Blodwynw

Hi fellow expats,

This is my first post on here, I have found this site so helpful over the past 3 years. I am looking for some advice re returning to the UK and applying for residence visa.
We moved to auckland August 2015 on work to residence visa through OH job, we sold house in UK with full intentions to buy a house here and give it a good go. Anyway long story cut short, we both have work, kids settled really well and we made lots of friends however the homesickness has been awful for me and I just can't see myself living here forever. OH wants to stay but due to the high cost of living can see that the most feasible option is to go back to the UK. The chances of buying a house here are zero and we really want to have our own home again and be close to family so we have decided to move back.
We are due to apply for residence visa mid August, however we are looking to go back end of August so that my eldest son can start year 9 back in the UK. We would like to apply for residence just incase we decide that we would like to return in the future.
So if anyone can help with my visa question that would be great

Can my OH apply for residence visa if myself and children are in the UK and he follows us once residency has been granted? Or do we all need to be in NZ for residence to be granted? Will immigration need all of our passports for the duration of the visa application or could I send these back to NZ from the UK for OH to arrange?

Thanks so much
Blod x

MrsFychan

your OH would have to stay another 2 years to be able to utilise the full aspects of the Residency to Work as it will come with travel conditions which only expire after two years meaning it is after those 2 years that will allow him to come and go as he pleases. Within the 2 years he will have to be working/living here for a certain amount of days.
From memory I do not believe you or the children have to met the same criteria as you have your visa's through his.

This obviously may have some changes to it dependant on exactly what they do decide to change in the rules in August this year.

escapedtonz

You could have applied for RV the moment you set foot in NZ on the WTR visa. You don't have to actually wait for the 2 years even though the literature for the WTR visa seems to state this.
Anyways, yes your OH can do that. Immigration shouldn't need the passports for the period of the processing. They'll have to included with your ITA submission then Immigration should return them whilst processing takes place. They will of course need all of your passports to give them the RV sticker once the RV's are approved.


Just some things to consider.........
(1) Possible scenario.
OH remains in NZ and you and the kids are back in the UK.
You get the RV's awarded. You send passports to your OH in Auckland who takes them to Immigration to be stickered. Your OH activates his visa in person thus rendering the WTR visa void, however RV's for you and the kids cannot be activated as you aren't there, so you'll have to cross the border within 12 months of them being awarded. Your OH is unable to get them activated for you.....not much chance of that if you're in the UK.
(2) Although RV is a permanent class visa - allowing the holder to remain in NZ indefinitely, it does have travel conditions, meaning you can only come and go in and out of NZ for a period of 2 years from the date of activation, so if you all stay in NZ, get the RV's and activate them then return to the UK you must return within 2 years to maintain them. If you are outside of NZ when the travel condition expires then so does the RV and you then don't have any other means of being allowed back in to NZ to live and work.


Think you may be getting confused between RV and PRV.
PRV (Permanent Residency Visa) will allow you to remain here indefinitely and has no conditions so you can also stay outside of NZ for many years and come back as infrequently and as often as you like, BUT you can only get PRV after holding RV for a minimum period of 2 years and satisfying one of five criteria which proves your commitment to living in NZ. You won't be able to meet any of the five criteria since you'll have been living back in the UK.


All up, unless you can get PRV from the WTR visa route straight off instead of RV it's a pointless exercise as you'll spend all that time and money and then learn you can't actually get back in after a period away.

Blodwynw

Thanks for info MrsFychan :-)

We thought once resdince visa granted you could travel in and out of the country for 2 years, I didn't realise he would have to stay another 2 years, this is good to know thanks again all advice greatly appreciated
Cheers. Blod

Blodwynw

Escapetonz thank you appreciate the info, it is helping making sense of what sometimes seems like a minefield of information on the immigration website!
Thanks again
Blod

accablues

Hi, I am working on moving to NZ, what I heard - the cost of living is cheaper as compared to other countries. But with your statement , I am kina of confuse now.... can you give some examples as to how much cost can I expect with a spouse and 3 minors

thanks for your help

Timmy Chch

It's certainly not cheap here, it's at least average. The original poster is living in Auckland and it's mega bucks for housing there so it's hard to get on the market straight off without a huge chunk of capital. There are websites where you can compare supermarket prices, likely salaries and current house prices - Google is your friend. Move wherever the work is, and preferably not in Auckland (unless you get an astronomical salary to suit!).

MrsFychan

there are a few threads discussing the cost of living, use the search above but found this http://britishexpats.com/forum/new-z...arison-890769/

haven't read it all the way through but think this has some info

Blodwynw

Hi there,

We are living in Auckland which is probably the most expensive place to live in NZ, that's where OH job offer was and so we have had to live here for the 2 years to meet the work to residence visa criteria.
Just to give you a rough idea of our living costs:
Rent - $750 per week (difficult to find anywhere half decent IMO for less than $600)
Electric - $150-200 per month
Water - $60-80 per month
Food - $250-300 per week (family of 4 and I shop very carefully, always go to supermarket at times I know meat will be reduced and go to seperate fruit and veg shop to get the best deals)
Motor vehicle costs - $100 per week (insurance is not compulsory, OH has a work vehicle and I do not travel far for work)
School fees - $700 per annum for both kids (although these are classed as a donation but frowned upon if not paid IMO)
School uniforms - $500-700 per annum for both kids
After school activities (football, squash, trampolining, gymnastics, floorball) - $3500 per annum (rough cost and seems a lot but has been so worth it and helped kids to settle)
Plus all the other costs including clothing, school trips, haircuts (which I do myself now to save a small fortune!). I hate shopping so only buy items that we need and we often shop in charity shops and cash converters to save money.
We just feel that on the wages we earn it is unsustainable, we have a large sum of money that we were looking to use as a deposit to buy a house but unfortunately it is still not within our reach. If we didn't have our savings as a back up we probably would have had to head back to the UK 12 months ago.
Second hand cars are pretty cheap and running costs are low in comparison to UK and also no rates to pay as renting. I think Auckland is a great place to live as long as you have a very good salary, we have been to stay in other areas of NZ to see if we could make it work somewhere else but in many of these areas the house prices has been pushed up due to the high demand in Auckland.

Hope that gives you an approx overview of costs, we were in all honesty far better off in the UK financially but the lifestyle here is lovely if you can afford to live here :-)
Best wishes
Blod x

accablues

thank you every one for the response and sincere apologies for not responding earlier...