# Working Holiday to Partnership Residency



## canuck88 (Aug 12, 2013)

Hi everyone,

First-time poster here. I have a complicated situation so hopefully some of you can help.

In January 2014 I have plans to go to New Zealand with my fiance, who is a New Zealand citizen. The ultimate goal is for me to come to New Zealand and gain a Partnership Residency Visa, which will allow me to work freely and attend university on domestic fees while I live with my fiance. For information purposes, I am a Canadian citizen. 

I've looked into a lot of visa options and I know there are a few visas that I could consider applying to. However, I've read that co-residency is a big qualification for Partnership visas. Although my fiance and I are in a committed relationship, we have never lived together due to the fact that we currently work in different cities. I'm afraid that I cannot initially apply for a partnership visa for that reason, despite the fact that we've been together for 14 months and just recently got engaged. 

With this in mind, I'm considering applying for a Working Holiday visa, which will legally entitle me to work and stay in New Zealand for a year. During that time we will live together and co-sign everything to provide proof of being in a "stable relationship" as the New Zealand Immigration Website states. From this, we hope to begin the process of applying for a partnership visa.

Specifically I was thinking about going from a Working Holiday Visa to a Partnership Work Visa to a Partnership Residency Visa. Perhaps getting the Partnership Work Visa first may make it easier for me to get residency. Still, I feel that this process is complicated and I have a lot of questions.

So the questions I have are: 

1. Does anyone here have experience with switching visas while in New Zealand, particularly from the Working Holiday to a Partnership Work Visa or a Partnership Residency Visa? Is the process complicated and how long does it take?

2. For those of you who've been successfully granted a Partnership Work Visa or a Partnership Residency Visa, how long have your and your partner been living together? What evidence did you provide for your relationship? I know this information is available on the New Zealand Immigration website, but I want to hear a first account of what the general requirements are.

3. I plan to arrive in New Zealand on a Working Holiday visa in January 2014. I hope to apply for university for March 2015 under residency status. Overall, I want to know if it is possible to go from a Working Holiday Visa to residency in one year. Is this too ambitious of a goal and will I need a lot more time? I know under some circumstances people can be granted residency if they've been living together for less than a year. If so, then...

4. Will getting married help speed up the process?

I know this is complicated and hopefully it isn't too confusing. If you have *any* information about getting a partnership visa, your help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


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## shammy (May 30, 2013)

I don't have any experience to share, but just had a thought - if you plan to apply for the partnership visa after living together for a year, doesn't that mean you would be without a visa whilst waiting for the second one to be granted? Don't know what the solution is, but maybe something you need to consider. Good luck


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## slare (Jun 3, 2013)

Mhm, I'm not sure either, but i would i thought... you would have to prove your relationship solid... and it's easier said that done from what I've heard from people Good luck however just don't say you your doing it for domestic fees as i doubt that would go down well... with immigration lol

Well what do you think you would? need? 
- bills showing what you've been paying prove you've been in the relationship.... for like 2 years? i think by memory and that you would stay in nz permanently.... or intend to...


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## canuck88 (Aug 12, 2013)

shammy said:


> I don't have any experience to share, but just had a thought - if you plan to apply for the partnership visa after living together for a year, doesn't that mean you would be without a visa whilst waiting for the second one to be granted? Don't know what the solution is, but maybe something you need to consider. Good luck


Thanks for the reply.

Yes, that's crossed my mind. I thought I would try applying for the Partnership Work Visa before my Working Holiday Visa expires as apparently we do not need to have been leaving together for 12 months or more to be granted that visa.

So, Working Holiday Visa --> Partnership Work Visa (apply a few months before Working Holiday Visa is up) --> Partnership Residency Visa (apply a few months before Partnership Work Visa is up)

This sounds pretty optimistic, but it's worth a shot. I'm aware I need to be on a valid visa at all times, so it'll be all about timing when it comes to applying for visas


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## canuck88 (Aug 12, 2013)

slare said:


> Mhm, I'm not sure either, but i would i thought... you would have to prove your relationship solid... and it's easier said that done from what I've heard from people Good luck however just don't say you your doing it for domestic fees as i doubt that would go down well... with immigration lol
> 
> Well what do you think you would? need?
> - bills showing what you've been paying prove you've been in the relationship.... for like 2 years? i think by memory and that you would stay in nz permanently.... or intend to...



