Work to Residence Visa and Partner Visa questions

[Lollipop]

Hi All,

My husband went job hunting in New Zealand and obtained a good job offer from an accredited employer. He has put in his application for a work to residence visa (talent-accredited employer) and we fully expect that to come through with no issues. The original plan for the children and I was for us to come down (we fly out Monday) and have a look around on a visa waiver (we are from the US) and then for us to come home and complete selling our house etc. We would also go ahead and apply for a our partner/student visas while I supervised the work that needed to happen on our house.

I got an unexpected offer on our house yesterday and it looks possible that I won't have to return if this sale goes through. If we are able to come to terms with the buyer while I am visiting in New Zealand can I apply during my trip for my visa? Or do I have to fly back home (which I won't have anymore!) no matter what?

We have no health issues or character issues, so as far as I can tell, this should be a straightforward process. But if I don't have to come home, I don't want to since I would greatly prefer to be with my partner. Plus save a small fortune in airplane tickets.

Thanks everyone!
Lollipop

[JandM]

Yes, you can put in your application from within NZ. Good luck with the sale, and the move!

[Lollipop]

Do I need to worry about what to check on our arrival cards? I don't want to get in any trouble, but I also don't want to make trouble if that makes sense. Can I just check "visiting" if we still haven't accepted the offer?

I just want to keep everything honest and above board.

[fabs]

Tricky since your partner is not yet on the residence visa yet. Do you have a flight back home since that is a requirement.
If you get one of those grumpy border control officers he might question whether you are a "genuine tourist" with the intentions of leaving nz after three months.
Your residence could also be refused for all they care so at the moment you would have to satisfy the specific requirements for the tourist visa which you can find here -
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra...rs/default.htm

Of course you can tick what you like but lets be honest "just visiting" arent your actual intentions . You can do it but giving you that advice on here would be against the law .
Good luck

[Lollipop]

Oh yes I have a return trip and one that I may very well use. At the moment, I simply do not know if I am going to be able to complete the house sale with this buyer. If I do, I can stay. If I don't I will indeed visit and return. From what I can tell, with house unsold, I absolutely meet the tourist visa standard. If the house sells, then my circumstances change. And that will certainly not be before next Monday since there inspections that need to be completed and then a negotiation process.

Maybe I should just call and ask what to put?

[JandM]

Here is the official word. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/NR/rd...20June2014.pdf You can use the 'look, see, and decide' line.

[Lollipop]

Oh yes, that makes sense. So I should be all good then. If the house sells, yay I can apply onshore! If it doesn't, then we can stick to the original plan.

Thanks so much for your help. This forum has been invaluable to us as we've gone through the process of making the decision to make this move. Thank you all so much for running it; it is a fabulous resource.