Applying for residency NZ

[legacy79]

Hi I am a NZ citizen and am supporting my husband obtaining his NZ Residency. We have been together since 2012, began living together and were married in 2014. In Dec 2014 applied for work partnership visa after living together six months and reapplied after living together for 12 months. Over this time we have collected a large amount of evidence based on the INZ requirements and what we have read on this forum. We have joint bank account statements , joint home ownership, house and contents insurance, joint utility bills, hire purchase agreements, personal loan, letters of support from family members and work mates. photos of us dating and our wedding day, facebook pages of us on holiday and living together buying things for the house, birthday dinners etc, photos with family, wedding blog by marriage celebrant, birthday and anniversary cards, receipts for household items major and minor, photos of interaction with stepchildren and most recently evidence relating to the birth of our son (scans, medical cert, birth certificate, photos when pregnant and when he was born). My husband took this evidence and the application form for residency up to the Chch branch. We have been given an application and client number however four days later after taking to chch 95% of our evidence came back in a courier bag, INZ have passports and some recent photos of us with family. We checked to see if we have been issued a lodgement number on the website. We hadn't. We called and were informed by the contact centre that there was no note on our file about evidence being returned and they would look into it. That was a couple of days ago and we are still waiting for an explanation??? We are aware of the amount of evidence needed when applying for residency and are concerned how could they process or even lodge our application for processing without the tangible evidence in front of them? Very bizzare and worrying. Is anyone able to offer any advice to why this has happened?
Thanks

[JandM]

See this thread from recently. http://www.enz.org/forum/showthread....ht=#post527201 There was someone with a similar reaction to you.

Also, when you talk to the INZ phone answerers, they're not qualified case workers. They're like a human FAQ system, working from computerized information. So the answers you get from them depend on what part of the system they access when they're talking to you, and exactly what has been input thus far by the clerk dealing with the papers, or your CO when you get one.

In general, I don't think you have any reason to worry too much about what has happened so far.

[legacy79]

Hi JandM thanks for your input much appreciated
Just wanting to know that our partnership evidence showed a history of our relationship from not living together to living together, evidence of communication between us when we were not living together. What really worries me is that how will a CO see these things {evidence} when the evidence pile is sitting with us. They say that they must have photocopied the evidence but we have so much of it from 2012 to 2015 so what must have got photocopied or not what got left out can be really vital evidence towards our application. How will the CO see a picture of the duration of our relationship and what all we have achieved during these times like buying a house, major household items when the evidence is back with us. Can there be a chance where the CO will ask for the evidence again i mean we submitted everything and they just sent it back what they didnt send back was recent photos of us with family members.
My husband got his work visa approved twice with these evidence and they sent the evidence back to us once the visa was approved but now with the residency they have sent our partnership evidence back in such a short time we dont even have a lodgement date just the application number and the client number.

Please can advise as to what must be going on

[Karen Phillips]

It is quite standard practice to return the evidence you provided once they have checked it and if necessary made a copy of it. There is nothing to worry about. It sounds like you have done all the right things.

[JandM]

(As you're new to the forum, I should point out that Karen Phillips is a Licensed Immigration Adviser who often posts here to help people, so you can trust that what she is telling you is right.)

[queny]

I am NOT any sort of immigration expert, but you will see from my recent post in this forum that my wife and I have recent relevant experience as residency applicant and partner.

We submitted my wife's partnership based residency application to Wrights Rd on 6 October, it took over a month to get the bundle back and have the payment processed, and that was after enquiries with the INZ hotline. So to us your four days does sound very fast.

Personally, I would carefully identify what that 5 % that is not returned is. Was it police clearances? They are not returned, as the letter that came back with our bundle written by a support officer (clerk) advised. Was it support letters?If necessary ask about it.

I would keep everything returned to you in a carefully sorted, indexed bundle, and maybe look at all your original or certified documents again, are any not clear and legible? You may be asked to submit additional /replacement original or certified docs OR resubmit material, (like mail to you), submitted with the residency or previous work visa applications, (we were), and based on our experience will be told you have a week from the email advice to do so, probably from a different office like Auckland, which (even though you will learn here may on reasonable request be extended), still may to some people be very stressful., especially if either or both of you are busy and /or shift workers, neither of which are uncommon things these days.

To prove you are still together before they grant residency, and /or help INZ prevent fraud apparently, you may also be asked to urgently produce personal statements about which you may also find add to that stress, we certainly did so. I would make sure you gathered a pile of additional evidence- not only more mail to both of you or either of you at your address, receipts for joint purchases, photos and clear colour copies of Facebook posts about and including you both, but also say a few more support letters, say from colleagues, other family, or anyone new that knows you both, your local GP, your personal banker, (people of public standing), or anyone that wrote one for the work visa but not as yet for Residency. Look at the check-lists for more ideas. Do you have wills naming each other? Are you joint members of any social clubs or groups? So, just be totally ready to be asked for further urgent info! You can always post here for pretty reliably accurate info and shared experiences also. Good luck!

[legacy79]

Thanks karen, jandm and queny for all the advise and suggestions we really do appreciate
I suppose we just have to wait and see what happens next.

[NatalieP]

Wow i'm glad i am not the only one worrying about getting their evidence back! I was just about to give them a ring when i thought i would check here first

I sent mine (partnership residency and work visa) to the chch branch last week and they received it on wednesday and it was lodged the same day. I applied for a work visa at the same time, as my current visa runs out in 8 weeks. I got all my evidence back today with my passport and new work visa but they also sent all of the evidence back that i sent with both visa applications! Theyve taken the money for both visas and it looks as if everything that was stapled has been undone and restapled again so i am crossing my fingers, they can look at everything on the computer!

Good luck with your application