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Immigrants waiting for news about their visas expiring tomorrow have been told they can use a press release to show employers that they are still eligible to work.
Archive image. Source: istock.com
By Gill Bonnett of rnz.co.nz
Six-month visa extensions were announced for many workers in July, and visas for their partners and children were added a month later.
But an immigration adviser, Toni Alexander, said the visas have not all been issued and, as many were previously extended through Sept. 25 under the Epidemic Management Notice, they expire tomorrow.
Immigrants have also reached out to RNZ with their concerns about delays in communication and issuance of visas.
“The extension is meant to be automatic, but they can’t automatically extend it electronically, they have to do it manually,” Alexander said.
“Some of them haven’t been extended yet. Tomorrow is the date most of these expire. When we call immigration at the call center, they tell us not to worry, they can still work and go to school, and We just have to show the employers and schools communicated to the media that their visas will be automatically extended. But employers still can’t allow staff to work on an expired visa. “
The implications were huge, including ineligibility for publicly funded health care, he said. If that happened when an immigrant was pregnant, the minimum that would be charged would be $ 9,000.
“The ones that reached out to me and were sitting there, I had to push and push and really upset people at immigration and it’s not a productive use of their time, or my time,” he said.
“Due to their inaction, they are making these people illegal. If they leave and do not have a legal visa, then they show that they are illegally present in New Zealand and may in fact jeopardize all of their future travel opportunities.”
In one case he had dealt with, a man’s work visa had been extended, but not that of his wife or the children.
“And when they do extend, the only evidence is an email from immigration to say that their visa has been extended. When I checked the visa verification service, there was nothing to show that the visa had been extended. I have an email from the immigration manager that my client can show his employer.
“He has a wife and two children, all of whom, tomorrow at midnight, will become illegal if they cannot extend their visas. Then the wife cannot work and her income is instantly cut in half.”
INZ WORKING AS FAST AS POSSIBLE
Immigration New Zealand (INZ) said that visa holders can rest assured that all visa extensions will legally take effect from the date the Minister of Immigration signs a Special Directorate.
It says it is working as quickly as possible to apply the new expiration dates to eligible work and visitor visas.
“As a result of Covid-19, INZ is processing a large volume of changes to thousands of visas and is working to apply new expiration dates as quickly as possible,” said an INZ spokesperson.
We have also applied new expiration dates to visitor visas for citizens of non-visa-exempt countries that are eligible for an extension, according to the Special Directorate of the Ministry of Immigration on September 4, 2020.
“However, given the high number of recent visa changes affecting many tens of thousands of visa holders, we are currently experiencing a delay in applying the new expiration dates to visitor visas from visa-exempt countries. in our IT system.We are working to resolve this issue ASAP.
“We understand this can be stressful for eligible visa holders. If you have any concerns about your immigration status or visa expiration date, you can contact us for clarification.”
