Does my sponsor has to be in NZ when lodging the Visa Application?

[marriedtoakiwi]

Hello everyone..

I am married to a New Zealander who is currently working and living in Australia for 5 years now.

We got married here in the Philippines last May 2013. We plan to live together permanently to start a family. My husband plan to move permanently in NZ by the end of this year.

My husband needs to stay and work in Australia until December of this year. We want to start lodging my Visa application early (probably by November 2013) because he wants me to be in NZ before summer ends there and that will be in January- February 2014.

My question is, is it possible for us to start/lodge the Visa while he is still in Australia? or does he need to be in NZ before doing so?

I am thinking of applying for a Work Visa under Partnership. We have sufficient proof to present that our relationship is genuine and stable. Is this the right Visa to apply for?

I tried sending several queries from different site before but the answer I got is vague. I am looking for definite answers as it will save us time and money if we apply for the right/proper Visa at the right time.

I hope anyone can enlighten me..

Thank heaps in advance!

[JandM]

Look here. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/40501.htm Since there is the condition "the New Zealand partner intends to be in New Zealand for the same period of time applied for by the applicant" you can see that it is perfectly all right for people to apply for this visa while still out of NZ, and many people on the forum here have done that.

As long as you have proof of partnership, then this is a good first visa to apply for. Although no time is mentioned in the instructions, in practice it appears that INZ like to see about three months' proof with an application. There are many old threads on the forum that talk about the different kinds of proof - you need different kinds, preferably for frequent intervals in your relationship.

[eternalkiwi]

Family visas are based on your relationship not where your NZ sponsor lives. Because aspects like skills, experience or other things are not in focus, Immigration need to be very certain you are living together in a genuine & stable relationship. As each couples situation is different, Immigration do not have a set minimum time period couples must be living together to prove the permanency of their relationship. Therefore how much evidence and the period of time together required by Immigration can be different.
Shaun

[marriedtoakiwi]

Thank you heaps JandM and Shaun for your response. I really appreciate it.

"Immigration need to be very certain you are living together in a genuine & stable relationship".. Me and my husband doesnt live together... I understand that the requirement under the "partnership" category, the couple should be "living together" for at least 12 months. My husband only stayed here for more than a month each year, but we are able to maintain a stable and genuine relationship and it meant to lasts.

Do I have to apply for a Visit Visa under partnership (which only last for 9 months) or Work Visa under Partnership (min of 12 months) to start with?

Cheers!!!

[JandM]

I understand that the requirement under the "partnership" category, the couple should be "living together" for at least 12 months.

No. What you describe is the requirement for partner-sponsored Residence. For a partner-sponsored work visa, you have to be able to show proof of even just a short time - in practice, they seem to accept readily something around three months' evidence - to be accepted for a visa to stay for 12 months, which allows you to build up to the 12 months' evidence needed for Residence.

My husband only stayed here for more than a month each year, but we are able to maintain a stable and genuine relationship and it meant to lasts.

You could TRY a submission on this basis - that a month plus a month plus a month might be accepted - if you have solid evidence of his presence (see old threads and the INZ website for the evidence required). But I VERY much doubt that it would work. It is no use thinking that because YOU know and state that you have a solid relationship, officials will accept it. INZ can't look into people's minds and judge their feelings, and people can SAY anything. Also, visas based on partnership are the most often used by fraudsters, paying NZ citizens and residents to lie for them to get them into the country, so obviously, they're among the most carefully investigated. Therefore, INZ do not take any notice of what people say about how they feel: they ONLY take notice of the FACT of people living the same life, in the same accommodation, which can be shown by things like their financial arrangements, mail going to both people at the same address from official bodies and service providers, etc., etc. - see the requirements and what other people have sent in.

Therefore, INZ may not be able to count your relationship going back over years when you were only together for about 1/12 of the time. They tend to look at THE MOST RECENT bit of time. So realistically, if you can prove the time when your husband was in the Philippines with you just before and after you were married - say four weeks in May - then six or seven weeks of phone records and emails and whatever else you can think of to show the long distance contacts, you POSSIBLY have enough for either the partner-sponsored work visa, or the partner-sponsored visitor's visa. The requirements for proof of partnership are the same, although the permissions and length of time on the visas are different.

[marriedtoakiwi]

We consulted NZ Shores immigration about my options based on our circumstance. I am really confused now..

This is their response to me..Is this true and accurate? Is there someone here who can validate this information?


I understand that you only want to apply for a partnership work visa at this stage and as you state there is no duration stated in policy for which you must be living together before you apply. However, you must be living together at the time you apply. Please see the policy below regarding temporary work visas under partnership:

WF2 Partners of New Zealand citizens or residence class visa holders
Partners (see E4.1.20) of New Zealand citizens or residence class visa holders may be granted a work visa provided that:
they are living together in a genuine and stable relationship (see E4.5.1 and E4.1.30); and
the New Zealand partner intends to be in New Zealand for the same period of time applied for by the applicant; and
complies with the minimum requirements for recognition of partnerships (see E4.1.30 and F2.15); and
meets the character requirements for partners supporting 'partnership-based temporary entry applications' set out at E7.45; and
is an eligible partner under residence family category instructions (see F2.10.10).
Policy clearly states you must be living together in a genuine and stable relationship which you are not. It is very hard, near impossible, to get a work visa approved under partnership if you are not living together. Being married does not make any difference to this.

Rather than apply under partnership you maybe best to apply under general visitor visa policy. You do not meet the requirements under visitor policy either however you may have a better chance of the application being approved.

Your husband would also need to be living in NZ or have strong evidence to show that he is moving back to NZ before you apply.

We would not be able to guarantee your application because of the likelihood of it being declined. We are still happy to help however and try and get the application approved we just wouldn’t be able to guarantee the outcome.

[JandM]

They are right, basically. They are interpreting 'living together' absolutely strictly, as in 'having their permanent base in the same home, right now', whereas some couples have actually got visas when they HAD done that for a while and had PLENTY of proof, but one partner, for a solid and provable reason (such as a new job to start, or their visa running out) had had to go ahead to NZ, so they were currently keeping in touch by email and Skype etc.. And/But this company are telling you the same thing I did in the post just above.

You should not be confused. The NZ immigration laws base the concessions for partners on evidence of living together, so that is what you have to arrange your lives to give them.