Visitor Visa Application

[vx180]

Hi there, this is my first time posting in the forum. I am writing regarding a visa application for my girlfriend to come live with me in New Zealand. I think it’s best to describe the whole situation first and then the questions I have regarding the application afterwards:

I’m a New Zealand citizen, and at the start of this year I travelled to the Netherlands on a university exchange for the last semester of my degree. I was staying in a flat with 6 other exchange students. After a week or two I started a relationship with one of my flatmates who is from Spain, so we were living together in a relationship for 5 months, between the start of February through to the end of June this year. Throughout this time we also travelled together to Spain, Germany and Poland. When the university semester ended in June and our rental agreement had expired, we travelled to Spain again together, where I lived with her and her family for 3 weeks. After this, I travelled back to New Zealand at the end of July. I’m currently working in temporary employment that will finish on October 31st, and am booked in to travel back to Spain on November 14th, where I will live with her until my flight home on January 3rd. She will finish her university degree in late January, and travel to New Zealand in February next year to come and live with me here.

I have been on the phone to NZ Immigration several times in the past month and this seems to be the best course of action to take for her to eventually obtain permanent residency here:

1. Apply for a ‘visitor visa under partnership’ (forms 1198 and 1146) when I am living in Spain with her in November this year
2. Once she is in New Zealand, apply for a ‘work visa under partnership’ so that she can get a job here
3. Once we have been living together for the required 12 months (including the months that we have lived together in both Spain and the Netherlands), apply for ‘residency under partnership’

I just wanted to check with the experts on here (JandM I’m looking at you!) that this is the correct process to be going through (as I’ve heard some different advice from different people at NZ Immigration).

The main issue we had initially was the whole “currently living together in a genuine and stable relationship.” Although we certainly qualify with regards to the latter sentiments of the statement, the fact that I am living in New Zealand and she is living in Spain initially caused us some concern. However, having spoken to a few people at NZ Immigration, they have said that since I will be living with her in Spain in November (which was when we were intending to apply anyway), this should be fine. We will just submit the application some time in November to the London office and this should be acceptable.

In terms of evidence of our relationship, we will be submitting the following:

- Evidence of living together in the Netherlands from February 1 – June 30 (this will be in the form of our individual signed rental contracts, and also a document from the housing corporation that I requested that shows our billing record for each month. Although this is addressed to each of us inidivudally, it still shows we were living in the same apartment (albeit billed individually for our separate rooms). We were also thinking of getting our flatmates to write separate letters confirming that we were in a relationship and living together during this time)
- Evidence of living together in Spain from July 6 – July 23 (this will be in the form of a letter from her parents, as we were staying in their house during this time)
- Evidence of travelling together (this will be in the form of train, bus and plane tickets and hostel accommodation on our trips to Germany, Poland and Spain together)
- Photos (we have a lot of photos together including ones of us in the apartment where we lived in the Netherlands, travelling together to different countries, and photos of me with her and her family at her uncle's wedding in Spain)
- Letters (as mentioned previously, we will include letters from our flat mates and her parents, but also from other friends we had during the exchange and also my mother will write a letter confirming we are in a relationship)
- Emails and skype conversations (we don’t really send each other emails but instead we skype daily. I’m not really sure how to officially document this, but will try to print out some evidence of this)

Will this be sufficient, do you think, in terms of providing evidence of our relationship?

My main reason for posting was just to check that this was all in order and likely to be accepted. I’d love some feedback from others on what they think about it. I also have a few general queries regarding the application:

- If for any reason the application is not accepted, will they flat-out decline it, or will they send a request for more information to be sent? Further, just out of curiosity, how long does it generally take to process a visitor visa application, and when are you likely to have first contact after submitting the application?

- This may sound like a stupid question, but with all these pieces of information (the 1198 form and the 1146 form, letters from friends and family, evidence of living together, photos etc), do we just include all these in one big envelope when submitting the application or does some information need to be submitted separately?

- Is there any kind of interview that is conducted for these visitor visas? If so, how will this take place and when?

