Author Archives: Simon Laurent, Lawyer

About Simon Laurent, Lawyer

Principal of LaurentLaw Barristers & Solicitors. NZ immigration law specialist.

Can I Still Come to New Zealand?

Posted on April 8, 2020

For most overseas people, the answer is “No”. The border is closed to contain the spread of Covid-19. But there are some exceptions, and you might qualify. In particular, I will talk about requests to come in on humanitarian grounds, … Continue reading →

Posted in Citizenship, Immigration Appeals, Immigration Industry, Immigration Problems, Immigration Visas, Office Update, Practice of Law | 1 Comment

Immigration has Caught a Virus Too

Posted on April 2, 2020

And it’s a virus of confusion. This is nobody’s fault. Two weeks ago – if you can remember back that far – the way that business got done was pretty familiar. Suddenly we are in a different world of isolation … Continue reading →

Posted in Immigration Appeals, Immigration Industry, Immigration Problems, Immigration Visas, Practice of Law | Leave a comment

It’s Business as Usual at Laurent Law

Posted on March 27, 2020

While everyone gets settled into their new daily lives, with a lot of unanswered questions at this stage, we would like to assure you that Laurent Law is continuing to operate as normal. If you have any questions or concerns … Continue reading →

Posted in Immigration Visas | Leave a comment

Is INZ Trying to Deter Refugees?

Posted on December 18, 2019

In recent months, Immigration New Zealand has required asylum seekers to get Medical and Police Certificates, when they apply for visas to work here while their claim is considered.  As explained in a TVNZ report this week, these requirements used … Continue reading →

Posted in Citizenship, Immigration Appeals, Immigration Industry, Immigration Problems, Immigration Visas, Refugees | Leave a comment

Arranged Marriages and Partner Visas

Posted on November 19, 2019

Following concerted protests from the Indian community in particular, and intervention from the Prime Minister, Immigration agreed to review the rules on Culturally Arranged Marriages (“CAM”) to allow overseas partners to get visas.  The new visa Instructions came out yesterday, … Continue reading →

Posted in Citizenship, Immigration Appeals, Immigration Industry, Immigration Problems, Immigration Visas, Practice of Law | 6 Comments

Visa Reconsiderations – a Second Chance

Posted on July 24, 2019

Last year I highlighted a change to the rules around Interim Visas which gave people more opportunities to contest declined visa applications.  Since then, we have had increased demand for us to handle reconsideration of a refused visa. Reconsiderations are available for most temporary visa … Continue reading →

Posted in Immigration Visas | Leave a comment

Why is there a Visa Glacier?

Posted on June 19, 2019

We’ve seen a big slow-down across the board in the speed of processing applications for New Zealand Visas.  Employers claim that, when it takes several months to be able to hire migrants, this does significant harm to their businesses with lost … Continue reading →

Posted in Immigration Visas | Leave a comment