Kia Ora,
First of thanks for all the info on this forum. Been reading and researching for a while but only just signed up.
I've got something I can't find the answer to right now. I have found conflicting / incomplete information online from INZ's websites directly.
I'm a NZ citizen, living with my pregnant American partner in Ohio USA. Our boy is due October
We are hoping to have him born in Auckland.
- What duration partner work visa might my partner be granted due to being pregnant and not getting a chest x-ray?
a. 3 months after baby due date
b. 24 months
The conflicting / incomplete information is this:
1. Page 11 of INZ 1121 Health requirements document https://www.immigration.govt.nz/docu...es/inz1121.pdf (bold/under lines here are by me)
If you are an applicant who would normally be required to provide a chest X-ray certicate, you do not have to provide one while pregnant. Unless you have recently provided a chest X-ray certifcate with a previous application, however, you may only be granted a visa valid for three months after the date that you are due to give birth. In order to stay beyond this period once you have given birth, you will need to provide a chest X-ray certifcate with an application for a further visa.
vs
2. The 'ops manual' Section E3.10.1 Currency of Visas / Pregnant applicants https://onlineservices.immigration.g...2a4800425b8684
This section applies to pregnant applicants for temporary entry class visas who:
i. intend to be in New Zealand for more than six months; and
ii. are considered to have risk factors for tuberculosis (TB) (see A4.25.5); and
iii. otherwise meet immigration instructions for the grant of a temporary entry visa.
a. These applicants may only be granted a visa for up to three months from the date that they are due to give birth, unless (c) below applies.
She does not fall under the 'high risk factors for TB' according to the referred section A4.25.5
This is the only thing in the 'Ops manual' that I can find relating to the duration of temporary visas for pregnant applicants
The reason the initial duration is important to us is that it relates to whether she will qualify for healthcare in NZ immediately, or only after she can get a chest x ray.
We know she will qualify for publicly funded maternity care because of me
We know that if it's a 3 month past baby due date visa, we can begin to apply for permanent residence before baby, or another work visa after baby (depends on timeline / processing times)
We didn't apply for permanent residence immediately due to timeline issues having not completed a year living together until recently, and now a delay on getting my FBI reports because of not being a US citizen or permanent resident.
So the issue with that is, what kind of health / travel insurance for her we would do, to cover our bases.
Travel insurance that we've seen seems to fall back on returning someone to their home country for major health problems, so we'd have to keep up healthcare in USA for her. Given the state of US healthcare, it's probably gonna cost some decent money.
We've sent in her application (5 July) for a partnership work visa.
We know it's a tight time frame, that's our chosen gamble.
As far as I can tell, we meet the requirements for her to be granted a 24 month visa (and perm residence!). So it falls on which one of the no-x-ray requirements by INZ might be 'more true'.
- Lived together 1 year + with ALL the evidence
- Submitted her clean FBI IHSC
- Submitted her limited medical certificate from a NZ panel doc in KY, USA
- No TB related issues based on countries spent time in
Thanks for taking the time to read this. Realising no one here should give official advice, I hope someone maybe can at least share a personal experience in a similar situation.
Louis & Shannon