A few years ago, I applied for a residency Visa to live and work in New Zealand.
I received an email indicating that my application was likely to be denied (tl;dr: because I had not yet finished university), and was offered the opportunity to withdraw my application. Rather than withdraw, I made some edits to address this point and crossed my fingers. My application was ultimately denied.
Of course, I made no attempt to physically enter the country.
I have since been told that this counts as having been "denied entrance" to NZ, and that this will negatively impact my ability to get a similar Visa to New Zealand in the future, or even my ability to get a Visa for other countries. I have been told that I should have taken the opportunity to withdraw.
How seriously will this impact my ability to get a Visa, to NZ or to another country, in the future?
- Is it a non-issue?
- Is it a minor issue that can usually be resolved by explaining the circumstances?
- Is it something that will have a negative impact even after explaining the circumstances?
- Is it something that will become less of a problem after a few more years have gone by?