Work to Residence process

[daviesmw]

Hi all, hopefully you can help my wife and I!
We are heading to NZ on a tourist visa in September. One of us may or may not have a job offer by the time we arrive there.
We aim to obtain a WTR visa once we are out there and a job is secured.

1. Is the WTR fairly simple to apply for when you are in NZ and have a job offer and does it take long to process?
2. Can permanent residence be applied for whilst you are working under the WTR visa or do you have to wait the full 2 years?
3. If one of us applies for the WTR, is it simple enough for the other to obtain a visa on the basis of being a 'partner'?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!

[Athena]

Hi,

It is possible to apply for PR while working under WTR before the two years are up, we did this and had no problems. A friend with a contract work position (not permanent job) had difficulty.

My OH had a job offer when we applied for WTR, I was listed as his "partner" and was given a work visa as part of the WTR. I do recall being confused about how I would be included when filling out the forms, it wasn't very obvious.

Good Luck!

[JandM]

Point 3. You need to look on the INZ website for Temporary Work, partner sponsored. When you've got all the forms for the partner filled out, you send them in together with those for the WTR, and the CO will process them as part of the same package. Children's student or visitor visas, the same.

[daviesmw]

Thank you both for your replies. Very helpful indeed!
M

[Starkus71]

depends on the conditions of the WTR visa, ours had a condition that my partner had to be employed for 3 months or more within a period of time from the visa being issued. Once he's got the 3 months experience then we have to submit confirmation of his employment for INZ to consider whether to convert to PR

[IanW99]

depends on the conditions of the WTR visa, ours had a condition that my partner had to be employed for 3 months or more within a period of time from the visa being issued. Once he's got the 3 months experience then we have to submit confirmation of his employment for INZ to consider whether to convert to PR

I believe that the OP was talking about applying for a WTR and not about applying for PR and getting WTR instead. These are two completely different visas although annoyingly they have the same name.

Ian