- With regards to the evidence of the relationship, are there some pieces of evidence that are more important than others? For instance, I’ve read some places that photos together are extremely important and you should try to submit as many as possible.

- Since we are currently living apart, and have been since July 23, do we need to include this information in the application and explain the reasons why? I came back to New Zealand in July this year because I was running out of money while I was away. I also needed to submit my application for a postgraduate university course back here at the University of Auckland for next year. I am travelling back to Spain in November, as mentioned, because now I have earned enough money through this temporary employment to buy a plane ticket. Will this be a sufficient explanation and be likely to be approved?

- If she is coming here with a visitor visa under partnership, does she need to buy a return ticket and/or provide any proof of funds that she can support herself here or buy a plane ticket home if necessary? Because I’m now just thinking it’ll be easier to fill out the sponsor form (form 1025 I think it is) and provide evidence that I have funds to support her and have accommodation for her (with regards to evidence of accommodation, my mum owns the house that my girlfriend and I will be living in next year. Do I need to provide proof that my mum is the owner of the house and a letter from her stating that she is happy to let us stay here?). Is this the best way to go about it?

Apologies for the overflow of information and questions, but this is clearly very important to us and I was hoping to get everything sorted over the next few days. I’ve spent so much time reading up on the correct procedures to go through and called the NZ Immigration 0800 number countless times, and now that things are starting to make sense I just want to ensure that we’re taking the right course of action. Any feedback / comments / answers / additional suggestions would be warmly appreciated.

Cheers,

Andrew.

[JandM]

Hello and welcome.

Without hearing what the people at INZ had said, I think I would have given you the link to the partner-sponsored work visa http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...milystream.htm (rather than going for a visitor visa first). Did they say any reason for not going straight for that one?

The range of evidence looks good. Do you also have anything to show that one of you has bought things that are used for both of you? - showing financial interdependence. Another one is that the other half is named as next of kin, or first person to be notified, for official bodies such as your doctor's, or during a hospital visit, or in your personal records at university.

With this much evidence, I can't see that they could flat-out decline you - it would be more likely to be 'more proof' or asking for your comments on such-and-such aspect.

You put everything in together. Don't bind it. Many people organize things in the order of the sections on the form, number the pieces of evidence, and put in a cover sheet listing everything and stating how they relate to the application.

INZ are allowed to require an interview with any applicant for any reason. We don't very often hear about partner-sponsored visitor visas, so I don't know any sense to tell you on that. However, it has been known that both parties have been interviewed for the partner-sponsored work visas and/or residence. There's no set timing. The whole point is that partner-sponsored visas have the least requirements for evidence, and are the easiest to fake for the sake of getting a foreign national a visa, so the CO does things like interviewing both partners separately, asking them things about how they got to know one another, where they have been together, experiences in common, each other's favourite and unfavourite foods, pastimes, etc., and their domestic routine - things that strangers are not likely to be able to invent convincingly. Then they can compare both sides of the picture. INZ officials have been known to make house calls to make sure that they find the couple living where they say they both are.

I don't think one kind of evidence is MORE important than another - it's the cumulative effect that matters. For your photos, to make the best of them, try to label them fully with approximate date, place, and what the occasion was, so you show a whole range of your activities together throughout the relationship.

I think, yes, explain why you've had to separate for now. It may be helpful (in case you haven't found this) to look at the INZ operational manual, all the F2 section from this page http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/i42627.htm onwards through the others. The business about explaining why you're apart and how you keep in touch crops up in there somewhere.

I don't know about the plane ticket etc. for visitor's visa if that's what you get - maybe there's someone around who has done this. With any matter of evidence, overkill seems to be the name of the game - dot every i and cross every t, and don't assume anything is obvious. If something can POSSIBLY be relevant to INZ, tell them it as plainly as you know how. And another thing occurs - keep a clear record for yourself of what you have sent and how it is numbered, described, etc., for that idiotic moment when a CO might ask you, 'Why haven't you sent x? Why haven't you proved y?' when you know you HAVE, so that you can get straight back to them and say, 'This is document number 23 in my bundle, a letter from my mother on light blue A4 paper, stating that... (and they can then darn well find it).

