64 4 711974
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NEW ZEALAND IMMIGRATION service
General Manager s O:
P.O. Box 4130, Wellington, New Zea Telephone (04) 739 100 Fax (04) 712 118 Telex
In all contacts please quote. GMO)
Returning Residents' Visas
Persons approved overseas for residence in New Zealand are initially issued with single-entry Residence Visas to enable them to travel to New Zealand within a specified period, and on arrival here, to be granted Residence Permits which allow them to remain in the country indefinitely.
Under section 41(1) of the Immigration Act 1987, however, a Residence Permit is deemed to have expired when the holder of it leaves New Zealand subsequently. For this reason, Returning Residents' Visas are required by New Zealand residents who wish to travel overseas and return to New Zealand to resume recidence.
This
Government policy since 1981 has been to make a person's first ReturningTMTMTMTM Resident's Visa valid for multiple journeys outside New Zealand within a four-year period. Subsequent visas may be issued on a more restrictive basis if the applicant has not been residing permanently in New Zealand. policy reflects the Government's view that people who have been granted the right of residence should be permitted to retain that right provided they genuinely intend to take up and maintain residence, but that only New Zealand citizens should have a completely unfettered right of return to New Zealand at all times. The policy has the intention of protecting the interests of If no New Zealand citizens and other people permanently residing here. controls were placed on the issue of returning residents' visas, this would make it caɛy for people to obtain benefits from the social welfare system, to which they had not contributed during their prolonged absence from New Zealand. At the same time, a four-year visa avoids inconvenience to permanent residents wishing to travel overseas.
At the conclusion of the first four-year period, a person who has not obtained New Zealand citizenship in the interim may apply for a further Returning Residents Visa. The currency of a further Returning Resident's Visa depends on the amount of time the applicant has spent in New Zealand during the preceding four years. Where the initial visa was used only for short-term överseas stays, a further four-year visa may be issued. Where an applicant has spent more time outside the country than inside, a visa of a shorter duration may be issued. There is no limit to the number of Returning Residents Visas that may be applied for.
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Several information leaflets which are available to applicants for Returning Residents' Visas are attached.
April 1990
A Service of the
DEPARTMENT OF
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