Still awaiting husband's visa... advice please

[chescarini]

Hi all,
I have had my Talent (Accredited Employer) Work Visa approved on 25th October. My husband's Partner of a Worker Work Visa has not yet been granted despite us applying for these as a group application. I had submitted an EVE request on 22nd October which triggered the approval of my visa however after speaking with INZ on the phone they have now informed us that my husband's application had been to the medical assessor, has been cleared and is now with the case officer BUT it may take between 30 days and 3 months for this to be processed. I have submitted a complaint regarding this as we were lead to believe all applications in a group will be processed together, plus they have now not responded at all to 2 emails I have sent regarding this.

Do I have a right to escalate this further since we submitted the applications as a group?

I am due to start work as a nurse in Christchurch on 20th January (have to arrive in NZ by 25th January according to my visa) but we are unable to make any moving, travel or shipping plans until I know my husband has his visa... I don't know what else to do but I'm extremely stressed about it.

[JandM]

I doubt that your complaint will be regarded as valid, because they HAVE processed the visas all together, but it just happened that your husband's medical was referred, so his is taking longer to conclude. They don't, and can't, say that they will set aside requirements for any one of the group.

I'm sorry for your anxiety, and can only tell you that you are far from the only person to have this kind of thing happen. In many cases, the worker has had to go ahead to start their job, then the partner has followed once their visa has been cleared.

[chescarini]

Thank you for your advice. I understand what you're saying, I'm sure there are many others in positions like I am.