[vx180]

Thank you so much for the thorough response. I (and I'm sure countless others) really appreciate that you take the time to answer everyone with such responses, and I'm sure you've made the lives of a lot of people much easier.

I believe (and this is searching back in the memory bank a while back now, since I've been in contact with INZ for the past few months) that they recommended initially applying for the visitor visa under partnership because it would be easier to obtain than the work visa under partnership since we haven't lived together / been in a partnership for more than 12 months and we are currently living in separate countries. I suppose they suggested this because they thought the work visa under partnership would be more rigorously examined and if we were living together in New Zealand with her already having a visitor visa under partnership, this more provide a more solid basis for applying for the work visa under partnership. Would you recommend just going straight for the work visa under partnership instead though? What are the different requirements for this as opposed to the visitor visa under partnership?

Unfortunately we don't have many documents that provide evidence of financial interdependence. The only ones I can think of are when we booked trips together using the same credit card to pay for both of us. I still have the email invoices detailing this (e.g. the invoice of my credit card being used to purchase plane tickets for the both of us), which I was already intending to include. Unfortunately we have nothing denoting 'next of kin' either.

Thanks very much for the tips about organising the evidence. I think that upon reading your advice that I will include a separate page attached to the photos that has a description of each photo I include with the information you suggested.

I think, as you state at the end there, that the main idea is just to include as much information as possible and cover all our bases. Once again, thanks so much for your reply, it's much appreciated.

[JandM]

Well, have a look at the possibilities and go with your gut feeling on which to do. This is the partner-sponsored work visa requirements page, and you can see the links off it for the different aspects. (And you're entitled to go for this when you've only been living to gether for a few weeks.)http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...milystream.htm Here's the Guide to Partner-Based Temporary Visas, which covers work and visitor's visas as well. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/NR/rd...30July2012.pdf And here are the instructions about a visitor's visa (which don't actually look much different from those for a work visa). http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/i34382.htm

[vx180]

Thanks so much again for your help, I'll definitely have a good read of both

[JandM]

Good luck to you both, and keep and posted.

[vx180]

Good luck to you both, and keep and posted.

Hi again JandM, thanks for the wishes. We're still currently in the process of compiling all the necessary forms and evidence, and have come across a few issues that perhaps you may be able to help us with.

Since my girlfriend is intending to stay in the country for longer than 24 months, we will need to complete the general medical certificate form, the chest x-ray form, and obtain a police certificate from Spain for her in addition to the 1198 and 1146 application forms that we have completed. The issue here that we were wondering about is whether or not the police certificate she obtains from the Spanish Ministry of Justice needs to be translated into English, or whether we can just submit the original copy (that would be in Spanish)? Also, with regards to the general medical certificate and chest x-ray froms (1007 and 1025 I believe), do the results of the actual tests (e.g. the x-ray scan itself) need to be attached to the form, or is the completion of the form by a doctor after the necessary checks have been made sufficient?

Another question we had is how long the processing of the applications generally takes? And just to confirm, she will have to submit her actual passport along with her 1198 application right? I think she is a little nervous about sending this overseas so we just wanted to find out how long the process generally takes.

JandM - if you (or any others) could shed any light on these few issues that have come up it would be greatly appreciated. Once again, thanks so much already for all the help you've already provided us with.

[JandM]

You will need to have translated by a professional translator any document that isn't in English, and send the original and the translation.

Translations of documents
If you provide a translation, it must:
• be in English
• be accompanied by the original document or a certified copy
• not be made by you, any of your family members or or an immigration adviser assisting with
your application
• be certified as a correct translation made by a person familiar with both languages and competent
in translation work
• be on the official letterhead of the translation business (if applicable)
• have the stamp or signature of the translator or translation business, and
• be paid for by you.
Translations may be prepared by:
• the Translation Service of the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs
• reputable people within the community who are known to translate documents accurately; or
• embassies or high commissions (if the translation is endorsed with the appropriate embassy or
high commission seal), or
• any other private or official translation business.

