is available at www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802
602.
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If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request or this response, please contact [email address]
Nāku noa, nā
Jock Gilray
Director Visa
Chief Operating Officer Immigration Branch
Immigration New Zealand
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
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