Sponsored Visitor Visa for Wife

[anuj_ssharma]

Hi Everyone,

I have been following this forum since last one year, that was when I first came to New Zealand. The existing forum topics and replies helped me so much that I didn't need to post anything to clarify. So thanks for this !!
However, now I do need some help for my wife's visa. Here's the scenario:

I'm currently on a WTR visa and I'm applying for the residence visa under the SMC category and hoping to get the visa stamped before the end of the year. I recently got engaged and will be getting married in April 2016 . My fiance is currently based in India and planning to come back with me to NZ after we get married. I've done a fair amount of research and I'm very sure that our case is not eligible for the paternship based visa or partnership based residency due to the "living together" critiera. Therefore, I will not be applying for her visa under this category.

The plan is that I will apply for her visitor visa (sponsored once I get a residen't visa) in February 2016 so that she'll get her visa well in time so that we can come back together in May 2016. I will mention in the cover letter that my intentions are to apply for her work visa once we have completed our 3 months "living together". Along with this, I will also provide evidences of our communication over chats, pics of us together during the period when we got engaged and also when we had gone for a short trip just after our engagement. This is because I want to be very sure that the CO understands our intentions and there are no problems when I apply for her work visa from NZ.

I have some questions regarding my plan above:
1) I told Immigration NZ the same thing above and they said that it is the only way forward but its not 100% guranteed that she'll get a visa. It would be upto the case officer to decide. I am just wondering what are the chances of rejection and more importantly why would it get rejected? If this is not the right way then how can my wife come to NZ to live with us? Would I have to live with her in India for 3 months and then apply for work visa from India.

2) Should I submit any more documentation/evidence as a part of the visitor visa? I will not be submitting the marriage certificate because we'll only be getting married in April 2016 and I'm planning to apply for her visa in Feb 2016 so that it can be stamped in time so that we can come back together.

3) is there any info that you would like to share that I should be aware of?


Thanks Guys for all your help.

Anuj Sharma

[JandM]

1. Basically, you have summed it up correctly. The criteria for getting a partner-sponsored visitor visa are just the same as those for a partner-sponsored work visa, including the 'living together' part. SOME COs have granted certain partners a visa, using some discretion, I suppose, but we have seen that a lot more of them haven't done.

2. I don't think any extra evidence will help at all. The basic requirement is for proof of life in common. Extra evidence of course tends to show an ongoing emotional relationship, but the 'living together' requirement was brought in exactly because of the difficulty of judging other people's feelings and commitment to one another solely on the basis of their WORDS. Rather than leave the COs the job of judging something like an essay competition, the NZ government opted for using the provable fact of the two people having set up home in the same place.

3. I haven't heard of an easy and foolproof way through this situation. It particularly seems to hit people from cultures where living together before marriage is not common. To people from some places, I would suggest the fiancée could apply for a visitor visa to go and stay in NZ to live with her partner and build up some evidence of cohabition before the wedding, to apply for a partner-sponsored work visa totally independently of the marriage ceremony (which, itself, doesn't carry any weight with INZ). Unfair though this is, the scenario of a single traveller starting a relationship with a NZ citizen or resident by chance on a holiday trip seems to 'take' better with INZ. There have also been people who married in their home country, then the NZ-based partner had to go back to resume their job, while the other partner applied for a partner-sponsored visitor's visa - or just an ordinary visitor's visa - and had it refused on the grounds that a visitor is expected to take their trip and then leave the country again, whereas, demonstrably, the new wife or husband would be intending to gather evidence and then NOT leave, but settle in NZ with their partner.

I'm sorry not to be more helpful.

[anuj_ssharma]

"There have also been people who married in their home country, then the NZ-based partner had to go back to resume their job, while the other partner applied for a partner-sponsored visitor's visa - or just an ordinary visitor's visa - and had it refused on the grounds that a visitor is expected to take their trip and then leave the country again"

Just a clarification, I'll apply for a resident sponsored visitor visa rather than a partner sponsored visitor visa, so that I do not have to submit any evidence.
This is main concern I have. I am really not comfortable in declaring contradicting things in the same application. On the form we have to mention the return travel but on the cover letter I'm stating that I want my wife to live permanently here. This is enough reason for any CO to reject an application unless the CO understands the situation and is aware of the cultural differences between NZ and India.

So should I just apply for a general visitor visa without referencing that she's gonna live here permanently ? Once she's here we can start gathering evidence & apply for a work visa. Is this the only logical and safe option or should I take chances and try to clarify my intentions in the visitor visa application?

