Australian citizen sponsoring spouse?

[movefromus]

Hi everyone, I've really found this forum helpful in our effort to move to NZ. I have a question (with some background info). I am an Australian citizen married to an American and living in the US. I was raised in NZ by two NZers and we'd like to move there. To sponsor my husband I would need to be a NZ resident. I believe this is simple for me since I am an Australian. My question is this - how long to I need to be living in NZ before I can be his sponsor? Can I go there and immediately sponsor him?
Thanks in advance!
Carly

[Klipa]

We are in a similar situation. We live in Canada but I also have Australian citizenship. I am not able to sponser my husband for PR until I am actually living in NZ...but he is able to get his work visa prior to our departure...in fact we just sent off all of the paperwork about one hour ago. We have been told it should take 2-3 weeks to process.

As soon as we arrive, he will apply for PR. We did it this way so that he is able to look for work before we arrive. In the end, it will cost more than if we had just arrived in NZ with him on a visitor visa and then applied for everything once we were in NZ....but we need to be able to apply for work before we go so this was the option we chose.

He will likely have to undergo another medical, as it has to be current within 3 months I think.

Hope this helps somewhat.....

[anna_c]

He will likely have to undergo another medical, as it has to be current within 3 months I think.

Hope this helps somewhat.....

I'm not certain on this, but provided it's a full medical, it only has to be submitted with three months, but once it's on file it's valid for any future applications in the next two years.

[auskiwi]

Hello,
We are in exactly the same situation as you and moved to NZ last October (from Oregon). You can sponsor your spouse as soon as you are actually physically present in NZ and have proof of your intent to stay (shipping receipts from when you send your household belongings, rental or purchase contracts etc). Check through my previous posts as I shared my experiences on this forum...

I will be happy to answer any questions you may have!

Amy.