Section 61 request restores a student's status after a missed deadline

[Applicant A] had studied in New Zealand since 2020 and was moving into a law degree at the University of Waikato. His new student visa was declined because Immigration New Zealand was not satisfied his money was genuinely his and available. His request for a review was couriered but reached the Auckland office after the deadline, so the review never happened and he was left in New Zealand without a valid visa.

We made a section 61 request and were open about exactly what had happened, explaining that the missed deadline was caused by the courier rather than any fault of his. We attached the full review submission so the officer had everything. On the money, we showed the cash gift from his father, backed by his father’s letter, and that he had sold personal items such as a laptop and camera gear to top up his funds, so he now held more than 21,000 dollars. We also explained that his earlier study results had suffered because of personal and health difficulties he had since worked through.

Immigration New Zealand granted him a visitor visa under section 61, which restored his lawful status. With that sorted, we lodged a fresh student visa application, answered a routine request for more documents the same day, and the student visa was approved in February 2025.

Missing an appeal deadline can feel final, but a section 61 request can sometimes restore a person’s status when the delay was genuinely outside their control, as a courier delay was here. Because this request is granted entirely at Immigration New Zealand’s discretion, being open about how the situation arose does far more good than trying to hide it. And it is just as important to put the original reason for the decline right, which is why we re-proved where the money came from and that it was genuinely available before asking for the visa.