Australian wife sponsoring Brit on 6 months visa?
 

Help! Having sold our house in UK and shipping household goods, we arrive in NZ end September. My British husband arrives on a 6-month visa waiver visa. As his Australian wife of 40 years, I intend to make an application, upon arrival in NZ, to sponsor him under partnership for a residents visa. We are worried that it will take longer than 6 months to be granted residency and are not sure if he can extend his visitors visa. Has anyone had a similar experience or can give me a rough idea of how long the application is likely to take. Many thanks.