Visa Predicament After Graduating
Kia ora koutou, yet another incompetent foreigner wanting to permanently reside in the beautiful country that is New Zealand here.
I have spent the past five years in NZ studying towards a MA in philosophy, due to what I could only refer to as demonic possession. I sincerely thought the academia was the only viable life path until a recent epiphany (not so recent, maybe 6 months ago). Long story short, my old plans of pursuing a PhD elsewhere immediately upon graduating have since changed.
So instead I have entered the labor market with zero skills other than being able to pump out academic garbage. God, I don't even know how to use the Excel (I am aware that I could probably pick it up fairly quickly, but it shows my extreme ineptitude and naivete despite the education undergone). Luckily, however, I managed to score a full-time job being a hotel drone. But I could only (legally) work for so long before the expiration of my existing student visa in March 2023.
I didn't fret over my visa status too much as I knew that my degree, whilst definitely useless, would automatically qualify me for the post-study work visa (PSWS) for three years. That should give me enough of a window to apply for the partnership visa (I have been living with my partner for 2.5 years now). And during all this, I would also save up for another actually useful degree.
But this sense of security has been crushed by a recent incident with someone from my university department. To put it crudely (so as to protect their identity), INZ declined their application for PSWS as they were deemed as a 'burden' to the healthcare system, for taking anxiety meds (how shocking, given the constant preaching about mental health awareness). Now, I am not on any prescription but have been frequenting my GP for recurring migraine attacks that (IMO) can at times be legitimately debilitating. (I am also pretty sure the GP refers to my symptoms as something that 'reduces the quality of my life' in the medical records, all of which INZ can freely access).
So I am now wondering whether I should just save the trouble and go straight for the partnership visa. But my evidence for that also doesn't seem solid enough. (I have tried and called a few legal advisors/lawyers to figure out whether my case is a total lost cause before sinking in thousands of dollars to initiate the process with them, but they are all hopelessly vague.) So here's my list of concerns:
- Despite living in effect together, we won't be sharing a lease until the beginning of next year (we have already signed the place). Throughout the latter half of 2020 & 2021, both of us had our own flats but I pretty much moved into his (for which his landlord could provide a letter). This year (2022) we have just one place but I am the only one on the lease (adding his name incurs an extra $50 pw, but I now regret being cheap). He, however, is in charge of all the utility bills but I am not sure if this sort of indirect proof suffices.
- Our age. We are both fairly young (23) and that might not suggest a serious commitment.
- Photo evidence. Being both broke students (who couldn't afford to go out / travel) and given my insecurity about my physical appearance, I have only accrued less than a handful of photos of us together ( the majority of which were taken during his family gatherings).
- Financial arrangement. Neither of us was making enough of money / had bother to plan our finances together. I have scheduled to open a joint account next week, but I don't even know what to do with it (like do we just start transferring a set amount to it each week?). And needless to say there is no assets to both of our names.
That's all I can think of at the moment. I have been losing sleep for about two weeks now over my uncertain future and relevant information online seems few and far between. I desperately want to make it work but it seems like all odds are against me due to my own stupidity (damn you, arts degrees). What do y'all think? Any insight is extremely appreciated.
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