The government of New Zealand has increased from two to three years the maximum duration for work and visitor visas for partners of New Zealand citizens or residence class visa holders who have been living together for at least 12 months.
The aim is to give couples additional time to save for residence application fees and better aligns with the visa durations provided to partners of temporary migrants.
The new maximum visa duration will apply to applications received from October 1, 2024 and applications that have been submitted, but not yet decided, on that date. Current visas will not be automatically extended. A new application will need to be made for the longer duration.
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