Section 61 request rescues a paused residence application

[Applicant A] is the partner of [PARTNER], who holds a New Zealand resident visa, and they had been living together since 2022. She had lodged a residence application based on their relationship, but she mistakenly believed that having a residence application underway meant she did not also need to keep a temporary visa. When her temporary visa ran out, she did not realise she had a problem until Immigration New Zealand contacted her lawyer.

We made a section 61 request and were upfront that this was an honest mistake. We set out that she had acted immediately once she found out, that she was committed to staying lawfully, that she had strong ties to New Zealand through her partner and his family, that her partner supported the request, that she met the health and good-character requirements, and that there was no good reason against letting her stay. When the forms turned out to have an old address on them, we corrected that straight away.

About three weeks later a new visa was granted, which removed the deportation risk and allowed her residence application to start moving again. That residence application was later approved.

Many people assume that once a residence application is lodged they are safe, but the temporary visa underneath it still has to be kept current, and if it lapses the residence application is put on hold. When a lapse happens, being honest about it and acting quickly to fix it gives the strongest footing for a section 61 request. Because the decision is discretionary, the request has to set out positive reasons to grant it, such as genuine ties, a supportive partner, and good character, rather than simply explaining how the visa was missed.