[intastella]

Right, here's the background and scenario!

Myself and my Kiwi partner have been living together for 4 years (and are now married), have a two year old son and wish to move to Christchurch. We are 90% sure that I will be accepted. I have not been in trouble, no medical condition, we can prove our relationship for four years, etc, etc. I have a UK job that I can continue online from over there so in essence I have a job to go to.
However, we are keen to go shortly, and if we wait for the residency decision then we could be stuck here for 10 months or so.
I was wondering if I could get a working holiday visa which would give me 12 months over there, then within two months put in my residency application which in theory shouldn't take over 10 months for the decision?

It might sound very odd to do it this way but I am keen to take the job offer I have from work now as it might not be there 5,6,7 or 10 months down the line! As you can imagine having a job already there and in Sterling has advantages.
I was wondering what the risks are by doing it this way? If they even allow it? If it has bearing on their decision regarding the residency later? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Natfish

[dharder]

I was wondering what the risks are by doing it this way? If they even allow it? If it has bearing on their decision regarding the residency later?

I don't see why you shouldn't be able to do it like this. We briefly thought about it, but then decided to do the paperwork here since I assume we'll have enough to do once we get there.

I'm sure there are people here on the board who've done that, applied for PR on basis of partnership while in the country.

Good luck,

Daniela

[intastella]

Thanks again Daniela,
If there is anyone who has done that, or knows any of the possible pit falls, risks, and time frames I'd be happy to give them a banana. :exit
Natfish.

[R&A]

My partner and I are were in a similar situation. The Working holiday visa was my back up plan and you certainly could get a WHV (I think you can get this for upto 23mths of you're applying from the UK) to cover you PR application time within new zealand.

However, I believe (and am happy to be corrected) that if you move to NZ with a WHV you will have to pay tax on any posessions you wish take - having a kiwi partner you could get round this by putting the shipping in his name ony.

Also, I recently(2wks ago) received my approval in principle whilst still in UK and from posting my application to being approved took only 6 wks so it could be a lot quicker than you expect. They seem to be processing partnership PR applications pretty quickly at the moment.

If you are definitely applying for PR I would do it asap - if may be approved quickly and if you want to go to NZ before its approved you can continue to have your application processed whilst you're there. As long as you're entering the country legally - which you would be with a WHV I can't see why you would have a problem.

Good Luck,

Anna

PS - we're moving to Christchurch too!

PPS - Edited to say - I'm not entirely sure if their are restrictions about who you can be employed by and for how long when working on a WHV so that would be something you needed to check out but at least you'd definitely be in the country! :D

[kanatakiwi]

As to the shipping question, yes the goods can be shipped in your kiwi partner's name. We did that for my husband (kiwi) . I have a work permit and waiting for residency. I assume you are applying under partnership?.

[KerryS]

You can't get a working holiday visa if you have any dependants. See the conditions here:

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/workingholiday/unitedkingdomworkingholidayscheme.htm

You can arrive in NZ on a normal visitor visa and apply for a work permit under the partnership scheme though, whilst waiting for your PR to be approved.

[Klipa]

My husband is applying for 2 year work visa before we go then PR as soon as we land. We have to do it this way b/c I am Australian and have to be living in NZ for him to apply for PR. We were told it would take about 2 weeks for his work visa and then we are free to move. The only downfall is the timing as he will likely need to do another medical, etc once we arrive as it will have been 3 months since his medical for his work visa....just another expense to add to the pile! So it can be done either way...I think you just end up paying more if you wait until you are in the country.

[anna_c]

I applied (successfully) for PR on the basis of partnership whilst in NZ on a student visa. A little different as I was there anyway when I met my partner, but there were no major problems - and I understand the process was cheaper, particularly where medicals are concerned. The only worry would be that if you weren't accepted you would have to leave.

Have you considered applying for a partnership work visa, though - it doesn't have the restrictions of a WHV, specifically that under a WHV you can only work for 3 months for one employer.

[Oregonkiwi]

I'm a kiwi, my American husband easily got a 12 month work visa via partnership before we came to NZ (no medicals needed) and then he applied for PR in Auckland - see here for time frames:
http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9065

[intastella]

Thanks all for your help. You have given me a few things to think about. ;)

Regarding KerryS "You can't get a working holiday visa if you have any dependants". My child has a Kiwi passport already, and is a Kiwi citizen, so would be coming over with my Kiwi wife, although that does mean that we are all coming over together (but they wouldn't be on my forms). Surely when they say dependant they mean that it is a child that doesn't already have a right to be there?

We would be going down the partnership route and we won't really be taking many possessions as we had our wedding list with a Kiwi company so all the basics are waiting for us there already. Will only be bringing a few clothes etc. As you say I can always get it signed for under my partners name.

The WHV only allowing you to work for an employer for 3 months could be a problem. How strict do they look at this? If I am working for the same employer in the UK from the beginning, then who will knock on my door to say that I am have not changed employer? Or do you need to check in every few weeks to confirm that your details are still the same, and your employer has altered?:confused:

There might be ways of altering the company that pays me anyway, but what is the timescale for the partnership working visa? I am assuming that it is much quicker than the partnership residency route?

