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Thread: Partnership (sponsored work visa) or student visa?? Bit confused...

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
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    New Zealand
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    20

    Default Partnership (sponsored work visa) or student visa?? Bit confused...

    Hi everyone,

    I am a newbie to this forum and would appreciate some advice. I have been living in NZ for five years and have been in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend in the UK for five months and he's a solicitor. We've been doing research about how we could him out to join me in NZ and we have come up with the option that a partnership visa where I can sponsor him for one year work visa could work - except that he is a solicitor so would need to cross qualify and study here for several months to be able to even work here (though I believe he'd be able to work in a legal workplace in a lower ranked job, just not to be able to actually practice law.)

    My questions are -
    1. should we go for partnership/sponsorship or does he need a student visa (for when he is studying) first?

    2. does anyone know how long partnership visas take to be approved? We have been together for five months and I spent a month living with him in his house at christmas and he has been here for four weeks of that time too, and we have quite a bit of proof about us being a 'legitimate' couple. I just wondered if he should be applying now if it takes a while!

    3. Can he be in the country when he applies for the partnership visa or student visa?

    Thanks for bearing with me on these questions! and hopefully someone will be able to give me some advice

    Thank you guys!

    Smiler

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Timaru, New Zealand
    Posts
    75

    Default

    Hmmm

    Tricky that one, isn't it? I am not a pro myself. My partner is applying for a partnership visa but I sponsor him through my work visa, based on a job offer I have. The application states that we have to show proof of partnership, as in, we must have been living together for a minimum of 6 months. What they want to see is something like letters/bills addressed to same address, car insurance, we are both named in, holiday pictures etc.

    That would be difficult in your case, seeing that you have only been in a long distance relationship. Would it be an option he came on a regular visitor visa and applied for a student visa when he is in NZ? Or even extended his visitor visa after 3 months, just so that you can crack the 6 months mark of living together

    Immigration has a pretty informative website. I found everything I needed to know. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/

    Good luck!

    Hanna

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    37,822

    Default

    Hello and welcome.

    3. Yes, he can apply for either of those from within NZ.

    2. There is no certainty on timing for processing, which depends a lot on how things happen to be running in the relevant INZ office at the time you submit (how many applications come in simultaneously and just beforehand, how difficult they are, and things like staff sickness), and there's no certainty that, as things stand, he would get a partner-sponsored visa yet anyway. INZ always investigate partnership applications very carefully, to guard against faked claims, and long-distance ones such as yours seem to attract a lot of attention. Don't get me wrong - INZ are very good with genuine partnerships, but they have to tick their boxes, and are careful about doing it. My feeling is that, to add to the approximately two months' evidence of visiting that you have, a bit more time with the two of you in the same place would increase your chances considerably.

    1. As just mentioned, maybe the partner-sponsored visa wouldn't work straight away. However, there are more thoughts.

    How long will he need to spend studying? If he gets the partner-sponsored work visa, that will only allow him three months study if the cross-qualification course qualifies as a short course. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...yinnewzealand/ He may need a student visa anyway. Perhaps it would be a good idea to be in contact with a course-provider, who must be well up with visa issues as they're dealing with incoming foreigners all the time.

    If he's British, and if he doesn't need to work immediately upon arrival, he could come in as a visitor, move in with you straight away and establish more partnership evidence, then, together with the previous evidence, put in for the partner-sponsored temporary work visa after 6 - 8 weeks (giving something approaching 4 months' evidence altogether, the last part at your home base in NZ).

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    New Zealand
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    Hi there, thanks so much for all the advice and tips! We have had a lot of skype chats the last few days and decided as he has a house in the UK and I dont have one here which he needs to sort out / sell before coming out here, but we want to be together - and that the law society can take up to sixteen weeks to ratify his qualifications and decide which courses he needs to take in NZ to cross- qualify - the short term I am going to go back and live with him in the uk for seven months or so and that way we build up our 'living together' time and gather more evidence about our partnership.

    Course it does also mean I will be in Europe to go exploring during the summer too - which doesn't hurt! And I am in a job which is in demand in NZ and there are always contracts available, so when we come back (around Jan next year) I will hopefully be able to pick up a contract without too much trouble.

    One question though - will any of this affect my residency? going to the Uk for around nine months? I've had residency for three years...

    JandM - I am looking at you for your sage advice here! thanks in advance

    Smiler

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    37,822

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    When did you get your Residence visa? - what is the wording on it? Do you ONLY have Residence, or have you converted to Permanent Residence (or old PR with IRRV)?

  6. #6
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    Feb 2013
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    New Zealand
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    Hi there - I have had permanent residence since April 2010.. and have a permanent returning residents visa in my passport as well... not sure what that means in terms of freedom to live overseas for up to a year?

    Thanks for your help..

    Smiler

  7. #7
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    Feb 2008
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    Is this just the first visa you got, upon applying for Residence? Or have you gone back to INZ and got this further visa? http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...quirements.htm (Sorry to be cross-questioning, but there has been a name-change which is still confusing people who came in before it, and it makes a BIG difference to what you can do right now.)

  8. #8
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    Feb 2013
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    New Zealand
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    I dont know how that is different to what I applied for but I have only been out of the country for a max of about 50 days per year the last two years and held the PR visa for almost three years now - and was on a work to residency visa before that so was living here then too - been here over five years. And am working here so have tax status - ?? what does this mean, what are my rights?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
    Location
    New Zealand
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    Also - when I check the visa it says: 'NZ immigration act 2009 : expiry date travel : indefinite, visa expiry: indefinite, Number of entries: multiple'
    Does this help???

  10. #10
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    Feb 2013
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    New Zealand
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    And conditions say: 'Visa is invalid if holder is outside NZ with expired travel conditions' (dont know what this actually means!!)

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