#COVID19 Update: New Zealand border exceptions processing times
Last year, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) committed itself to processing border exception requests within two working days, except for other critical worker requests which INZ is processing within two weeks.
Due to ongoing border restrictions, the two-day time frame has been placing enormous pressure on INZ staff. Especially since INZ has been getting thousands of requests each month!
It seems likely that border restrictions are going to be in place for some time and the border exception environment is becoming more complex as new exception criteria are introduced.
As a result…
INZ has decided to change the processing time frame for border exception requests to five working days.
The average processing times largely depend on the type of request at the moment. For instance:
- ‘Family of a New Zealand Citizen or Resident’: Two days
- ‘Family of a Temporary Visa Holder’: Two days
- ‘Humanitarian’ category: Two days
‘Ordinarily resident’ exception requests, which are more complex, take longer.
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