Anyway thanks again, I will be filling out many forms over the next few days, and I guess I will start with the WHV followed extremely closely with the PR forms/sponsor form for my partner.:wah

[anna_c]

intastella - if you were just coming here for a year on a WHV and then leaving, I doubt anyone would notice you working for the same employer. However, I'd be extremely careful if I was planning to apply for PR, as breaking immigration rules could completely jeopardise that. (Just as an example, you're likely going to want to show bank statements as proof of partnership, and there is a possibility they will enquire about deposits into your account). It's likely you will still get away with it, but why risk it when you've got the partnership work visa open to you?

as to the dependents, check the wording carefully - if they say dependent, they mean dependent, not just non-citizen dependent - the policies don't always make logical sense

[kanatakiwi]

just to support what Anna said, you have to list ALL dependants and all siblings etc. of both you and your partner. I had to list my partner's brothers and sisters who are all kiwis, I phoned them about this as I couldnt see why they needed this info, but they were very definite that all these people had to be listed.

[intastella]

Thanks for clarifying. Will have to be careful then I guess.:uhoh
Natfish.

[KerryS]

Thanks all for your help. You have given me a few things to think about. ;)

Regarding KerryS "You can't get a working holiday visa if you have any dependants". My child has a Kiwi passport already, and is a Kiwi citizen, so would be coming over with my Kiwi wife, although that does mean that we are all coming over together (but they wouldn't be on my forms). Surely when they say dependant they mean that it is a child that doesn't already have a right to be there?

We would be going down the partnership route and we won't really be taking many possessions as we had our wedding list with a Kiwi company so all the basics are waiting for us there already. Will only be bringing a few clothes etc. As you say I can always get it signed for under my partners name.

The WHV only allowing you to work for an employer for 3 months could be a problem. How strict do they look at this? If I am working for the same employer in the UK from the beginning, then who will knock on my door to say that I am have not changed employer? Or do you need to check in every few weeks to confirm that your details are still the same, and your employer has altered?:confused:

There might be ways of altering the company that pays me anyway, but what is the timescale for the partnership working visa? I am assuming that it is much quicker than the partnership residency route?

Anyway thanks again, I will be filling out many forms over the next few days, and I guess I will start with the WHV followed extremely closely with the PR forms/sponsor form for my partner.:wah

Did you read the link I posted about the WHV rules for the UK?
There is no 3 month limit for UK citizens, so you can work for one employer for up to 12 months. (Max time allowed to work on a 23 month WHV.)

Personally I wouldn't bother and would go for the work visa via partnership. I don't have children, but if the WHV rules state no children, then I would presume that is what they mean...

[Trigirl]

Surely when they say dependant they mean that it is a child that doesn't already have a right to be there?
no - they mean any child. its not about whether that child has residence or not - its just another way of filtering out those who aren't genuinely coming over for a working holiday. i don't know where you are moving from (it would be helpful to others trying to answer your questions if you could update your profile) but if its from the uk its very specific - the working holuday visa says "You must not bring children with you" as well as "You must satisfy us your main reason for coming to New Zealand is to holiday, not work". as anna said there is no point in messing immigration about now - they can refuse you PR if you do.

[Jo Jo]

However, we are keen to go shortly, and if we wait for the residency decision then we could be stuck here for 10 months or so.




According to NZIS London (http://www.immigration.govt.nz/branch/londonbranchhome/partnersnz/) applications for partnership are taking 4 - 6 months to process in London, so hopefully you wouldn't have to wait 10 months... I reckon with the 40 days to get your police checks through (and while you're waiting for that organising all your papers and getting medicals done and stuff) you would be looking at about 7 months or so. But I am hopelessly optimistic about this sort of thing. Have you applied for your police checks, yet? Mine took just under 40 days to come through - I wish I had thought to apply for them sooner.

I'm hoping to lodge my application in the next couple of weeks so will let you know how it goes...

(I'll probably be posting here after Christmas saying, "Why did NZIS London say it took 6 months when it's taken ten? :laugh )

[intastella]

Yeah WHV is not an option then with kids. The main reason was that 6 or 7 months might be too long as the job offer might go by then. I really wanted 6 or 7 weeks, which is why I thought the WHV might work.
Would the work visa by partnership take a shorter period the PR? If so, how long?
Natfish.

[kanatakiwi]

getting a work visa under partnership is definitely quicker than going for PR. Not sure about where you are, but mine came through here in less than 2 months ( i'm in NZ. ). I lodged PR at the same time, and saved the mess of having to do medicals, police checks etc twice.

[Oregonkiwi]

By the way, have you tried searching the forum? There have been a lot of discussions on this topic.
Nik's partnership work visa application went through the NZ Consulate in LA and took less than 10 days.

[eternalkiwi]

The Partner sponsored work visa/permit would be a good pathway to come to NZ ASAP.
The application should not take more than 6-8 weeks to process at the most.
If you are planning to apply for PR within a short timeframe of your Work visa application, Immigration are likely to exempt you from gaining your medicals twice if you are living in low risk countries during that time.

Shawn