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does anyone know anything about this?
I gather it takes a bunch of money in the bank and proof that you are truly planning to be married.
I'm wondering about details like: how complicated is it, is it really the best way to go, what qualifies as "knowing" someone for a year - I've read a few different versions, some say there must have been actual visits, others say email/mail/phone is valid.
Anything?
I gather it takes a bunch of money in the bank and proof that you are truly planning to be married.
I'm wondering about details like: how complicated is it, is it really the best way to go, what qualifies as "knowing" someone for a year - I've read a few different versions, some say there must have been actual visits, others say email/mail/phone is valid.
Anything?
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Oregon
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Re: Partner sponsorship
Thu, December 1, 2005 - 5:43 PMTHe discriptions are on the immigration website. Although I am not sure what it is.
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Re: Partner sponsorship
Thu, December 1, 2005 - 5:52 PM
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Re: Partner sponsorship
Thu, December 29, 2005 - 9:21 PMHi Isadora,
I'm not sure whether this will be helpful or not but...here goes.
My Kiwi husband (fiance at the time) did this for me (American) in 2002--times do change so...others' experiences may be different.
Money in the bank? Nah, not really--he was employed and we lived in a rented house. I think it's more the willingness to sign something saying you'll be responsible financially for this person and can support them. They probably want proof of employment, that you have a bank account, property title or lease to house/apartment, etc.
Proof as to getting married? We had the engagement announcement published in the local paper and we did have a letter from a family friend who was a minister who we intended to have perform the ceremony and I think letters from family members saying they were aware of the relationship, blah blah blah.
As for "knowing" someone for a year, we met on the internet in 2000 and vacationed together in the US for 2 weeks in 2001 before I went to NZ in 2002. I don't know how picky they are about email/phone/mail contact. They really didn't ask us much. (Be prepared when you go to the Immigration office--waited for hours--bring a snack and a bottle of water.)
We ultimately did get married in NZ and later moved to the US. We've looked into residency for me when we go back to NZ (hopefully in a couple years--miss it terribly) and it looks much easier than it was for him to get it here in the US (3 years, many headaches and about $1000 USD later).
It's still the best visa I've ever seen--a fiance visa here is 90 days, not 9 months like NZ. Give it a shot--no one says you have to marry if you don't suit. Just realize if you don't marry, don't count on being able to do it again for another potential mate for a loooong time. -
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Re: Partner sponsorship
Fri, December 30, 2005 - 7:41 PM
You might be interested in knowing that US citizens who have NZ residency can now apply for dual citizenship. You'd have to be living in NZ when you applied, and have plans to live there for a certain length of time after (the rules are pretty loose and open to interpretation, I think the wording is "forseeable future."), but that's not a big deal. I have dual citizenship (NZ and USA), and passports from both countries (a NZ passport is a really good thing to have these days, a US passport? Not so great.)
Also, with the passage of the NZ Civil Unions Bill in 2005, de facto couples (including same-sex couples) can enjoy the same rights as couples who are legally married - this includes immigration status. This means a person can apply for legal residency under the partner category, even if they're not legally married to their NZ sponsor. I'd advise the couple to get a joint bank account and have both names on their lease, so that there's a paper trail backing up their claim that they're a couple. It's also worthwhile applying under the general skills category, which involves a lot less red tape, if you have enough points.
The lowdown on the Civil Unions Bill can be found here:
www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite...Civil-Union
In terms of the long lines and waiting at the immigration office - I'd advise people to bypass Auckland and go to Wellington, where the wait is next to nothing (maybe an hour, as opposed to several hours), and the staff are much more helpful and friendly.
I went through the whole process of getting NZ residency and citizenship several years ago ('99 and '04) as one half of a same sex couple, which is a lot harder than it is for someone in a heterosexual relationship....and even that was way, way easier than it would have been for someone to get US residency.
- Snapper -
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Re: Partner sponsorship
Sat, December 31, 2005 - 5:16 AMWow, thanks. I will defintely be looking into this more. -
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Re: Partner sponsorship
Sat, December 31, 2005 - 5:58 AMIsadora -
Out of curiousity, where in NZ are you looking to settle, and what sort of work are you hoping to find, once you're there?
One thing I did find about NZ, and which I'd tell anyone considering making the move there, was that the job market can be *very* competative, especially in certain fields. In many ways it's too small a country to sustain the huge influx of immigrants that are coming in. I know that in certain fields, employers are very reluctant to hire staff until they have "more local experience and contacts." I can't tell you how many times I was short-listed for jobs, only to hear, "We love your CV, you have great experience and terrific references...but we'd like to hire someone who has experience in this country - come back in ayear or so, when you have some local experience under your belt." Sort of a Catch 22. It took me a *long* time to find work - so make provisions for this, because it may well be a reality in your chosen field, as well.
On the other hand, once I did get work, it was the best job I'd ever had, and I was really sorry to have to leave that job when I moved back to America.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about making the move or doing the immigration thing - I've been in your shoes. Good luck!
- Snapper -
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Re: Partner sponsorship
Sat, December 31, 2005 - 6:12 AMWhat we're looking at is in the north north.
As for work, my *hope* is that I'll be doing my work mostly online. But I'm flexible, I handle a lot of different types of duties in my current job and I'm hoping that diversity will be a help. Mostly computer related, graphics and websites, but I also do secretarial. I've worked retail, front and warehouse.
Maybe I will get lucky and they'll hire me for my sparkling personality? -
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Re: Partner sponsorship
Sat, December 31, 2005 - 6:46 AMI think I.T. is an area where there's something of a boom - so you may have a much easier time of it than I did. The far North is, in some ways, far removed from the rest of NZ, but Whangerei is really starting to happen and, as you say, things such as web design can be done remotely. Gorgeous part of the country, the Far North - my bio photo was taken north of Keri Keri.
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