Partnership based temporary work visa

[Kiwilad]

Hi again guys,

I'm back again....... haha.
Just have a question or 2 I need answers to.

So I've just arrived in Thailand 12/4 for 3 months to live with my partner in the hopes of being able to sponsor her to come to NZ.
I have a visa valid until 18/7, my partner and I have just spent a week on vacation at Koh Samet, we have just signed a rental agreement from 18/4 until the end of July..
Now my question is whats the best thing to do in regards to our application, I have read on the INZ website that 'Hotels' don't count as 'Living together', so considering we just got our apartment yesterday and I have to leave the country in exactly 3 months from today we wouldn't have lived together for 3 months when we send in our application.

Its not financially feasible for me to travel to a border then re-enter on a 30 day visa.

What would be our best option......?
- Submit application around 10/7, then leave Thailand on the 18th and leave my partner here until application is processed
- Bring her to NZ on a tourist visa and then submit application in NZ (Info on this visa would be appreciated)
- Submit 30 days before I leave Thailand (30 days as this is about the processing time for partnership based visa in BKK)

Is there any other options other than the ones stated above?

[JandM]

Can you give a link to where the INZ site says a hotel is not living together? As we have seen couples on these threads who have successfully submitted evidence of living together while they were travelling - obviously, this included their joint hotel bookings and travel tickets.

As I know you've seen before, INZ regard a period of evidence of around three months as to be taken seriously, also applications where the partners are together when the application goes in. So if you could include evidence for your week's holiday together, the first option would be more attractive. (It still might work.)

Point two - I don't know how easy it is for a Thai national to get a visitor's visa. In your situation, I think you would have to make a partner-sponsored visitor's visa, because it would be obvious to INZ from your other applications that your lady was not intending to leave NZ if at all possible, as an ordinary visitor is expected to do. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra....htm#nzpartner

Point three - this would only give you two months' evidence. It might work, but longer is generally more sure.

[Kiwilad]

Hi again J & M

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/i46512.htm refer to E4.5.30

Yes I thought the visitor visa would be hard.
Is there a difference in applying for a "partnership based temporary visa" than the work visa? Or if we supplied the evidence we have and INZ weren't 100% satisfied to give May a work visa would/could they turn around and offer a visitors visa to give us more time to collect more evidence (Think I've read someones thread where this has happened)
And if we were to send our application around 10/7 then I was to leave Thailand because my visa has ended would this have a negative effect on our application? If they asked we would have messages etc for the time apart..

[JandM]

Thanks for that link. I think, looking on to the next section, that that is likely to be interpreted as if, if one shared hotel at a time on holiday(s) was all there was, it wouldn't count, whereas a bit of hotel time added on consecutively with a more solid formal arrangement it could, as with the other people's hotel + plane ticket + another hotel in another country + another plane ticket and so on with extra evidence of shared life, when it was obvious from the extent and timing that this wasn't just a holiday relationship.

You're quite right that INZ did offer another couple a partner-sponsored visitor's visa instead of the partner-sponsored temporary work visa they had applied for. The evidence of partnershp required for both is the same. Evidently the CO was convinced it was a partnership, but didn't have quite enough boxes ticked for issuing the partner-sponsored temporary work visa straight away, so gave them the chance of putting in the extra time (and therefore, evidence). So evidently, INZ can do this, but there's no way to tell from outside in what exact circumstances they will decide to.

As to leaving after you've sent in the application, of course you'd have to do that if your Thai visa was about to run out, to keep legal. In one way that shows up as evidence for your good character, but not being together never helps. Therefore, you need to have as much and as solid evidence as possible on all other angles of maintaining the relationship - for instance, if you each have bought things that will be for your future shared life, and the purchases show up on your financial details as well as being mentioned in emails, photos and whatever.

I wish I could help your peace of mind by saying that THIS or THAT will work, which I can't, not being able to read the future. But I wish you all the best, with crossed fingers. +++++++++++++