Working Holiday Visa or Partnership Visitor Visa

[tocsweetie]

Hi Everybody !

So just a little intro...I met my boyfriend online on a pen-pal website about two years ago (April 2015) while looking for people to talk to about Aussie and NZ as I was planning a trip there. I ended up meeting my kiwi online and really instantly loved him and it's safe to say he felt the same. Once we met, we immediately knew we just were the perfect fit, and all our insecurities or doubts were tossed aside.

I spent 6 days with him during my trip to New Zealand in April and in September he came to America for 6 weeks to live with myself and my family. After he left, we got pretty serious and are now working to achieve one final living destination for the two of us. We are focused on New Zealand because USA is just ridiculous in terms of processes and waiting times. I'm already approved for the Working Holiday Visa and can enter the NZ anytime between now and November 2017. My question to you all is should I instead come over on the Partnership Visitor Visa? I know both of these are options but for me I would rather do the holiday one because I can at least get temporary work on it while the partnership visitor visa I cannot until the partnership work visa is approved.

The end goal is to get the Partnership Work Visa asap so I can get a permeant job and we can become more stable. Plus I'm very career-oriented and would really like to build relationships with employers during those three months which could hopefully lead to a full-time permeant job opportunity after I get the Partnership Work Visa approved.

I've been advised that after living together for three months, with lots of evidence and family support, that I would be able to apply for the Partnership Work Visa and be able to move towards holding permeant jobs and residency.

Just looks for thoughts/experience/knowledge here as I'm a bit confused if coming over on a working holiday visa would hurt my opportunity for the partnership work visa???

[JandM]

INZ defines partnership as living together in a settled way. You wouldn't get a partner-sponsored visitor visa, because it requires evidence of having lived together for around three months - exactly the same evidence requirement as for a partner-sponsored work visa. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...s-visitor-visa (Scroll down to find the link to see the criteria.)

Entering NZ on your WHV will not do any harm to your future plans. INZ don't need to know more at the outset. Keep it simple. Thousands of people come to NZ on WHVs every year, so you fit the profile. Quite a few of them hook up with a NZer and end up applying under partnership, without having known about that in advance. See here https://www.google.co.uk/#q=site:enz...tnership+proof for old threads about collecting evidence of living together ready for your partnership work application. It is important to get solid evidence at the beginning, marking the date of setting up home together, then to gather more pieces for each passing week, showing you are both still there and sharing ordinary life events. Keep doing this even after you send in your application - you will be asked for more before the visa is issued, and you will need all this again for your partner-sponsored residence application when you have 12 months'-worth, so it's a good idea to keep copies, also. Not everything will be returned, and a later application may go to a different office or different CO. It's easier on the new CO if you can say, 'This is a copy of what is in my previous file, dated (whatever).'

[shannonc23]

I am from the States and came over on a Working Holiday Visa, then got a Work Visa based on Partnership. I was living with my partner for around nine months before I applied for a Work Visa based on Partnership, but I probably could have done it earlier.

Just an item to be aware of is that the USA police report can take 3+ months and this is something you will need for a Work Visa based on Partnership. There are 3rd parties you can use that have a turnaround time of two weeks, but you have to have a US address to send the report to and be a US citizen. I ended up getting my report from a 3rd party when I was back in the States for Christmas because it was a lot easier than going through the FBI.

[tocsweetie]

I just looked at that last night! You have to get finger prints too right?! Thanks for the heads up May I ask you how you got your chest X-ray/medical exam without being a NZ resident. Did you have to pay a ton out of pocket to get that done in NZ since you aren't covered by their insurance?

[JandM]

Even someone who is entitled to use the NZ health service wouldn't get their INZ medicals paid for on it. The system is for necessary treatment for health reasons, not something that you're choosing to do.

[shannonc23]

Yes, you need to get your fingerprints taken for the police report.

The medical and chest X-ray was around 250 NZD and I had to pay for that out of pocket. I can't remember the exact amount of time it is valid for, but I was able to use it for both my work visa and residency application (same for the police report).

[tocsweetie]

Good to know JandM. These are the things missed in my understandings of health insurance in America versus New Zealand. I got some studying up to do! Thanks for the responses, really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions/concerns.

[tocsweetie]

Shannonc23, thanks for the information! I really appreciate the responses. I'm actually going to jump the boat and go ahead and do the police report fingerprints Wednesday and sent it off to get that one thing out of the way. I think that has to be within 36 months for the residency visa so that should be okay.

That seems so cheap to get the medical and chest x-ray, for some reason I thought it'd be in like the 1000's! I would probably just do it in NZ right before submitting the partnership work visa to be safe. I'll have to research more to see exactly what sort of medical evaluation they are looking for to ease the process of getting it when i'm there. I'm trying to do all the research over here and get all the paperwork/documentation I can complete so that when I arrive there I can focus on getting a job and getting set up with my boyfriend.