Visitor Visa Applied for and declined, but limited visa offered

[David12345]

Hi guys,

My girlfriend has currently applied for a visitor visa for 5 months to join me in New Zealand, she is in Armenia and had to apply at the Moscow branch. It was our intention for her to come over on a visitor visa so she could apply for a partnership based work visa while she was here after 3 months of living together (I know its important to live together for 3 months to get a partnership visa so we can not apply for partnership yet as we have not done this).

We both wrote cover letters asking for exception to instruction and saying that we would like her to have a 5 month visitor visa so we can apply for a partnership visa while she is here, it was imporant for us to be able to apply for the partnership visa while she was here as if it was declined we could extend her visitor visa and gather more evidence immigration may have required.

However she has just been offered a 5 month limited visa, here is the email they sent:

[B][B][B]As an exception to immigration instructions the application has been approved for a Limited Visa to travel to New Zealand from 30 Oct 2015 to 17 March 2016:



The holder of a limited visa is subject to the following limitations:

a. the holder must leave New Zealand no later than the date on which the visa expires; and

b. the holder may not apply for a visa of a different class or type, whether before or after their visa expires, while in New Zealand; and

c. the holder may not request a special direction under section 378, or a visa under section 61 of the Immigration Act 2009, whether before or after the visa expires, while in New Zealand; or

d. the holder may not, whether before or after the visa expires, appeal to a court, the Tribunal (other than an appeal under sections 194 or 195) or otherwise; or

e. the holder will not be granted an interim visa; and

f. the holder is liable for deportation if unlawfully in New Zealand after the limited visa expires; and

g. the holder can be served with a deportation order as soon as the limited visa has expired unless section 175(1)(a) applies.

Effective 29/11/2010

Limited Visa can be issued for single entry only.



If you accept this offer and the conditions of a limited visa, please sign and date the bottom of this letter and return a scanned copy to me via email no later than 29 July 2015.



Your application for a visitor visa has been declined as you do not meet visitor visa requirements on bona fide applicants for temporary entry (E5, V2.1). Immigration instructions are available in our website for your reference.

This is not really good for us at all as we were hoping she would be granted a partnership based work visa while in NZ and would not be stuck at home all day while im at work for 5 months, the boredom would be extreme. I know that sounds like a little reason to think about but also there are other problems for us in being granted a limited visa such as we would have to apply for a partnership based work visa when she goes back home, and if they wanted another piece of evidence for that visa to be granted we may not be able to get it as we are not together in the same country anymore, as i said the visitor visa is really the most safe option for us as we could apply for the partnership visa together in NZ and if it were declined we could extend her visitor visa and use that time to gather more evidence.

Has anybody else been in the same position or able to offer me any advice? I have just got this news from my partner and were are obviously very distressed and hoping there is some way we can be granted a visitor visa rather than a limited visa, they have also only gave us 3 working days to accept or decline there offer!

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

[JandM]

I don't see you have any choice, outside accepting or refusing the limited visa. This is INZ saying it's as far as they are prepared to go. It's not what you were hoping for, but it's better than nothing. If she comes, it will give you a chance to gather a solid collection of evidence, which you couldn't get any other way.

[David12345]

Thank you for your reply

I see we have the right to object the limited visa, I have prepared an email saying how a visitor visa would be much better for our situation as we would like to start by gathering more evidence of our relationship then wanted to apply for a partnership based work visa while in new zealand together, this way if we were asked for more evidence we did not have we could gather and supply that evidence, and even extend her visitor visa if we had to.

I limited visa will give us one chance at gathering evidence and when my partner returns to armenia to apply for the next visa (partnership based work visa) she may be asked for more evidence which we could only provide if we were still physically together, then if that happened and we applied for another visitor visa for her to come back they may grant another limited visa, meaning she would have to go home again to have a second go at the partnership.

I have explained all of this in my email i have prepared to sent to our CO but i really do not think it will change her mind as we had already said all of this in our cover letter for the visitor visa.

Has anyone else here got experience which may help us with this?

Thanks for any help people, its very stressful and emotional as you could imagine