Shankar Muniandy hopes to be back in the saddle at a race meeting as early as this weekend.
Muniandy, who has piloted 119 winners in New Zealand since he began riding in 2008, has been waiting for his renewed working visa to come through from Immigration New Zealand.
He has submitted his required paperwork and is now just waiting.
''I'm confident I will be riding by next week,'' he said on Saturday.
The Malaysian-born rider is also applying for residency to set himself up permanently in Otago.
''I love it here, and definitely want to stay,'' he said.
Muniandy is based at North Taieri's White Robe Lodge under the tutelage of Brian and Shane Anderton, and has forged a particularly good relationship with Inferno, who he has ridden to all 10 of the mare's wins.
The renewal of Muniandy's working visa will help address the shortage of senior jockeys in the lower South Island. Recent meetings have been boosted by the presence of Darryl Bradley, Lisa Allpress, Robert Hannam, Paul Taylor and Buddy Lammas travelling down from their Central Districts bases.
