[denalipop]

We have been approved for permanent residence are flying to Nelson (via Auckland) in a few weeks. We are scheduled to arrive in Auckland at 5:10am and then catch the final flight to Nelson at 6:50am. That gives us 1 hr 40 minutes in Auckland.

My questions:

1) Do we go through customs in Auckland or Nelson?
2) How long does it usually take to go through customs?
3) Are we granted our permanent residency stickers in Auckland or Nelson?
4) How long does the PR stuff usually take?
5) Is 1 hour 40 minutes enough time to let us get everything done in Auckland that needs to be done?
6) If we miss our Nelson plane due to customs or immigration in Auckland, will customs or immigration put us on another flight (for free) or will we have to rebook?

Thanks a bunch!

[Ana&Steve]

We had a nightmare experience with a 2hr stopover at Auk. I hope it was just bad luck but I'd rather warn you to be prepared then not share. IMHO 95% of Kiwis are kind and helpful, it turns out the other 5% work at the airport.
My friend, her baby, and I went to NZ together last year and we were able to use the resident line because baby has and NZ passport. That was pretty much our only break. They took our airline approved umbrella stroller in LA and checked it (after we told them not to) when we deboarded we had to get to the luggage carousel holding baby and carry-on after our 12hr flight. The stroller was the last thing to come off.:mad: Customs was a bit slow but we had more difficulty managing the bags to re -check them before catching the shuttle. We had two luggage carts and the baby stroller between two adult women. The Domestic bag check in people were rude and due to some crazy mixup on their end they wouldn't check our bags AND we missed the last shuttle. So we were almost crying at this point and we couldn't believe no one would help so we got mad and went to the info booth and demanded it. we made a scene so they sent a porter to push one of the luggage carts and the three of us RAN to the domestic terminal. (It's about a mile I think) we made it right as they were boarding.
I maintain that we were caught in a series of unfortunate events and this could never happen again, but forewarned is forearmed!

The biggest issues IMO are getting your bags rechecked and getting to the Domestic terminal.
Advice: if you can't widen your stop-over, see about familiarizing yourself with the shuttle schedule and whether Auk airport has some kind of expedition system in place for your situation; have enough people to handle all the luggage, and if you have a stroller, make triple sure they put it by the door and they don't chuck it in the hold when your back is turned. ;)

Best wishes and congrats on the move!:nice1

[dilanium]

We DID miss our connecting flight when we arrived. But since we were booked all the way through they (Air NZ) just put us on the next flight to palmy and it was no problem whatsoever.

[mylesdw]

I don't think customs and immigration have to do anything, it is your problem to allow enough time between flights but most airlines are pretty obliging about getting you on another flight.

I would have thought 1h 40m would be enough. I think that all the customs, immigration and formalities take place at AKL because that is your port of entry into NZ; after that it is just a domestic flight.

[James 1077]

If you are on one booking (ie you booked the flight to Nelson rather than booked a flight to Auckland and then another one to Nelson) then the airline is responsible for getting you to Nelson. So if you miss the connection then you'll be put on the next available flight at no cost to you anyway (and should get food / accommodation vouchers if needed).

If it is 2 bookings (sometimes done to save money) then you are responsible for making the connection and if you miss it then you may have to pay for a later flight (although sometimes they take pity on you!).

1 hour 40 is probably OK anyway but make sure you don't dawdle - if the flight is running a little late then let the cabin crew know that you have a tight connection and they may be able to organise for you to be met and rushed to passport control. When you check in for your flight to NZ mention the tight connection and ask (politely) if there is any way that they can make sure that your bags are off early - they should be able to put Biz Class priority labels on them so that they get off the plane first.

Unfortunately the domestic bag check-in at the international terminal closes 1 hour before your flight so you are unlikely to make that shut off time (although you might - it depends on how busy the airport is when you arrive) - this means that you will need to take your bags to the domestic terminal and check-in there (you can either bus or walk).

It is definitely doable as a connection but, as I say, it is tight so you won't be able to dawdle or go shopping on the way!

[Wooly_Cow]

The main issue is that if you have less than an hour between getting through immigration and MAF check there is no point in using the domestic check in at the international airport becuase they won't accept your bags. You then have to walk them across to the domestic depatures (which is not quite a mile by the way - takes between 10-15 minutes with luggage but is in the open so if it's raining ....) or you can take the shuttle bus which runs every 20 minutes and takes 5 mins. We felt that having loaded all our 20 odd bags onto the trolleys unloading them onto a bus and relaoding them at the far end wasn't worth it so we walked (we had about 1 hour 15 left but the queue for the domestic check in was at least 30 people long!)

At the domestic terminal you just have to sling your bags onto the conveyor as they will be check through and you should have your boarding passes.

HOWEVER I think that 1 hour 40 is going to be tight! You need to assume at least 45 mins to get through international which will leave you under an hour, so I would walk, that'll take about 15 mintues so you will get there about 30-45 mintues before the flight which should be fine.....

My tip therefore is ....be prepared for a walk with baggage!....and pray you don't get any hold ups!

[Jolie]

If you don't already have your PR stickers, you won't be getting them at Immigration. You will have to send your passports in to NZIS with the appropriate paperwork and fees to get the stickers put in your passports.

I would check and make sure that you don't need them to get into the country -- it's my understanding you will, unless you've already got Visas in your passports. We sent all the stuff in and had our stickers already in our passports when we arrived.

[James 1077]

If you don't already have your PR stickers, you won't be getting them at Immigration. You will have to send your passports in to NZIS with the appropriate paperwork and fees to get the stickers put in your passports.

