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Thread: Applying In NZ vs Applying Before Moving to NZ

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    15

    Default Applying In NZ vs Applying Before Moving to NZ

    Hi all,

    I've posted here a few times about various aspects of our move to NZ next year, but our circumstances may be changing so I wanted to look into the difference between applying for residency from within NZ and applying from Canada before we move.

    In a nutshell - I am an NZ citizen, my husband is a US citizen. We live in Canada, and planned to send in his residency application in November, receive the results hopefully by Dec/Jan (if the online timelines are to be believed) and then move to NZ in February. However, my employment here may be ending this side of Christmas, so it's possible we may have to pick up and move before we would receive our application results.

    SO - can we apply from within NZ instead?
    Can anyone point me towards a good source of information on this?
    I'm particuarly interested in knowing things like what will his status be on arrival prior to sending in our application, will he be able to work, is it cheaper/more expensive or easier/more difficult to do it from within NZ, etc.
    I haven't looked into this at all because I thought we'd be applying from Canada prior to moving, so am pretty clueless!

    Any info is appreciated.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    37,824

    Default

    The source, as ever, is the INZ website.

    I'm particuarly interested in knowing things like what will his status be on arrival prior to sending in our application, will he be able to work, is it cheaper/more expensive or easier/more difficult to do it from within NZ, etc.
    Arriving with you without having applied yet, he will be a visitor. He will not be able to work. The procedure is exactly the same, applying for Residence as your partner, as it would have been from Canada, neither more nor less difficult, only the case will be dealt with by a local NZ office of INZ. You can compare the prices by going on the INZ website and finding the Office and Fees Finder.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    NZ (Auckland; via Canada)
    Posts
    1,350

    Default

    You can apply from NZ. A couple of things to consider:

    1. He has to have a return ticket to enter NZ as a visitor
    2. Applications from within NZ sometimes take longer than those processed outside

    Why not apply now to London (is that where your application goes?)? My skilled migrant one from Canada took less than two months from when the application (ITA for skilled migrants; I think for spouse it's a different form) was submitted. Even with a medical referral. From what I've seen here, spousal nominations are processed even faster if everything's in order.

    I'm in Vancouver if you want to chat...for the next 10 days. Then I'm off to NZ!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Whangaparaoa
    Posts
    472

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by jawnbc View Post
    Why not apply now to London (is that where your application goes?)? My skilled migrant one from Canada took less than two months from when the application (ITA for skilled migrants; I think for spouse it's a different form) was submitted. Even with a medical referral. From what I've seen here, spousal nominations are processed even faster if everything's in order.
    Partnership is applied through Washington from Canada, not London. Mine took about 3 weeks, from submitting to passport with visa.

    If applying from outside NZ as a NZ citizen who has been absent for more than 5 years, the application is fast tracked.

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