Partner coming to NZ

[hufflebecks]

(I posted this elsewhere but realized it's more active here)

Hi all.

I think I have plans worked out, but want to run it by the helpful forum members to see if there's any problems that my partner and I haven't thought of yet.

My partner (long distance, he's 26 in America, I'm 24 in New Zealand) will be coming here on the Visa Waiver Program at the end of march 2019. We have the flights booked already, a round trip from Texas to Auckland, then returning mid June.

When he arrives in NZ (he'll be arriving in Auckland, but then catching a separate flight to Christchurch where I'll pick him up), we had first planned to tell INZ that he was just here to holiday, spend time with me and then go home. However, that was just due to worrying that they won't let him in if they know he wants to stay longer.

The real plan is him to holiday and spend time with me, but we're going to be collecting evidence of our relationship (at that point, dated for 7 months but haven't lived together yet) for three months, then apply for the Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa. He does have skills in culinary work, but not qualified enough to apply for any of the work visa's to apply for a non Partner one.

Around the end of his time here, we'll be sending in all our information (we've looked up all we need, so we'll be working on that the entire time he's here) to get him this Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa, and hoping that he can then stay on. He does have a prospective job already (my father knows a place in town that's always looking for kitchen workers, and can put in a good word there for my partner).

So at the airport in Auckland when he arrives, instead of telling them he's just here to holiday and see me, we've decided instead he should be 100% honest. Tell them that he's here to holiday and spend time with me, but is also hoping to look for a job and then apply for the Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa as he is hopeful to get a job, and if it doesn't work out, that he will return (we're very much hoping that doesn't happen, we want to stay together).

We're both just worried that INZ will decline him entry as this may not be seen as bona-fide. He does have a 100% paid for ticket back to the states, and will be coming here with minimal baggage (just a backpack, he doesn't have much at home anyway) and he does have a family back home where he's living with, so there's reason for him to return home.

So is it better to tell INZ the 100% truth and hope that they'll let him stay? Because we don't want to mislead them by saying it's purely a holiday, when the intent is to see if he wants to stay here to work.

Thank you!

[JandM]

(I've removed your other post. There's no need for duplicates, as most people come in via the New Posts or What's New buttons, so see whatever has arrived since they last looked, regardless of the forum it is in.)

One of the officially acceptable reasons for getting a visitor's visa is known as "look, see and decide" - in other words, the applicant is going to research life in NZ and the working conditions in their line of work, see if they can get any interest from employers and/or agents, and decide if they want to take things further. This is perfectly legal, including having job interviews and taking their CV round to try to generate meetings and offers, and also checking out possibilities for studying for more qualifications. What they cannot do is any kind of work unless and until they get an offer, and an appropriate visa. In your partner's case, "look, see and decide" can also cover taking your relationship to the next level. As long as he says "look, see and decide" every time he is asked for the reason for his visit, on a form or by an official in person, he will be being honest.

These old threads https://www.google.com/search?ei=jY8...iz.SPllxfYofg8 have discussion and examples of evidence of partnership, and may be helpful.

[TheNewKiwi]

I personally applied in advance for a visitor visa, so I would have longer than the three months the visa waiver visa allows. It is free to US citizens applying from the US. I told them up front that I wanted to visit my partner, see if we hit it off in person, and see if I wanted to stay in NZ. Once you establish joint bills, joint bank account, joint tenancy, etc, it will take a bit of time for the bills and statements to be generated with both names. It took us four months to get three months of paperwork.

[ChrisMwn]

(I posted this elsewhere but realized it's more active here)

Hi all.

I think I have plans worked out, but want to run it by the helpful forum members to see if there's any problems that my partner and I haven't thought of yet.

My partner (long distance, he's 26 in America, I'm 24 in New Zealand) will be coming here on the Visa Waiver Program at the end of march 2019. We have the flights booked already, a round trip from Texas to Auckland, then returning mid June.

When he arrives in NZ (he'll be arriving in Auckland, but then catching a separate flight to Christchurch where I'll pick him up), we had first planned to tell INZ that he was just here to holiday, spend time with me and then go home. However, that was just due to worrying that they won't let him in if they know he wants to stay longer.

The real plan is him to holiday and spend time with me, but we're going to be collecting evidence of our relationship (at that point, dated for 7 months but haven't lived together yet) for three months, then apply for the Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa. He does have skills in culinary work, but not qualified enough to apply for any of the work visa's to apply for a non Partner one.

