Evidence of funds for partners of students

[deanied]

My partner and I are doing the standard yearly process of renewing our student/work visas. Today I got an email requesting "a bank statement, along with at least three months transaction history, of all your accounts that shows you have sufficient funds to support yourself during your stay."

This is my third time applying for a work visa as a partner of a PhD student, and the first time I have been asked to provide any sort of financial evidence. The requirement is not listed on the Partnership-based Temporary Visa application checklist or the visa guide. The person I spoke with at the contact centre also failed to find any mention of it in the application forms, but he did find it in the operational manual:

"Applicants must have NZ$4,200 available for their maintenance during the period of stay in New Zealand."

This came into effect in November. I would imagine there will be many surprised partners of students when they are requested to prove $4200 out of the blue. This could be a serious impediment to those partners of students who are without savings or not currently working, as previously it was only the student applicant who had to provide evidence of funds. So here's a heads up for those of you who don't regularly browse the operational manual when reapplying! Good luck

[JandM]

Thanks for this information.

[deanied]

After a second look it appears to have come into effect the end of March 2012. But that was after my last visa was approved, so I'm sure there may be others who are renewing for the first time since the change!