Work To Residence, But What About Family

[In Cog Knee Toe]

My wife, two children and I are planning to move to New Zealand from the UK. If we like it we plan to stay, getting residence and ultimately citizenship.
Both my wife and I are on the long term skills shortage list (several times each), but only I will initially be working full time because we have very young children and my wife is a full time mum.
That said she might want to do a little bit of work as either employed or self employed.
I'm guessing she can't get a WTR visa because of the low hours? I also guess there is some sort of dependents visas I can get for her and the children?
Will the latter exclude her from doing any work at all?
What about residence - how will they qualify if I'm the only one working full time?

[JandM]

If you apply for WTR or any other work visa, your wife will be able to apply for a partner-sponsored temporary work visa http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...milystream.htm matching yours for time. Likewise, your children will be granted visitors' visas for the same length of time (though if they reach the age of five while you are still on the work visa, they will need a student visa for when they to go to school). You can apply for all these visas at the same time, with a cover letter linking the lot, and INZ will supply your visa number and anything else you don't know to start with as it becomes available. On that visa, your wife does not HAVE to work, but is free to take any job, skilled or not, if she wishes.

If you apply for Residence http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...nt/default.htm, the rest of the family gets put on the application, but it is you who are investigated (qualifications, work experience, etc.), and if you get residence, so do they.

Do read all the links off those pages, as you will find a lot of supplementary information that will make things a lot clearer, I think.

[In Cog Knee Toe]

Thank you for your very helpful reply.