[anna_c]

I found the following in the guide to application for residence:


You may apply for residence at any time under this policy,
but to be granted residence you must meet all policy
requirements and have been living together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 12 months.

Does this mean that, as we have been living together for 11 months, I can apply for residence now, but it will not be granted until a month later?

The processing times are 6months plus, so I'd like to get it in asap.

[Ana&Steve]

I would guess you would have to wait til it's been 12 months, this is based on us wanting to get a head start on things, but NZIS and NZQA both told us we had to wait until we had completed. This was for schooling, but I get the impression they want everything to be in its proper time. This is only my feeling, it could be totally different for you, especially because you live in NZ. :)
Ana

[Park City Partner]

We applied early and our case officer reviewed our application and said everything looked fine but that they wouldn't approve it until 12 months from when we opened our joint bank account. That seem to be the key piece of evidence they were relying on.

[ellenmelon]

i sponsored my partner and he started all the paperwork about a fortnight after we had been living together for a year. it really is best to wait cause while they may accept all the paperwork theres no guarantee that they'll start processing until you've been living together for a year.
our processing time was about 2.5-3mths and we only had to send in one missing document and that didnt really delay it all.
make sure you have as much evidence as you can find..it may seem wierd sending pics of yourself and your partner to a random person at the embassy but every little bit helps! we sent in printoffs of e-tickets from trips away,hotel bookings,wedding invitations,mail...
good luck! it can be a pretty quick process under this catagory so you might be set sooner than you expected.
:)