[coyotewildwomen]

Hi,

We are on our way after completing all the trials and tribulations of obtaining our PR- to arrive in Auckland on November 15.

I have questions about getting physically through immigration... for those of you who have completed the process, what can we expect? Will they greet us with a brass band or with little fanfare??

We also have questions about maintaining our PR because we need to travel back to the US to take care of my very ill father for the next year, and therefore plan to buy a business in order to do so. Does anyone know of the location/ contact information of the Auckland immigration office where we can get more clarification on what is required of us to maintain permanent residency?

Wendy

[Bubbles]

Wendy,
It all depends which office you are closest too. Heres the contact details of all 3. :nice1

Auckland Central Branch contact details
Phone
+64 9 914 4100 (for people calling within the Auckland toll free region)
0508 55 88 55 (for people calling outside the Auckland toll free region, but within New Zealand)
Fax
+64 9 914 4118
----------------------------------------------

Henderson Branch contact details
Phone
+64 9 914 4100 (for people calling within the Auckland toll free region)
0508 55 88 55 (for people calling outside the Auckland toll free region but within New Zealand)
Fax
+64 9 969 3498
----------------------------------------------

Manukau Branch contact details
Phone
+64 9 914 4100 (for people calling within the Auckland toll free region)
0508 55 88 55 (for people calling outside the Auckland toll free region but within New Zealand)
Fax
+64 9 914 4728


Hope this will help. Oh, and good luck on your venture

John

[Carol]

Will they greet us with a brass band or with little fanfare??



Wendy

No - but when we arrived in Auckland the passport control officer said to us
"Welcome to New Zealand folks - it's good to have you here"

It was LOVELY!
:cheers

[veronica]

you just go through immigration like everybody else, with little or no comment! I think you need to be in NZ for 6 months or so each year to maintain residency but I am sure there is someone on here who knows the exact details. It has been on before so may be worth doing a forum search.

[Smiler]

We missed the brass band and fanfare.

But going through the NZ channel and the immigration officer saying 'Welcome to New Zealand both of you' was better than any flags, bunting, tickertape or brass band. :raebanana wouldn't have minded a dancing banana though, :p

Deborah

[clg]

I don't remember them saying anything to us when we went through immigration, certainly no big welcome but then it was 5:30 am so figure we all would have rather been sleeping!

Chris

[Diny]

No fanfares or brass bands, but like so many others have said, the immigaration officer was really pleasant, and welcomed us to the country.

As far as maintaining your PR status. When you get your PR sticker in your passport, you will also be given a RRV (returning residents visa). This enables you to move in and out of NZ as much as you like. The RRV is valid for 2 years, after that you apply for another (not sure how long that is valid for though). However, as mentioned above you do have to be in NZ for a certain amount of days per year for the PR status to remain valid.

Hope all goes well for your journey. Keep us posted.


Diny

[ruthyroo]

No brass band or fanfare - just a three hour wait in the queue to get through immigration (yep three hours!) becuase they were / are so short staffed. I think that's when we decided to go for PR asap, so that we could come through the NZ Citizens and Residents queue rather than slogging it out in the Foreigners one every time we went on holiday!!

[Billy]

I thought NZ residency didn't mean we could join the NZ passport holders queue, or am I wrong?

[ruthyroo]

Oops caught out there! They have changed the doorways / queues at the airport since we first arrived and yes there seems to be a NZ / Aus passport holders only stair / gate as soon as you get through... then downstairs for everyone else. My mistake.

[Smiler]

We went through the NZ pp holders. :raebanana :raebanana no queue and can't remember any stairs!!!


D