I've also read that some people applied for a work visa from India but the CO rejected it and instead gave a visitor visa for 9 months so that they can apply for the work visa later on. Is this something worth trying for, not sure what are the approval chances for this.

[JandM]

By NZ law, because I am not a Licensed Immigration Adviser, I am not allowed to tell you what I think you OUGHT to do, so I'm sorry - I can't pick out one option among the four you have mentioned in your last two paragraphs.

There may be other members who read this who have done one of those things, who can come forward and tell you how it worked out for them. I hope so.

I can confirm, though, that it looks to me as though you have thought of all the possibilities that I would have done, and now you're at the awkward point of having to make a choice. INZ's rules do make it very difficult for people from your cultural background, and given the number of well-qualified migrants who apply from Asia, there could be a case for making special provision - but they haven't done so. Well, except for the provision for a special visitor visa for the purpose of a culturally arranged marriage http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...s.htm#marriage and http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/46505.htm, but that does not cover the scenario you have in mind, with a marriage taking place back home, not in NZ.

[anuj_ssharma]

Thanks JandM for replying and helping me out. I still have time to think this through I'll keep this post up to date with any updates regarding my case, so that it can help other people as well.

Thanks !!

[Karen Phillips]

If you apply for a General Visitor Visa from India without mentioning the circumstances, you could land yourselves in a real mess. I don't understand what you mean when you say, "I'll apply for a resident sponsored visitor visa rather than a partner sponsored visitor visa, so that I do not have to submit any evidence." If you apply or any visa for your partner, you will definitely need to supply evidence. There is no guarantee of getting that visa if you have never lived together, although it is a possibility. It will depend on the strength of evidence you provide and maybe down to which Case Officer handles it. I know that's really hard. The simplest option would be to have the wedding in New Zealand - but I guess the families wouldn't want that. Any chance of having a wedding in NZ (you can apply for a Visitor Visa or the purpose of a Culturally Arranged Marriage). Then after 3 months together, get a partnership-based work visa and then travel together to India for a traditional wedding in India. I hope I haven't said anything that you find inappropriate culturally - I would never wish to do that. I am trying to see if I can come up with practical solutions.

[anuj_ssharma]

Thanks Karen for your reply. So if I understand correctly, she can come to NZ on a general visitor visa, we live together and build up the evidence and apply for her work visa ? In this case would I need to mention my intentions in the cover letter that we're going to build up evidence and that's the purpose she's coming to NZ for or should I just mention that she's my fiancee and visiting the country ?

[freesoul]

I was in a somewhat similar situation to you earlier. I'm a New Zealand citizen who got married to my husband while he was based in India and returned to NZ straight after. We had only lived together about a week after marriage. We ended up applying for a partnership-based visitor visa for him to come here providing evidence of our marriage (marriage cert, invitations, photos of the ceremony, chat transcripts showing the duration of our relationship before marriage etc). Our case officer in Mumbai said we didn't qualify for a partnership-based visitor visa since we hadn't lived together long enough but she granted us a 9-month visitor visa under the general category in order to give us time to live together in NZ. After about 4-5 months of my husband coming here we applied for a partnership-based work visa providing evidence of us having lived together and this was then granted within 2 weeks.

[anuj_ssharma]

Thanks for your sharing experience freesoul.

I'm kinda really left 3 options:
1) Apply for partnership based work visa which I know will get rejected but hope that the CO gives her a visitor visa.
2) Apply for general visitor visa mentioning my circumstances that we do not meet the "partnership" elgibility and hope that CO understands and approves the visitor visa.
3) Apply for general visitor visa without mentioning the circumstances and get a visitor visa and then apply for work visa from NZ. I'm not really keen on going forward with this option.

Any advise would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[gourav]

@Anuj

You are diving in way much possibilities than precisely applicable to your situation Calm down and
be positive. If You are legally getting married and there is nothing wrong in your relation / evidences
then there shouldn't be any problem (in worse case you always have option to fight back with visa officer's decision)

I would stick to what "Karen Phillips" advised.

1. If you have enough evidences of relationship and your parents allow you then apply Culturally arranged based marriage category
and get married here. Afterwards You can have Fat marriage party and ceremony back in India whenever you like

2. If in case 1st category is not appropriate then apply her Partnership based visitor visa as soon as possible after your marriage.
To best of my experience (With in my circle) it would take about 3 weeks. (4 weeks worse case) and she can join you in may.
Just make sure you have enough evidences of relation, Mostly public recognition of relation which you can start collecting even
before your marriage (Facebook posts related to her, visits to any place, family meet etc..