Yes, I don't intend on mentioning the domestic fees plan lol. Plus, it's not the only reason why I'm going over. I do want to live and work in New Zealand for a very long time and explore the prospects of getting dual citizenship (since I'm going to be marrying a New Zealander I expect to be spending a lot of time in both countries)

Yeah, I've heard that getting bank statements, bills, and copies of rent leases with both names can provide evidence of co-residency. We plan to move in together and even get a joint bank account so hopefully that'll be sufficient evidence (along with a marriage certificate which we hope to get in a year or so)


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## Kimbella (Jul 4, 2013)

canuck88 said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> First-time poster here. I have a complicated situation so hopefully some of you can help.
> 
> ...



Hi Canuck,

Here is my experience, and it is even odder than yours, and was successful! I had a "virtual" relationship for almost 2 years with my kiwi husband (then my b/f). We tossed about back and forth about a trip to meet IRL, but frankly knew that a long weekend, or even a two week stay was not going to cut it in determining our long term capability. We had a *very* strong notion that things would be fine, but still, it didn't seem practical to just be together for two weeks. We were both touching 40, and time was of the essence. I decided to move over for a trial live-in on a visitor's visa. I applied for and was granted one that allowed for multiple entry, the intent was to stay for several months, then return back to California and we would figure out then what our next steps would be. I sold my house, quit my job (on good terms), gave away stuff, put some in storage, and moved over and started a life together. About 3 months into my visit, we both knew that having me go back to the US and restart the process to return to NZ was not an option we wanted to explore. We felt we had the advantage of being together, living together on our side. We got married (which we always intended to do anyway), and a few months before my visitors visa (which was good for 9 months) was set to expire, I submitted an application for a work Visa based on partnership. It was approved in a matter of days. This work visa was good from my FIRST day of entry into NZ for exactly one year to the date, which would give us our required 12 months living together to apply for residency. These short term visas do not provide you with eligibility for any social welfare or healthcare assistance, but they do keep you in the country. And, with the work visa based on partnership, you do NOT have to work to maintain the visa, you just now have the option to work, whereas on the visitors visa you did not. The visitors visa was free to apply for (if you apply out of NZ and are from a country that has a fee waiver agreement), but in order to obtain it (extended visitors visa), you do need to submit evidence that you have the financial means to support yourself while in NZ (bank account info). Ok, so now I have my work visa which gets me a full 12 months in NZ; however, to apply for temporary residency (the first step in gaining full residency, then citizenship), you have to be living together for at least 12 months in order to submit the application. Well, my visa was going to expire on the same day that we would be meeting the '12 month living together' requirement. It's a hoop you have to jump thru, but you do have to do it: you apply for a second work visa based on partnership which gives you another 12 months to stay. At that point, once you've passed the 12 month mark living together and can provide the evidence (photos, written testimonials from friends/family, joint bank account statements, dual names on rental agreements, etc), you can send your temporary residency application in at any time. Just remember I haven't mentioned the specific requirements for the visa's (medical certificate/chest x-rays, police background checks, etc), but all that stuff is required as well.

To answer your specific points: getting married won't necessarily speed the process up, but it will show evidence of a genuine, enduring commitment to the relationship.

It will be complicated, but compared to people who are not romantically involved with a kiwi, this process can be seen as easier and more reliable than submitting EOI, angling for points for preference, etc.

You will not gain residency within one year, altho you could very well gain it within 13 or 14 months, providing you have ample evidence of your relationship. The only cases I have heard of involving people getting residency in under one year (based on partnership) is when they *resumed* living together from abroad, and had evidence showing they had previously lived together for "X" amount of time (and had since finished the 12 months in NZ).

