Canadian married to a Kiwi looking to move to NZ

[Kasiunut]

Hi,

I'm married to a New Zealander and we currently live in Canada (I'm Canadian). We've been married for almost 8 years and have 2 children.

My husband really wants to move back to New Zealand and so we are in the process of trying to figure things out. I'm a bit overwhelmed though, so would appreciate any advice you may have!

1. What type of visa would I need to apply for? I would like to be able to work as well. I have a business degree and a CA/CPA (chartered accountant) designation but I don't want to look for work right away, just after we are settled there.

2. How long before we move would I need to apply for the visa? How long does the visa process usually take and how long after I receive the visa do I have to enter the country? Is there any part of the visa process that takes a long time?

3. We have 2 children - 1 of them has his NZ citizenship because we applied for it however his passport has expired. The other one is just a baby and we haven't gotten around to applying for his citizenship/passport yet. Would they need to get visas as well or would it be enough for them to enter the country on a visitor visa)? Would the treatment of them be different since one is an NZ citizen and the other isn't (officially)?

4. We have a dog that we want to bring over and I know this will be a headache too - but I don't think its important for the visa process or is it?

Any other advice would be much appreciated!

Kind regards,

Confused Canadian

[kiwieagle]

Hi,

I'm married to a New Zealander and we currently live in Canada (I'm Canadian). We've been married for almost 8 years and have 2 children.

My husband really wants to move back to New Zealand and so we are in the process of trying to figure things out. I'm a bit overwhelmed though, so would appreciate any advice you may have!

1. What type of visa would I need to apply for? I would like to be able to work as well. I have a business degree and a CA/CPA (chartered accountant) designation but I don't want to look for work right away, just after we are settled there.

2. How long before we move would I need to apply for the visa? How long does the visa process usually take and how long after I receive the visa do I have to enter the country? Is there any part of the visa process that takes a long time?

3. We have 2 children - 1 of them has his NZ citizenship because we applied for it however his passport has expired. The other one is just a baby and we haven't gotten around to applying for his citizenship/passport yet. Would they need to get visas as well or would it be enough for them to enter the country on a visitor visa)? Would the treatment of them be different since one is an NZ citizen and the other isn't (officially)?

4. We have a dog that we want to bring over and I know this will be a headache too - but I don't think its important for the visa process or is it?

Any other advice would be much appreciated!

Kind regards,

Confused Canadian

I have a Partner sponsored resident visa. You can work and there are no restrictions on travel.
I'm sure there are different timelines for different people. The longest thing for us was the time it took to get the police checks from the FBI. That took about 3 months and I did all of the medical checks during that time.
Once we submitted the application, it only took a few weeks. We did talk to the Case Officer when our application was in and because my husband is a Kiwi who was returning to NZ after over 5 years away, there was priority put on our application. However, I have seen people say on this forum that didn't happen for them. So, I can only tell you my experience.
I had one year to activate the visa once it was in my passport.
I got both of my children NZ citizenship and passports so that they didn't have to get medical checks, visas, or any other unforeseen bureaucratic tangles. You can convert their citizenship by descent to citizenship by grant once you are living here.

[JandM]

See my reply on your other thread.

[Kasiunut]

Thanks so much for your replies!