US Citizen, I want to marry a woman in NZ

[gar3912]

First of all, thank you to those of you who generously take time to answer questions from people like me. I've done searches in this forum and on the internet, but I'm still unclear of how to go about doing what I want to do. I understand it may not be possible to do easily. I appreciate any advice.

I am a US citizen. I met a woman online and we have carried on a relationship online and via Skype. I want to travel to NZ, immediately live with her, establish a partnership, then eventually work and reside in NZ. I'm pretty clear on the "gathering proof", applying for partnership work visa, then applying for partnership residency visa part. I know you need at least 3 months of a committed relationship and proof to even consider applying for any type of partnership visa.

I guess I have 2 main questions, both regarding Visitor Visas:

1) Since I'm American, do I even need to apply for a Visitor Visa before going? If I don't, that only gives me 90 days to stay. Should I apply for a Visitor Visa while I'm there to extend my time so I can gather partnership proof?

2) If I apply for a Visitor Visa, do I disclose that I'm coming for the purpose of visiting this person? I know a visitor visa is supposed to be temporary and they want you to leave at the end of your stay. I don't want to leave at the end of my stay. I want to apply for a partnership visa after 3 months.

Thank you so much.

[newarrival]

Not answering your question.., but, call me old fashioned.., how do you know that this is 'the' person you want to marry, haven't ever met her in person? I can understand that you want to meet her in person and get to know her, but from that to a longterm partnership is quite a step, isn't it?

Sorry.., I am sure there will be more helpful replies from more understanding people

[JandM]

1) Since I'm American, do I even need to apply for a Visitor Visa before going? If I don't, that only gives me 90 days to stay. Should I apply for a Visitor Visa while I'm there to extend my time so I can gather partnership proof?

You can do this, as I'm sure you've seen on the INZ website. Apart from the bona fide visitor reasons mentioned over there, also accepted as a reason for being a visitor is 'look, see and decide,' meaning that you want to look around for opportunities, see if you can get a job, and decide if you want to try and stay, so you can put that on the card to be filled in on the aeroplane just before arrival in NZ, if you decide to come in on a visa-waiver. Of course, that also will give you time to meet with your partner and get to know her properly.

2. As presumably your partner has invited you to go to stay with her, you could mention that if asked. As you have gathered, the whole truth about your hopes and plans told upon entry can make problems. But using 'look, see and decide' as your reason does at least state that you MAY be wanting to stay long-term, so no one later could say you'd lied.

See this. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...a/interim-visa If you lodge an application for a further temporary visa while your current visa is still valid (even by a day or two), INZ will issue an interim visa to keep you legal while your request is processed. This may be useful in your situation.

[gar3912]

Thank you so much for the info. I appreciate you responding to my thread. I didn't know they would issue an interim visa while a visa request was being processed, so that's good to know. Also the "look, see and decide" advice is much appreciated.

Thank you!

[Hagabel]

You need a visa and I needed a return flight as well when I did my reccie back in 2008. Sounds like a weird start to a relationship. NZ is very different to America, you may not like it. Why not spend your 3 months or whatever the visa allows to begin a relationship and scope out NZ. Just my 2 cents.