Partnership - bringing partner to NZ

[walala]

Hi guys, first of all, just wanna say, I love this forum, it's always good to hear about your experiences with INZ.

Some background, I am a PR in NZ, based in Wellington. I first met my partner in 2001 (during 'A' levels in KL, Malaysia) and since then, we've kept in sporadic contact with facebook messages and stuff. In 2003, I moved to NZ while she went to UK to study and she returned to KL in 2006. Around 2008, we kept in more constant contact and around 2009, we started to talk a bit more about us (once again all through Facebook). In Oct 2010, she came to NZ to visit me and we officially got together around in Jan 2011. This meeting in Oct 2010 would be the first time we'd met face to face in years. Since day 1, we've been in a long distance relationship.

Since then, I've been back to KL in April 2011 for a long weekend and stayed at her house with her family. During that trip, I also proposed to her and we got engaged. In August 2011, I went back for two weeks, again staying with her and her family.

Currently, she is based in Qatar (working as cabin crew) and is due to return to KL for good around October 2011. We are planning for her to move here in February 2012.

Since getting together around Jan 2011, we have been sending each other cards, talking on Skype daily, facebook messages. In terms of evidence, we have:

• Skype logs
• facebook messages
• cards/postcards
• passport stamps and flight tickets showing I went to KL and she came to NZ
• Phone bills from my end (texting and calling)
• Engagement ring valuation
• Receipts for some deposits (photo shoot, photographer, videographer) that we paid for our wedding in KL (tentatively Sept 2012)
• Some (not a lot) photos from NZ trip
• proof we knew each other in 2001 (college yearbook and photos)

I have some questions I hope you guys can help with:

• Would she qualify to apply for a work visa? Just on the basis that we did live together when I went back to KL...but that was for a holiday, so maybe harder to prove...
• Our initial plan is to apply for a visitor visa under partnership, through the singapore branch. Does anyone have experience on how long it usually takes or what its like to deal with INZ in Singapore?
• Certified copies vs originals. Will they return ALL original documents we provide? or would it be best to send them certified copies. A lot of the evidence we have has sentimental value (like the cards), so will definitely want it back and kept in good condition
• With the skype and facebook messages, they number well over 200 pages. Would you guys recommend printing them all? or just printing snippets and explaining the context in the letter? i.e. this period is when we got together etc etc

Sorry for the long post, my partner and I have been discussing this for a while and the distance isn't helping matters.

[JandM]

Hello and welcome.

Would she qualify to apply for a work visa? Just on the basis that we did live together when I went back to KL...but that was for a holiday, so maybe harder to prove...

For a partner-sponsored work visa, you will need to PROVE this time living together, or else manage to get together again and this time make sure you gather solid evidence. For INZ, partnership = a live-in relationship. If you don't have proof of this, all the rest is not going to count.

I strongly recommend you should read the INZ operational manual on this subject: Sections WF2.1, WF2.5, WF2.10 and F2.20. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/

[walala]

OK, thought so. So, applying for a visitor visa is definitely the way to go. Was just curious as I've seen some posts where people are applying for work visas after one week (but they do have proof).

[mesmerizer016]

Hi,

If you have not lived together then it may be difficult to convince INZ. I would say that you get your partner here or you go to her country as a visitor and live together for some time and then apply for a work visa based on partnership.

[walala]

Yea, the plan is definitely to get her here on a visitor visa. INZ has recommended that she apply for a visitor visa with me supporting her application (even thought Malaysia is a visa-free country). From there, after 1-2 months of staying with me in NZ, she would apply for a work visa under partnership. Then after 12 months, we would apply for residency.

The headache for us now is compiling the evidence in a meaningful manner since our relationship has been mostly long distance. Printing and couriering 200 over pages of Skype logs is going to be a mission. We were thinking of just printing snippets and explaining the context in an accompanying letter.

Is there anyone here that has experience applying under the partnership category when the relationship was long distance? I'd be very interested to hear your experience and any suggestions you guys might have.

[JandM]

In your shoes, I would check again with INZ - maybe the official who answered you before hadn't grasped that she was from a visa-waiver country, or he was having a funny five minutes! If she just arrived in the normal way for a Malaysian visitor, it would save you SUCH a lot of hassle with this other proof, which won't actually be needed when once you can show proof of living together.

[walala]

Just called INZ in Wellington. They definitely recommend that my partner applies for a visitor visa through partnership.

Their reason is that a visitor visa is more for tourists, whereas my partner is coming here to establish our relationship.

I have a feeling that going the visa-waiver path would still work, but in this case, probably better to be safe than sorry.

[Manks]

I also think that the visitor visa you apply for will give her more time to stay in country, rather than a visitor visa issued upon arrival. It's like the 6 month vs 9 months I guess from the UK point of view

[anapie]

[QUOTE=walala;424322]Yea, the plan is definitely to get her here on a visitor visa. INZ has recommended that she apply for a visitor visa with me supporting her application (even thought Malaysia is a visa-free country). From there, after 1-2 months of staying with me in NZ, she would apply for a work visa under partnership. Then after 12 months, we would apply for residency.

The headache for us now is compiling the evidence in a meaningful manner since our relationship has been mostly long distance. Printing and couriering 200 over pages of Skype logs is going to be a mission. We were thinking of just printing snippets and explaining the context in an accompanying letter.

Is there anyone here that has experience applying under the partnership category when the relationship was long distance? I'd be very interested to hear your experience and any suggestions you guys might have.[/QUOTE

hi walala. im from the philippines and i have a kiwi bf, im also planning to go to nz on a visitor visa on the basis of partnership, as my bf will be sponsoring me, im on the stage of printing a lotta mails and gathering other supporting docs.
just wonderin what happened to your girlfriend's visitor visa application? was she granted a visa? please share with me. thanks a lot and cheers!

ann

[walala]

Hi Ann,

We haven't submitted our application yet and it looks it might be a while more. Some things have come up and we're delaying her moving here until September =(

Please let me know how yours went as well! Cheers!