Work permit, question about police certificate.

Okay, I have been in NZ since 1999. I have submitted my police certificate of my country a few years back. Since then I have returned to my country a couple of times just for a short time.

Do I need to re-submit the police certificate? and also police certificate of NZ as well?

Hi Daisukey

Merry Christmas to you. Hope you're having a good day.

I would think your old police certificate would be well out of date now, so you would need a new one anyway. When you're switching from one type of visa to another you it sometimes happens that you have to have a new certificate even though you may only have had it done a short while before. They would want the usual things, a certificate from your country of origin and one from any other countries you have lived in for the past 10 years, so that would be NZ in your case.

It seems like that I need to go to the plice in my country myself to get the certificate... which is not possible. In this case, what should I do?

No you don't need to go there, you can often apply online if your local police force in your country has its own website or you can write to them requesting the information and enclosing the fee.

You don't say which country you are from, but here's the page for someone from the UK . It contains a link to relevant police authorities in the UK.

If you're not from the UK you can look up other countries from here.

Thanks, Mother Bear. Am I eligible to stay in New Zealand while applying for the permit after the expiration of my current visa?

Generally, you wouldn?t be allowed to stay in NZ without some sort of visa or permit in force. If you have your job offer in place, I?d tend to apply for a Work Permit a.s.a.p. to cover yourself. It shouldn?t take long so I?d hope you?d get it through before your other permit expires. If you run into difficulties just gives NZIS a ring and let them know your situation, so they can advise you what to do. Sometimes, if they know another visa or permit is in the pipeline, they are more lenient.

Immigration will open on the 3rd in Jan, isn't it?

Motherbear thank you so much!

Hi Daisukey,

I think it could be right that NZIS reopens on 3rd Jan. although they don?t come out and readily admit it on their site, which isn?t very helpful. ?It seems to be a very closely guarded secret. ?I?m just going by the fact that, in one place, it mentions about people still being able to apply for visas online over the holidays, but the applications wouldn?t be processed until after 3rd January. ?In another place it says that the Sydney branch will reopen on 3rd Jan.

I did find this while I was snooping around. ?It says you need to apply for temporary visas and work permits etc. by mail, so you could get something under way now and it will be waiting on their doorstep after the holiday (depending on the mail, of course).

Hi motherbear.
My plan is to get my employer to sign in an offer of my position in his company as soon as possible. He comes back early in Jan.

I also need to go to see the embassy for my country's police certificate, if this may take a long time I'm sure they can give me a statement saying that it's on its way.
I also need to go to a police station in Wellington to get my document of "conviction records".

So there seems to be quite a bit I have to do and find out.

Motherbear, one more question.
It says in the guide that

You must apply for the Work Visa/Permit no later than 3 months after the
end date of your student permit for that course or qualifi cation, or provide evidence that you are the holder of a Graduate Job Search Work Permit.

You know that I'm currently on a graduate work permit, it's been more than 3 months since my last student permit expired.. am I in a good situation? As long as I could provide the evidence that I hold the graduate work permit, I'm okay right?

If you are on a Graduate Job Search Work Permit, it says in here that you need to provide evidence that your application for a Work Permit will be no later than 3 months after your Student Permit expired. ?It?s not clear whether this involves your Graduate Permit. ?It says ?You may apply for a 2 year Work Permit if you obtain an offer of employment (relevant to your qualification) while on a Graduate Job Search Work Permit? but doesn?t say that you have to apply for the WP within 3 months of the ending of your Student Permit. ?It may only be that it?s your Graduate Job Search Permit that?s affected, not your Student one. From what they say, I can?t tell which type of Work Permit they mean, the Graduate one or the general one. ?

In here , I found this, which could throw a different light on it as it says about applying no longer than 3 months after the end date of the Student Permit BUT then goes on to provide an alternative of being able to provide evidence that you are a holder of a Graduate Permit. ?Perhaps it?s one thing or the other, not both, so you should be OK.

Can I work after I have completed my studies, if I have an offer of employment?

If you have:
o successfully completed a course in New Zealand that had a minimum completion time of 3 years; or
o successfully completed in New Zealand a qualification that would qualify for points under the Skilled Migrant Category of Residence Policy; and
o evidence of an offer of employment relevant to that course or qualification; and
o evidence that your Work Permit application is being made no later than 3 months after the end date of your Student Permit for that course or qualification; or
o evidence that you are a holder of a Graduate Job Search Work Permit
You may apply for a Work Permit for a maximum of 2 years to obtain practical experience suitable to your qualification.