Temp Based Partnership Visa

[The Richards]

Hey everyone!

Have been reading the forum for some time picking up hints and tips along the way, and am in the process of gathering everything I need to apply for a temporary based partnership visa and thought I would share with everyone incase it helps anyone else out, or if people want to suggest any tips to help with my application.

So my partner is a Kiwi, and I'm a Brit. We have been together for 3 years after meeting at work. She has been visiting the UK for 5 years, but has now returned home :-(

We lived together for 2 months in 2011 when she was between rentals, and more recently 4 months before she returned home. (The rest of the time she was living with her Sister and Brother in Law)

Obviously we have not been living together for 12 months or more, hence my application down the temporary route.

So far, I have completed the main application form, and my partner has completed the partners application form, and supplied a copy of her passport to prove her NZ citizenship.

I have completed my general medical and x-rays, which have all come back fine, and have just sent off for my police certificate, which when it arrives will be fine as I have been a good boy for 28 years :-)

That just leaves the whole "proof" section.

I have printed of 7 or 8 pages of photo's of us together from trips and holidays, and also photos of us with family members where they have joined us on trips, or at Christmas etc.

I have a one page timeline of our relationship with ref's to supporting documents, ie. copies of our flight tickets, hotel bookings etc.

I have copies of bills to her coming to my address during both periods she lived with me, and copies of bills to myself to prove they were coming to the same address during the same time period, and also a copy of my mortgage summary to prove that I own the property we were both staying at.

Regarding that, is it worth printing off my bank statement for the last 4 months showing the rent payments from her to me? I think I probably should, as more is better in this situation?

I also have a few testimonials from friends, and also my parents, sister, and her family also.

I have printed a copy of our whatapp conversation from the last year (the previous 2 years I dont have as changed phones) however am not sure I will send this as the contents in places are quite personal (I think there is even a nice big argument in there! haha) Thoughts?

I'm thinking / hoping that this should be enough to satisfy the people making the decision that we are in a genuine relationship. Infact just typing this has reminded me that I should print our Skype call log from the last 2 weeks whilst she has been back in NZ!

Anyways, I'll update each step of my application as it could be useful for people going through the same process, and like I said, if anyone has any tips or suggestions of something I may be missing from my application, I would love to hear from you.

Also, can anyone confirm, as the person I spoke to on the phone didn't sound confident, but with the temp based partnership visa, my 12 months start when I enter NZ?

Thanks

[JandM]

Regarding that, is it worth printing off my bank statement for the last 4 months showing the rent payments from her to me? I think I probably should, as more is better in this situation?

Yes, it's one more thing - only refer to it as her paying her share of the rent, otherwise it could sounds as if she's the lodger!

Maybe save the personal conversation for if anyone asks for MORE proof? (I bet INZ have seen just about everything, though - they're not going to gossip.)

Also, can anyone confirm, as the person I spoke to on the phone didn't sound confident, but with the temp based partnership visa, my 12 months start when I enter NZ?

Yes, if it turns out to be 12 months you get, of course. You get told a date by which you must arrive and activate the visa (printed on the visa itself), and then its length from then on.

[The Richards]

Brilliant cheers.

My application is about an inch thick. Sounds big to me, but pretty certain thats tiny in comparison to some peoples!

Has anyone here had experience submitting a visa in London?

The payment options do not seem clear. Is it better to post, and pay the fee (£180 in this case) or better to take it in person and pay at the same time?

I notice talk of a £19 fee aswell on the internet, however no mention on any of the visa forms?

Thanks

[JandM]

This http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...calculator.htm is usually regarded as the ultimate authority on what you'll have to pay.

[mikeandcaroline]

We submitted via London and posted just using Royal Mail special delivery so we could track it's arrival. There was a fee - was about £24 per application for the VAC to process the paperwork, and it was compulsory to pay it. We also paid the fee for the return of our passports - about £6 - we were applying for work visas so had to submit our passports with the application. Was all pretty straighforward.

[The Richards]

There was a fee - was about £24 per application for the VAC to process the paperwork, and it was compulsory to pay it.

How did you pay? Did you send a cheque? Was it just one cheque covering the payment of the application plus VAC fee and courier charge for your passport?

Thanks

[paua]

From my experience of this visa your year or 2 years is from the date of issue not date of entry and you have 3 months to enter the country, so if you leave it to the last week of the three months then you only have 9 months on your visa. I tried to get the having to enter extended but NZI said that 3 months was long enough to get everything together. So best apply when you can leave immediately after it is issued. Also something to consider if you are thinking of applying for residency once in the country and your partner has lived in any other country in the last 10 years and stayed for a year they will need to get a police certificate from that country to sponsor your residency. I made the fatal mistake of not reading the sponsors form for the residency before leaving Morocco, and it has caused untold problems trying to get the police clearance. Good luck with everything

[JandM]

Paua, thanks for that - I'd forgotten about your case. (I'm wondering if this short time allowed is something that has come in in this last year.)

Have you sorted out your Moroccan police check yet?

[The Richards]

Hi Paua, thanks for the heads up regards the police check for my partner going forward!


In regards the start date being when the visa is accepted.... This is annoying as now I will have to wait a bit closer until my target leave date of Feb 27th to make sure I get the maximum time from my visa, but at the same time, it means I cannot look to book my flight in advance, as should the visa take a while to process, or need extra supporting documents etc, it could extend past a date that I book.

Very frustrating as I was hoping to have submitted ASAP so that I could start to relax and concentrate on renting my house, closing down accounts and sorting out shipments etc.

In saying that, if I applied this month, chances are with the busy Christmas period, it may not get returned to me until January anyway, so worst case scenario is that the most time I would actually lose is 2 months max...

Im so glad I asked the question here as when I rang INZ that lady said it would start when I entered the country and as I mentioned in my first post, I could sense a lack of confidence in her answer.

Thanks everyone so far for you input, it is very much appreciated!

[mikeandcaroline]

How did you pay? Did you send a cheque? Was it just one cheque covering the payment of the application plus VAC fee and courier charge for your passport?

Thanks

Gave credit card details on the forms they supplied. For us there was more than one form, it might not be the same for you application.