Partnership Visa help?

[totamariee]

Heya,

This is my first post here, I and my fiance have a ton of questions. So he will be coming over to NZ in September on a Student Visa. Our plan is after he figures out accomadation and such, I will join him. I am a UK citizen so I auto get a 6 months visa. After a month or 2 of my arrival we'll be applying for a partnership visa so i'll be able to remain with him for the next 3 to 5 years while he completes his doctrate.

FIrstly, we read that a requirement of the visa application is that I must show 4200$ (or £2000) of funds inwhich i can maintain myself with. Well, he supports me entirely, i don't work. Would it be fine if I either make a bank account in the UK or once i'm in New Zealand, in my name, and he gives me this amount to pay in to the account. Will that be sufficient to satisfy the requirement?

Secondly, we are a Muslim couple. We do not and have not lived together untill we get married as per religious beliefs. Another requirement which is on the list is that we have to show evidence of living together in a joint household previously.... Is there a way around this? We planned that as soon as I arrive in New zealand we will have a religious marriage, so we are able to live together for atleast a few months before the visa application, so we'll have both our names on a house contract, a joint bank account and so on. We also have evidence of our relationship over email, whatsapp, call logs, video logs and so on since the beginning of the year, and evidence of both our familys communication.


Finally, as a last option, in the case where the partnership visa wont be granted due to the living together issue, if I stay with him in new zealand for 6 months, return to england for 6 months, then return to live with him for another 6 months, will that be sufficient? Or must the 12 months living together be continous ? and any suggestions of so? or is it going to be we cant be together for 3 to 5 years till he leaves NZ??

Can anyone give us any insight on this? We're both stressed out

[JandM]

You won't get a partner sponsored visa without having evidence of living together. The basic requirement for proof of life in common is absolutely basic to INZ regulations. 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.

However, you are missing the fact that the partner-sponsored work visa that you can apply for http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...milystream.htm does not require 12 months' evidence - INZ take such applications seriously with around 3 months' evidence. As you will see, you can be given this visa to match your partner's student visa for length of time . You could fit this in by having your marriage as soon as you arrive in NZ, within the life of your visitor's visa.

You do not have to work, despite the name of this visa, but if you want to, or need to, you are allowed to take any job you are offered, skilled or not.

There is an element to be aware of, in that a visitor visa is expected to be used for a finite visit at the end of which the person will go back to their home country, so you will need a return ticket. Also, you will need to decide how you are going to answer the questions on the card on the plane about 'reasons for visit'. Potential workers often use this formula. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/NR/rd...20June2014.pdf For instance, someone like you might say you are going to stay with your fiancé, and while you are here, look around, see what life is like, and decide what to do, and obviously, get a different appropriate visit if you decide you would like to stay on.

It doesn't matter where your money comes from, as long as it is in an account to which you have access.