Once I sent my residency visa application in, it took them only 13 days to approve it. So, in theory, if you send your residency application in the day after you hit the "living together for 12 months mark" and you have heaps of evidence showing you're relationship is genuine, you may well get residency within weeks. However, I don't know that Uni will register you as a domestic student without you already having a residency visa.

Anyway, hope this helps. It was costly, but there aren't a lot of ways to fast track getting in "permanently" unless you're a millionaire--then you can pretty much buy your residency visa outright (true story).

Cheers,
Kim


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## canuck88 (Aug 12, 2013)

Kimbella said:


> Hi Canuck,
> 
> Here is my experience, and it is even odder than yours, and was successful! I had a "virtual" relationship for almost 2 years with my kiwi husband (then my b/f). We tossed about back and forth about a trip to meet IRL, but frankly knew that a long weekend, or even a two week stay was not going to cut it in determining our long term capability. We had a *very* strong notion that things would be fine, but still, it didn't seem practical to just be together for two weeks. We were both touching 40, and time was of the essence. I decided to move over for a trial live-in on a visitor's visa. I applied for and was granted one that allowed for multiple entry, the intent was to stay for several months, then return back to California and we would figure out then what our next steps would be. I sold my house, quit my job (on good terms), gave away stuff, put some in storage, and moved over and started a life together. About 3 months into my visit, we both knew that having me go back to the US and restart the process to return to NZ was not an option we wanted to explore. We felt we had the advantage of being together, living together on our side. We got married (which we always intended to do anyway), and a few months before my visitors visa (which was good for 9 months) was set to expire, I submitted an application for a work Visa based on partnership. It was approved in a matter of days. This work visa was good from my FIRST day of entry into NZ for exactly one year to the date, which would give us our required 12 months living together to apply for residency. These short term visas do not provide you with eligibility for any social welfare or healthcare assistance, but they do keep you in the country. And, with the work visa based on partnership, you do NOT have to work to maintain the visa, you just now have the option to work, whereas on the visitors visa you did not. The visitors visa was free to apply for (if you apply out of NZ and are from a country that has a fee waiver agreement), but in order to obtain it (extended visitors visa), you do need to submit evidence that you have the financial means to support yourself while in NZ (bank account info). Ok, so now I have my work visa which gets me a full 12 months in NZ; however, to apply for temporary residency (the first step in gaining full residency, then citizenship), you have to be living together for at least 12 months in order to submit the application. Well, my visa was going to expire on the same day that we would be meeting the '12 month living together' requirement. It's a hoop you have to jump thru, but you do have to do it: you apply for a second work visa based on partnership which gives you another 12 months to stay. At that point, once you've passed the 12 month mark living together and can provide the evidence (photos, written testimonials from friends/family, joint bank account statements, dual names on rental agreements, etc), you can send your temporary residency application in at any time. Just remember I haven't mentioned the specific requirements for the visa's (medical certificate/chest x-rays, police background checks, etc), but all that stuff is required as well.
> 
> ...


This is exactly the information I needed. Thank you so much!


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## Kimbella (Jul 4, 2013)

Glad to help. I would suggest collecting evidence of your relationship that you are currently engaged in as well what you will submit once living together. The evidence you collect now will be the foundation portion justifying your trip over (hope that makes sense). If you have phone records of calls, emails, screen shots of text messages, etc. You don't need every little bit, but provide a decent sample of how you currently keep your relationship going, and it will definitely help support how serious your relationship is. When you go to submit a partnership visa you should both write a letter to go with your evidence, describing how your relationship came to fruition, what you mean to each other, what you have endured/overcome/been thru, etc... a testimony of your bond.

If you do go for the partnership work visa at some point, you will find it to be much more generous than other visas as there is no restriction on what sort of work you can do, how much, etc. And, again, you do not *have* to work, but that particular visa gives you the option of working in any job/profession that might be offered to you.

Good luck!


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