Just wanted to share. Applied Residence Visa under family category. My husband is an expatriate New Zealander. We live in Hong Kong and submitted our docs to Shanghai Office. We have been married for almost 2 years (by the time we submitted the application). Here is the timeline.
30 October 2015 - application submitted in HK through NZ Visa Centre
10 November - Shanghai requested some more documents by phone (address proof for my husband)
13 November - Submitted documents
24 November - Shanghai requested for some original documents by phone and email
27 November - Submitted documents
14 December 2015 - application in principle approved.
Total waiting time - 1.5 months.
Merry Christmas and a Happy 2016. Good luck to you all.