Around the end of his time here, we'll be sending in all our information (we've looked up all we need, so we'll be working on that the entire time he's here) to get him this Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa, and hoping that he can then stay on. He does have a prospective job already (my father knows a place in town that's always looking for kitchen workers, and can put in a good word there for my partner).

So at the airport in Auckland when he arrives, instead of telling them he's just here to holiday and see me, we've decided instead he should be 100% honest. Tell them that he's here to holiday and spend time with me, but is also hoping to look for a job and then apply for the Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa as he is hopeful to get a job, and if it doesn't work out, that he will return (we're very much hoping that doesn't happen, we want to stay together).

We're both just worried that INZ will decline him entry as this may not be seen as bona-fide. He does have a 100% paid for ticket back to the states, and will be coming here with minimal baggage (just a backpack, he doesn't have much at home anyway) and he does have a family back home where he's living with, so there's reason for him to return home.

So is it better to tell INZ the 100% truth and hope that they'll let him stay? Because we don't want to mislead them by saying it's purely a holiday, when the intent is to see if he wants to stay here to work.

Thank you!

highly unlikely that he would have any interaction with a human at all, most probably entering via "Smartgate" and pressing a couple of buttons in answer to questions.

[TheNewKiwi]

Another suggestion is the USA Working Holiday Visa. That is also free for US citizens, and would give you much longer time to accumulate your evidence. And the added bonus is he could work while here.

[hufflebecks]

Thanks for the replies! Relief to us both to know that saying "look, see and decide" is the right thing to do, and that he may not even have to talk to a person! After a long flight and stopovers, he's not feeling the idea of sitting through immigration for long before having to fly once more, haha.

Also we've looked into all the different visa types, and the USA Working Holiday Visa isn't too feasible for us. It's a bit too costly ($4200 nzd with full medical insurance). Being from the states and having just turned 26, he's no longer medically insured (you stop being on parents insurance at 26). So we're still going with the plan of the waiver to work visa, and then continue on like that.

Thank you! Any more helpful tips, or if I have any questions, I'll keep popping into here over the next few months.

[diallta]

Thanks for the replies! Relief to us both to know that saying "look, see and decide" is the right thing to do, and that he may not even have to talk to a person! After a long flight and stopovers, he's not feeling the idea of sitting through immigration for long before having to fly once more, haha.

As ChrisMwn mentioned, and based on my journeys through Auckland airport, I would suspect that no human interaction will be necessary. The gates seem to allow visitors from certain visa waiver countries to enter after answering a few questions so long as you've got a return ticket booked on your itinerary.

[herodias]

Thanks for the replies! Relief to us both to know that saying "look, see and decide" is the right thing to do, and that he may not even have to talk to a person! After a long flight and stopovers, he's not feeling the idea of sitting through immigration for long before having to fly once more, haha.

Also we've looked into all the different visa types, and the USA Working Holiday Visa isn't too feasible for us. It's a bit too costly ($4200 nzd with full medical insurance). Being from the states and having just turned 26, he's no longer medically insured (you stop being on parents insurance at 26). So we're still going with the plan of the waiver to work visa, and then continue on like that.

Thank you! Any more helpful tips, or if I have any questions, I'll keep popping into here over the next few months.

My partner is also from the states and came on a working holiday visa last year, before applying for a partnership visa. It definitely didn't cost anything near that amount. The fee is waived when you apply for the visa if you are from the USA, so that was $0, and we purchased full insurance from a NZ company, rather than using a US one as we couldn't easily find one that would offer insurance for 365 days. It was specifically for people coming here on a working holiday visa and it was around $400nzd if I remember correctly. I am happy to PM you more details if you want.

[hufflebecks]

Yes please, Herodias! That sounds incredible. The $4200 made us not even consider it.

[hufflebecks]

Looks like I need to post more to use the PM system. We looked into the USA Holiday Working Visa last night and are pretty happy about it, and have added that to our plan. My partner is coming over on the Visa Waiver as planned, and shortly after he's here, we'll apply for the USA Holiday Working Visa. If that gets approved, that's awesome! We can continue on from there, looking for work, enjoying time together, etc. If declined, we'll continue our normal plan of the Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa.