[sunkist]

Hi everyone. :)

I have a PR visa that was granted to me through my father (he was the principal applicant). During the application process, he made me sign an affidavit (evidence that I'm still dependent on my parents) stating I am dependent on my parents and that I am single, not in a relationship and not living in with a partner (although I am in a relationship with someone but we are not living in together).

I have a partner who I wish to get here in NZ and intend to apply for a working visa under the family stream. My question is would the affidavit I signed before have bearing if I try to sponsor my partner?

My understanding of the word "relationship" in the immigration website means that you and your partner have lived in together and we have not. So I am hoping that even though I stated in the affidavit that I am not in a relationship and not living in with a partner, he can still get a work visa under the family stream category.

It's a bit confusing but I hope you guys get what I'm trying to ask. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :)

All the best for 2007!

[veronica]

dont think it will happen unless you can prove relationship, ie. shared lease/rent agreements, bank accounts, etc. for over a year. They are really strict on this. Whereabouts is your partner from and are they under 30 because if so they would more than likely qualify to come over here on the young persons working holiday visa. this would give them one or two years here to sort out a job and apply through normal channels.

[sunkist]

thanks for your answer veronica. i'm browsing through a lot of the topics in the forum and other forums as well to get more information. but how about the affidavit, would that have any bearing if i try to sponsor my partner? even under the family (Partner) Sponsored Work visa?

[wiki]

To be honest, I think you will have problems. The reason they're so careful is they don't want to encourage people "selling" citizenship (like all the bogus weddings they have in the UK to get people British passports)

If you've come in on PR swearing you don't have a partner, and then suddenly turn around and say that you do, NZIS is probably going to think you're just doing it for the money your "partner" is paying you.

Could your partner come on a work visa and then live with you for a while and then apply for PR that way?

The evidence for the partnership has to be pretty solid - as said above, shared bills, tenancy agreements/mortgages etc - and by already swearing you don't have a partner, you'd pretty much have to start from scratch with the one-year relationship proof I guess.

btw, how long have you been in NZ? I don't think you can act as a sponsor until you've been a resident for a certain amount of time.

Good luck

[Ana&Steve]

If your partner is 30 or under, he could do the student visa route and go on his own merits, climbing the immigration ladder once he gets there.
Hope everything works out. :)
Ana

[Trigirl]

until last month i'd lived in the uk all my life and never came across this bogus weddings thing????

[veronica]

think it was more common 10 or so years ago. But happen it did. a sister of a family friend was married for a day for so, not in physical terms just a registrars service to a guy from overseas just so he could have status in the UK. and it certainly happens in other parts of the world too.

[Ana&Steve]

until last month i'd lived in the uk all my life and never came across this bogus weddings thing???? It used to be a pretty common theme on US sitcoms when I was little, not so much any more, but I think "My Name is Earl" has alluded to it a bit.

[Ana&Steve]

Whereabouts is your partner from and are they under 30 because if so they would more than likely qualify to come over here on the young persons working holiday visa. this would give them one or two years here to sort out a job and apply through normal channels. If your partner is 30 or under, he could do the student visa route and go on his own merits, climbing the immigration ladder once he gets there.
Sorry, veronica, I didn't see that the first time! :o *blush* :o
Ana

[anna_c]

Just to add to what's been said, if your partner's eligible a WHV does seem the best way to go. They're pretty much automatic to get if the quota for your country hasn't been used up and much less paperwork than under the family stream. The only problem is that you can (if it hasn't changed) only work for three months for one employer (working for different people through the same temp agency is fine though).

After living together for a year, you can then apply for PR on partnership grounds, and a family stream work visa whilst the application is being processed.

Student visa's aren't limited to people under thirty, but you do have to pay overseas tuition and can only work part time, if at all.

[sunkist]

thanks everyone for your insights. it's helping me a lot. i've just been living in NZ for just 10 months. how long before i can be a sponsor? i was thinking that him getting a work visa on his own can be a little harder because he's from the philippines that's why i thought of sponsoring him instead. but now maybe it would be harder sponsoring him.

[Smiler]

until last month i'd lived in the uk all my life and never came across this bogus weddings thing????

As an ex registrar I can tell you it happens an awful lot and usually a large amount of money is involved. I've actually seen the money change hands in the marriage room and I've also had to question bridegrooms that know nothing about their bride, including their first name (and vice versa).

The regulations are changing, but that doesn't include asking the couple if they know what colour their proposed OH's tooth brush is. It's a bit late for immigration to try and ask that after the marriage has taken place and both parties have 'disappeared', usually parting just outside the register office door.

P.S. Sorry to hijack the thread.

[wiki]

As an ex registrar I can tell you it happens an awful lot and usually a large amount of money is involved. I've actually seen the money change hands in the marriage room and I've also had to question bridegrooms that know nothing about their bride, including their first name (and vice versa).

The regulations are changing, but that doesn't include asking the couple if they know what colour their proposed OH's tooth brush is. It's a bit late for immigration to try and ask that after the marriage has taken place and both parties have 'disappeared', usually parting just outside the register office door.

P.S. Sorry to hijack the thread.

I've heard of people not knowing their future-partner's name, but not about exchanging cash in the room! I've heard of some women who marry for money, divorce and then remarry the next "buyer" as quick as they can.

************************************************
But back to sunkist's question: these points are all from the partner sponsorship section on the NZIS website

An eligible sponsor is a New Zealand citizen or resident who:

has not previously supported or sponsored more than one other successful principal applicant under Partnership policy
or
has not supported or sponsored any other successful principal applicant under Partnership policy in the five years immediately preceding the date the current application is made
or
was not the perpetrator of an incident domestic violence which has resulted in the grant of a residence permit to a person under policy for victims of domestic violence.

If a sponsor was a successful principal applicant under Partnership Policy they will not be considered eligible unless:

at least five years has elapsed since the date they were granted residence under Partnership Policy

and
they have not supported or sponsored any other successful principal applicant under Partnership Policy.

Evidence whether a sponsor is a New Zealand citizen or resident can include the original and certified copies of:

a residence permit in their passport or travel document
a current returning resident’s visa in their passport or travel document
their valid New Zealand or Australian passport
their New Zealand birth certificate
a recent official statement confirming their citizenship from the Department of Internal Affairs
their certificate of New Zealand citizenship.

Evidence of partnership may be provided by:

marriage certificate (if married)
civil union certificate (if in a civil union)
proof of shared residence (such as joint mortgage or tenancy agreements of rent book)
financial dependence or interdependence (proof of shared income or bank accounts, or accounts that show money transfers to or from your account to your partner’s account)
birth certificates of your children
any documents showing public or family recognition of your relationship
correspondence (including post marked envelopes) to you and your partner at the same address
photographs of you and your partner together
evidence of the duration of your relationship
the degree of commitment to a shared life
evidence of communication between you both
evidence of you being committed to each other emotionally and exclusively, such as evidence of joint decision making, an exclusive sexual relationship, and the sharing of household duties, parental responsibility, and spare time.


We may verify any documents you provide.

Please note: If you have been living apart from your partner for any significant period during your relationship, you must also provide evidence of the length of any periods of separation, the reasons for them, and how your relationship was maintained during these periods.

***********************************************

I'm sponsoring my partner into NZ and we're worried about the "evidence of living together" aspect, even though we've been co-habiting for two years. It was my house and I never bothered changing any of the existing bills - or the council tax - into joint names.

If you and your partner have never lived together, and you left them to move to NZ, you might have longer delays compared to othere people... but if you're prepared to apply and then wait a year for the follow-up it might well work out.

[urban78]

I'm sponsoring my partner into NZ and we're worried about the "evidence of living together" aspect, even though we've been co-habiting for two years. It was my house and I never bothered changing any of the existing bills - or the council tax - into joint names.

If you and your partner have never lived together, and you left them to move to NZ, you might have longer delays compared to othere people... but if you're prepared to apply and then wait a year for the follow-up it might well work out.

Hi wiki,

When my kiwi partner sponsored me, the only joint things we had were a telecom bill and our tenancy agreement.

We'd been living together for 15 months (12 months in a flat of our own, and sharing a place with other people 3 months prior to that). Nearly all the supporting evidence we supplied were official documents separately addressed to us but showing we lived at the same address (bank statements, mobile phone bills, NHS cards, previous landlord wrote a statement about us living together but sharing a place too) so I think you'll be fine.

My case officer never questionned any of that paperwork, just asked me to provide a doctor's report from minor surgery I'd had 5 years before :roll

I've heard of stories here about NZIS paying visits to couple they had doubts on being genuine, asking them the toothbursh question or who takes the rubbish out at night, even who sleeps on which side in bed :o I'm glad NZIS take these things seriously on that side.

I'm sure it will be all good :nice1

Jen :)

[Smiler]

"I've heard of some women who marry for money, divorce and then remarry the next "buyer" as quick as they can. "


Yep and I've picked one of those out at a police ID parade too. Her lawyer was beside himself with rage (she'd forgotten to do the divorce bit in the middle :D) and she eventually got a suspended sentence. Funnily enough, I never saw her again after that.

[sunkist]

sorry to bring this up again. so if i am just a nz pr holder wanting to sponsor my partner, will nzis check how i was granted PR?? thus checking all paperwork how my parents were able to sponsor me and seeing all documents and affidavits submitted way back???

oh and my partner is now here with me in nz but on tourist visa.. i'm still sponsoring him for work visa under partnership because at the moment he's still not getting any job offers....

and how easy is it to have your tourist visa extended because he only got a few months...??

many thanks