[almdudler]

Hi guys,

Me and my husband are hoping to move to New Zealand in January. I am a Kiwi and he is Austrian. He has never been to NZ so am very looking forward to showing him my home and he is hoping to work in Wellington as a network engineer/admin.

My main question is which visa/permit to apply for for him. We have been together one year now and living together since March, seeing as we will have been living together for one year in March, I was wondering if it is possible to apply for his PR (partner) in January as it will probably take a couple of months to process as is.

Or will it be easier for us to get him in on the skilled migrants system, having said that he hasn't been to a university as such, rather he went to a 4 year tertiary course in Austria which is run more like a school (maybe like a polytechnic). It was a full-time course and focused on IT. So is that likely to be a level 7 degree level qualification?! It is not a bachelor degree, simply a trade qualification. But considering it took four years I guess I assume the only equivalent in New Zealand would be a degree? Correct me if I'm wrong He has plenty of work experience (5-6 years) and a good level of english.


Yep so hello to everyone and would love it if someone could point me in the right direction or give me some tips. I would certainly feel more comfortable applying for the visa inside of NZ so that I could see the office in persone and speak to them but am worried that his 3 months might run out before he gets a visa....

Am grateful for any and every advice

Isla
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[cforbes]

Hi

I have just been through this process. My wife is Kiwi. If you can prove you have been living together for 12 months or longer then it would be easier to go for the partner visa. With the partner visa you do not have to have any points. You simply prove that you are in a stable relationship. It took 8 weeks from the time London received my paperwork until the PR visa was granted so it is also alot shorter than the 9 to 12 months you could wait for the skilled migrant visa.

Cheers
Chris

[Helsandfamily]

Not sure if you can apply in January, given that you will have been living together for only 10 months, but there is nothing to stop him going over on a holiday visa........?

[jeffanar]

You could always apply for a work visa under the family stream, have a look at:
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/worktemporarily/requirements/Familystream.htm

Then you could come to New Zealand and apply for PR once you can prove you have been living together for 12 months. BUT apparently the processing time for a partner PR in NZ is currently 12-18 months. So depending on processing times wherever you will be applying, it might be quicker in the long run to wait until March then apply for his PR then.

[almdudler]

:nice1

Thanks for your replies.

We both have tickets arriving in New Zealand on the 21st of February.

Robert's ticket IS a return ticket so that should be fine. I will definitely look into this temporary work visa and I guess I will go to the office in Wellington when we arrive and ask them what they think is the best option. Sounds like the temporary visa shouldn't be a problem at all though.

Quote- "BUT apparently the processing time for a partner PR in NZ is currently 12-18 months. So depending on processing times wherever you will be applying, it might be quicker in the long run to wait until March then apply for his PR then."

Jaffanar do you mean the Permanent Residency takes 12-18 months to process? This sentence confused me a little, if we applied for a permanent residency and it took that long they would have to kick him out before we got the visa?! Or did you mean something else?

Ok thankyou again everyone for your speedy and informative replies!!!:D


Austrian Greetings!

from Isla and Robert

[jeffanar]

Yes, the PR application will take 12-18 months to process. But if you apply for the work visa under the family stream, this will allow him to live and work in NZ while the PR application is processed. This is what it says about the length of work visas on the immigration website:

"If you have been in this relationship for a year or more, we may grant you a work visa or permit that allows you to stay for up to a maximum of two years.

If you have been in this relationship for less than a year, initially we can only grant you a work visa or permit for up to 12 months. Once you are here, you can apply for further work permits for a total stay of up to two years from your arrival, if:
you and your partner want to stay longer in New Zealand and can show us that you are still in a genuine and stable relationship, or
you apply for residence as a partner."