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/NR/rd...30July2012.pdf

You don't need to send the actual X-ray as long as the form completed by the doctor says that everything is all clear on it.

If you Google "NZ Immigration (whichever) branch processing times", you should come up with a page giving their estimate based on how things have been running at that branch most recently. But remember, INZ times are elastic, depending on individual cases, and current working circumstances in a particular branch, and they're NEVER a promise. Things take as long as they take.

At some point, she will definitely have to send her actual passport. I've seen that people sometimes send a certified copy, but INZ won't complete things without having had sight of the original as well - and, of course, they have to have the original in order to put the stickers in eventually. I think everyone gets a bit twitchy about letting their passport out of their hands, but when you think that almost everyone on here who's got their visa has done this (the exceptions being anyone who lived near enough to go into the INZ office themselves), it may help to put it in perspective. And she could send the passport and ask to have it returned immediately - they will do that if requested - so she would have it available during the processing, and only have to send it back again for the visa.

[vx180]

Thanks again so much for your help!

[vx180]

Hi again JandM.

Just an update - we have compiled more or less all the evidence of our relationship, filled out the 1198 and 1146 INZ application forms, her INZ chest x-ray form will be completed on Monday, her general medical certificate has been completed by a certified professional and she has obtained an officially translated copy of her police certificate. Next Wednesday is the day I will fly out to Barcelona (very excited), where we will live together in an apartment that we have booked from 15th November till January 3rd (when I will fly back to New Zealand). During this time we will submit the visitor visa under partnership application to the London INZ office.

One thing that has been on my mind recently, and something that I have been trying to do some research into, is what you said in your first reply to me:

Without hearing what the people at INZ had said, I think I would have given you the link to the partner-sponsored work visa http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...milystream.htm (rather than going for a visitor visa first). Did they say any reason for not going straight for that one?

The more I think about it, the more appealing applying immediately for a work visa under partnership sounds (bypassing the initial visitor visa under partnership). Ideally she would want to start looking for a job here as soon as she arrives, and this would make things much easier for us. Basically, I was just wondering what the differences are in the requirements for a work visa under partnership vs. visitor visa under partnership? Is there anything that we have to show / prove with regards to her skills / qualifications / job offers, or this this kind of evidence under a completely different category all together, separate from the partnership-style work visas?

I've been looking around the forums for people in similar situations, and this particular one was very relevant: http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=39274

It seems that this couple applied for a work visa under partnership, but this was declined and they were offered a visitor visa under partnership instead. Now, considering this in relation to our situation, I'm now thinking that since we are intending to apply for the visitor visa under partnership and then applying for the work visa under partnership, we might as well just go straight for the work visa. What do you think about this? I guess it all just depends on if there are any real differences in requirements between the two application types. Also, does it require us to obtain any more evidence or any additional forms (obviously apart from replacing the 1198 form with the work visa under partnership form for her)?

Also, I'm having a bit of trouble finding the exact form for the work visa under partnership. Am I right that the 1015 is not the right form for a work visa under partnership, but instead are just for regular work visa applications? You provided me with a link to this page earlier, but I can't seem to find the exact form - http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...milystream.htm

Note: just a quick, very specific, additional question here regarding my 1146 form. Question B9 (I think it is) asks: "Are you currently living in New Zealand?" As stated in my previous messages, I will be living with her in Spain at the time we submit the application. However, I will only be there for one month and a half, and normally I am living here in New Zealand. In your opinion, should I tick 'Yes' or 'No' for this? Or should I just select Yes and write an explanation for this situation in the space next to the question on the application form? Sorry, I know it's a bit of a knit-picky question but just want to do everythign by the book for this application and not have any potential slip ups

Once again, thanks so much for your time and effort in helping everyone on the forum with our questions. It's warmly, warmly appreciated.