Skilled Migrant Category & Partner

[Trair]

Hello, Apologies as I'm sure this is something that's been asked many times, my head however is simply fried!

My partner and I are looking at emigrating to NZ from the UK. From what we understand he would be able to enter NZ under the Skilled Migrant Category, as his partner I'd be the second applicant. But I'm confused about the whole process and what this means for me.

Would I be issued the same visa as him and does that give me the same right to live & work in NZ as him? What would it mean for me if our relationship breaks down and we separate?

I've looked at a number of jobs online and a number of employers state that applicants must have Permanent NZ Citizenship or Residency to apply, does this then rule me out as an applicant?

[JandM]

If your partner is successful, you get Residence on your passport in your name, and that is YOUR Residence, giving you full rights do any job, study, start a business, or do nothing if you could afford it, for ever while you're in NZ. It would come with two years' travel conditions giving you the right to come and go as often as you like. When those conditions expire, you would need to get PR to continue to have the right to travel and re-enter at will. If you're still with your partner at that time, then if he as the principle applicant qualified for PR, you would automatically qualify as well. If the relationship had broken up, in that situation there is provision for the secondary applicant to qualify for PR her/himself.

To summarize, the partnership is the reason you would qualify for Residence, and the evidence for it would be thoroughly checked out during the processing of the application, but once you've got it, the state of that partnership has no bearing any longer on your Residence.

[wellywearer]

Hi Trair,
JandM has given you a full answer about the visa.
I can just add that we came in that way and my partner was the main applicant. I applied for jobs as I normally would, stating the visa I had. I didn't apply for anything that requested citizenship, but otherwise everything else was fair game
I feel like I've always been treated well in the application process and my visa has never been an issue. I've worked for 2 different Ministries now and my visa hasn't been an issue. They've carried out their security checks as their HR processes have demanded, but to be honest I feel we had a good "vetting" to get through the visa process and I suspect employers recognise that too!
Good luck in your job hunting

[Trair]

Thank you, of course splitting up is not on the cards but it's nice to know what a worst case scenario could bring.

Thanks for your help!