I would check and make sure that you don't need them to get into the country -- it's my understanding you will, unless you've already got Visas in your passports. We sent all the stuff in and had our stickers already in our passports when we arrived.



When did this change? My OH had her residency permit stamped into her passport when we arrived 18 months ago.

[Jolie]

When did this change? My OH had her residency permit stamped into her passport when we arrived 18 months ago.

Did she not already have have the blue sticker in her passport?

Because to the best of my knowledge, they don't give you your blue sticker at Immigration, you have to send your passport to NZIS to get that.

The blue PR adhesive sticker (it takes up a whole page of your passport) is not the same as an ink stamp that they give you when you come through Immigration.

If you don't have that adhesive sticker in your passport, then you don't have official PR.

[Duncan74]

As tourists it took us about an hour from getting off the plane to reaching the 'open' on NZ1 arriving at 5am. Bit of a queue for immigration (we were one of the first in the queue), then a bit of time with MAF as we had some items of interest.

If it were me I'd make sure I knew what the airline policy would be if you missed the connection, and consider rebooking. The other angle is that it makes it a really long flight, friends did that from the UK and suffered as it was best poart of 36 hours travelling with minimal 'rest' between start and hotel and wiped them out for a few dayts of their visit.

[Jolie]

These babies are what you're going for:

[denalipop]

We have blue stickers in our passports, one for "Residence Visa" and one for "Returning Resident's Visa". Does this mean we are already "done" with immigration? Or will someone at the (Auckland) airport need to add a stamp or more stickers?

I called Air NZ and they said that 1 hr 40 should be plenty of time. They also said (or implied) that if we somehow missed the nelson flight due to immigration or customs, they would put us on a later flight. I don't have anything in writing, so I don't know if they would follow through with that. They did not recommend changing the Nelson flight to a later time.

[JandM]

There is a difference between a visa (which allows you to travel to the country) and a residence permit (which allows you to stay in it for a time). The original blue stickers are a visa. When you first arrive with them, immigration at the airport stamps your passport with your residence permit: at that time, your first two yearsworth of RRV starts running. BUT every time you leave the country and return (which you are perfectly entitled to do) that initial RRV is cancelled, and another one will be stamped into your passport automatically when you return (up to the two-year time limit).

If you're within two years of having gained PR, then this is the situation you will meet on arriving at Auckland - just a stamp in the passport for your fresh RRV.

[James 1077]

Did she not already have have the blue sticker in her passport?

Because to the best of my knowledge, they don't give you your blue sticker at Immigration, you have to send your passport to NZIS to get that.

The blue PR adhesive sticker (it takes up a whole page of your passport) is not the same as an ink stamp that they give you when you come through Immigration.

If you don't have that adhesive sticker in your passport, then you don't have official PR.



Ah, thats the confusion! The stickers aren't PR - they are visas that give you PR when you arrive! She had them - but was given PR when she arrived!

[IanW99]

We have blue stickers in our passports, one for "Residence Visa" and one for "Returning Resident's Visa". Does this mean we are already "done" with immigration? Or will someone at the (Auckland) airport need to add a stamp or more stickers?

When you arrive at Auckland airport, immigration staff will put a stamp in your passport (your permit).

This is very simple and quick, you hand over your passport and arrivals card for inspection and they stamp it with the appropriate permit.

Ian

[talisker]

I called Air NZ and they said that 1 hr 40 should be plenty of time. They also said (or implied) that if we somehow missed the nelson flight due to immigration or customs, they would put us on a later flight. I don't have anything in writing, so I don't know if they would follow through with that. They did not recommend changing the Nelson flight to a later time.

As long as your international flight and the Nelson flight were booked together, Air NZ will definitely put you on a later flight. They (or their agent) sold you a ticket with what they consider to be an acceptable connection time, which they have to honour. So they absolutely will follow through with what they said. As someone said earlier, if you've booked the Nelson flight separately, after you made the other booking, you're out of luck.

[Jolie]

Ah, thats the confusion! The stickers aren't PR - they are visas that give you PR when you arrive! She had them - but was given PR when she arrived!

Okay, that's the difference between what you have and what I have, yours are visas with an expiration date. One of my stickers is an Indefinite (no-expiration) Returning Resident's Visa (upside-down in my photo). The other actually IS my Permanent Residence Permit. Each time I re-enter the country, the Immigration officer at the airport looks at that, then gives me a corresponding ink stamp titled "Residence Permit", which also says "expires when you leave the country". But the blue sticker never expires.

[babscat]

We also rang ANZ to check if a similar length of time was sufficient, and were assured it would be sufficient, but by the time we had cleared passport control and customs we were too late for the domestic check-in. However, as we had booked through to Napier we were put on the next flight. No problems beyond a boring wait and a phone call to family in Napier to advise of delay.

[denalipop]

Thanks for the info.

It sounds like we can cross our fingers that the flight into Aukland is on time, and that we get through customs and immigration fast enough to catch our Nelson connection. If something prevents that from happening, there seems to be a good chance that Air NZ will switch us to a later flight to Nelson, which is okay with us.

In the meantime, I should find out the path and steps we need to take from the moment we get off the plane in Auckland to when we get on the Nelson flight. Do the Air NZ planes have magazines which show a detailed Auckland airport map?

[JandM]

http://www.aucklandairport.co.nz/AirportInformation/AirportMaps/Domestic-Terminal-Map.aspx This and the links in the side-bar may help.

[denalipop]

Thanks!