With regards to the partner-sponsored temporary work visa i assume that I cannot start the process until my partner actually got his temporary work visa? Or can we lodge both applications at the same time?
You send everything in together, linking it with a covering letter. The CO will work it all as one case, supplying things you won't know at first (such as your husband's visa number) as they become available.
If you get Residence (which is done under the Skilled Migrant Category by those being
employed in NZ), you potentially have a visa that is for ever within NZ, entitling you to live there and work at ANY job, although the travel conditions allowing free travel in and out will run out after two years. When, two years or more down the line, you apply for PR, it is pretty much a done deal if you follow the instructions
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...quirements.htm - no formalities, no more medicals, etc.. The two-stage thing is because NZ don't give out a permanent visa to people who don't look as if they are going to stay, and contribute to the country.
Whereas a temporary work visa is linked to a specific job. If the job failed (company went under, or the sack or redundancy), no more job = no more visa, a very quick scrabble to find another skilled job and get the visa transferred, or everyone has to leave the country. A temporary work visa has to be renewed when it expires, and this is not a foregone conclusion, as INZ will ALWAYS be encouraging to employers to find a NZ national, citizen or residence holder to do the job. And the essential skills lists are updated according to the job market every year, so the job that got you in MAY not count as essential any more by the time you want to renew.