[chuchi]

Hi,

I just want to share some information on the new citizenship rules, as pointed out by Cathy to me (actually the Filipino community) via email:

Permanent Residence before 21 April 2005
If you received permanent residence before 21 April 2005, or made an application for permanent residence before 21 April 2005 that was approved after 21 April 2005, you must satisfy two requirements:

1. Ordinary Residence: and
2. Lawful Residence

Ordinary Residence
You must have been ordinarily resident in New Zealand for the last 3 years. This means that you must have been physically present in New Zealand for the last 3 years.

Lawful Residence
You must have been lawfully in New Zealand for the last 3 years by having valid immigration permits for all the period.


Permanent Residence after 21 April 2005
If you applied for and received permanent residence after 21 April 2005 you are required to fulfill the following requirements. You are required to have:

1. Been present in New Zealand for a total of at least 1,350 days during the 5 years immediately before you make your application, and
2. Been present in New Zealand for a total of at least 240 days in each of those 5 years with a Permanent Resident Permit issued by the New Zealand Immigration Service, and
3. Fully met any conditions imposed by the New Zealand Immigration Service in regard to your Permanent Resident Permit.

You may check it out at:
http://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/Services-Citizenship-Requirements-for-New-Zealand-Citizenship?OpenDocument#nine

[cagcagb]

hello chuchi.

this is definitely a relief for us!

I sure hope we will receive our PRs soon! I fear a denial :uhoh

cathy

[baboonworld]

So lets get this right then...

... exactly what date applies - date you get your letter say "application in principle" or the date you land in NZ?

[Yogi]

So since I applied for PR before 21/4/05 even though I won't get it for a while (still not filed medicals - delayed) I will be able to get citizenship after 3 years in NZ?

Anyone know any resources where I can find this out officially?

Cheers,

Yogi.

[Bubbles]

http://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/Services-Citizenship-Requirements-for-New-Zealand-Citizenship?OpenDocument#nine

As reported by Chuchi ;)

[Bubbles]

Not sure if theres still confusion over this, so I emailed my CO and got a very swift reply back.............................

Hi John
In answer to your query.

Permanent residence is deemed effective from the date we issue your visas. As that will be after 21 April 2005 you would not be able to apply for citizenship for 5 years. You could take a look at the website - www.dia.govt.nz for clarification.

Kind Regards
Chris

.................................................. ................


Hope this is crystal clear now.

[foolsgold99]

Chris,

Your case officer is wrong, what they have said directly contradicts the offical web site which says.

If you received permanent residence before 21 April 2005, or made an application for permanent residence before 21 April 2005 that was approved after 21 April 2005, you must satisfy two requirements

It's crystal clear, if you have submitted your ita before 21st April, then the rule is 3 years.

[Bubbles]

So the saga continues :uhoh

[KiwiB]

Hi guys and gals,

See attached reply from Client Information Officer, Citizenship Office, Department of Internal Affairs.

We would think that "applied for residency" meant the date NZIS received our Invitation to Apply (ITA) back to NZIS.

Hope this is crystal clear now...... :clap :P :laugh

If anyone out there is still in doubt, do email to Client Information Officer, Citizenship Office, Department of Internal Affairs.

Remember to share your findings !! :mrgreen:

:exit
===============================================
Citizenship@dia.govt.nz wrote:

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for your enquiry.

If you applied for residency before 21 April 2005 and your application is
approved after this date, then you are eligible to apply for New Zealand
Citizenship under the old legislation of three years residency, provided
you meet the additional requirements for a grant of New Zealand Citizenship

If you have any further enquiries, please contact us again by email or
phone, Call Free (NZ) 0800 22 51 51, or visit our website:
http://www.citizenship.govt.nz/.

Yours sincerely
Kelly Duff
Client Information Officer
Citizenship Office
Department of Internal Affairs

[KiwiB]

Hi guys and gals,

is this crystal clear now ?

When did most of you lodge application for residency ? At the ITA stage ? I think so.. :clap :clap ......and that means most of you on this forum are mostly before 21 April 2005...and that means most of you on this board are 3 years to citizenship !!!

Well done guys and gals !! :clap :clap :P :P

If still not crystal clear...do contact the NZ Citizenship Office
Department of Internal Affairs and clarify with NZIS again..... :exit



===============================================
Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you again for your enquiry.

When the Citizenship Office states 'applied for residency', we are referring to the date when you lodged your application for residency with the New Zealand immigration Service.

Yours sincerely
Client Information Officer
Citizenship Office
Department of Internal Affairs

[MB]

Thanks, KiwiB.

By the by, as you know, one of the big sources of confusion is that folks yet to migrate, who have been given upfront PR, have PR visas in their passports... which are only converted to PR permits on arrival in NZ. And one of the (official?) sources stated recently that the April date applied to when you wre granted your permit.

But this latest official message, and similar recent ones, seem to put so much emphasis on application dates that -- as you suggest -- many of us have been given good news! It would take an excruitating legalistic leap to interpret 'date of application for residence' as 'date of handing the passport in at Auckland International terminal three seconds prior to conversion to PR permit from PR visa'! :yes In other words, yes, I think they mean 'date of application' to mean 'date the queue officer received (or maybe even date you postmarked) your Application and documents'.