Tutorial: How to extend your Working Holiday Visa in New Zealand

Once your application has been sent, all you have to do is wait! There are generally 3 stages following the receipt of your application:

• entering your application into the immigration computer system
• verification of documents and payment
• assessment by a case officer.

Unfortunately, the immigration department will not notify you of receipt of your application (hence the advantage of sending by courier to receive a tracking number). Don’t panic, there are ways to check that your application has been received.

How to check if Immigration New Zealand has received your application

Go to your immigration account and choose the “Check my applications” option.

You will see a summary of your visa applications. If you see a new line with the word “Pending” and no date, this is your extension application! This line confirms the first step (your application has been entered into the computer system).

Another easy way to check the progress of your application is to simply check your bank account. If it shows the visa fees have been deducted, you can presume you have reached stage two (you have sent in all the documents required for the application, and you have now paid the visa fee).

At this stage, you will also see on your immigration account that there is a “Lodgement date” in the line corresponding to your extension. This is the date on which your application was electronically entered into the system, and this is the official date of your extension request.

If there is an issue with your payment card, an immigration officer will inform you by e-mail. They will then ask you to send further payment details by post. However, the e-mail signature includes the agent’s name and phone number. You can call them directly to give them another Visa or Mastercard number, which will be quicker than sending by post.

The interim visa

If your WHV expires before your extension is approved, you will automatically be granted an interim visa, which will be valid for 6 months. This visa allows you to legally stay in New Zealand and, more importantly, allows you to continue working until your extension is granted.

The interim visa will be sent to you automatically a few days after paying for your extension application. Don’t worry if you haven’t received your interim visa before the end of your WHV. What matters is that your extension application is in their computer system before that end date. You will find that, even if you’re “unlawful” for a few days, your interim visa will be dated to officially start the day after your WHV ends, eliminating any illegal days in the country.

On your immigration account, your immigration status will be updated and you will officially be on an interim visa until you receive your WHV extension.