Hi All,
Our application for Residency under the SMC is almost complete (according to the Case Officer) but there is just one pending item: they are questioning about our custody arrangements with my step-daughter who is now 15 years old. This is because parents of children under 16 years old must provide evidence of the rights to remove the child from their home country.
We definitely have the right to do so - otherwise we wouldn't be in New Zealand already for 5 years (on work visas) and my daughter would have left our home country in the first place (multiple times), nor been granted student visas (domestic) previously...
However, if I N Z does not accept this and we have to provide additional documents from our country, this will take several months.
Considering that she will turn 16 in 9 months, can I exclude her from the application now, leaving her with her current student visa (based on my wife's work visa) which is valid for other 15 months, and apply for her residence in 9 months, when she will be 16 years old and will no longer be required to provide custody documents?
Any suggestions are welcome.
Many thanks