toby1985

Hi everyone,

i am a 32yo from the uk, currently in auckland on a working holiday visa which is due to expire in january 2018. I am working as a painter and have been offered a full time permanent job with the company.

My partner is also here with me and would like to stay here as de facto on my visa. We have been together for 2 years.

Is it possible to apply for a work visa and partner without the help of an agent? Or is it too complicated?

I have spoke to some agents and they have quoted me around $1800 each per visa. Is this normal?

Thank you for your help!

Toby

mikelincs

Welcome to BE.

Most people on here will have applied for their visas WITHOUT the help of an agent, please feel free to ask any questions on here and people will be pleased to help

escapedtonz

Yup that sounds about right in terms of agent costs and way over the top for what they actually do for you.
You can easily do it yourself. It isn't too complicated and you always have the forum to fall back on if you have any questions and of course as a last resort you can telephone Immigration directly via their premium rate number.....just don't use your own phone
So, be aware that on a WHV you cannot accept a permanenet job offer, so you'll just have to carry on as you are and get the work visa (and partner visa) paperwork in allowing at least a few months grace before your WHV's are going to expire.
Your company must provide you with a written permanent job offer then you can use this to secure a temporary work visa - e.g an essential skills work visa or similar. If the company you are working for are accreditied by immigration to offer work to an immigrant then all fine. If not, then there are further hoops to jump through and conditions that the company will have to meet in order to satisfy Immigration in offering the work to you. They must provide evidence that they have advertised and cannot find someone already in NZ with the right to work and with the right skills for the job plus there are minimum thresholds for salary etc etc.
Once you are happy with the type of visa to apply for and Immigration are happy with the actual job offer (you may have to go back to the company a number of times so the wording is correct) then you can complete the paperwork and get it ready to submit.
When you are satisfied with your submission you can then concentrate on your partners. In this respect you will be applying through the family stream - partnership category and looking to get her a temporary work visa based on the fact you will also have one...think the visa is called partner of a temporary work visa holder visa or something along those lines. She does not need a written job offer, nor does she need to work, but the option is always there if she wishes to work. The duration of her visa will match the duration of your visa and the duration of your visa is determined by your job offer letter. You can then fill in the paperwork for her, provide the necessary partnership evidence and you then submit BOTH applications seperately, but together in the same envelope as this saves Immigration time trying to find the other paperwork to cross reference between them.
You'll need to get police reports and have medicals done as per the visa criteria.


Just don't stress about it too much. It's pretty straightforward.

souzalesson

Hey man, you can do that on your own. It's not that complicated and you can do everything online.

Let me know if I can help you. I submitted my application 1 week ago.

BEVS

Simple answer is yes.

You will apply for a temporary work permit .
Your partner will apply for an open work permit on the back of your application

Your employer will need to show that there is no NZ citizen or resident that could take up the position & that they have advertised etc. unless they are NZ Immigration accredited Form NZ1113.

There are some other bits and bobs to go with that . Meds if applicable. Police checks. Your trade quals.

If you need a hand give us a shout. We have all been there and done that and are happy to help.

Arthur Dent 666

Hi all. On the back of this, does anyone know how to go about getting the relevant police checks? Do we rock up to our local police station and 'turn ourselves in'? Or is there a central location we should write to? We're getting stuff together for EOI now, and would greatly appreciate any help you guys can give us to smooth the process.

RobDon

Assuming your from the UK you need to apply for a police certificate for every person over 17.
Look here:
https://www.acro.police.uk/police_certificates.aspx

toby1985

Thanks for the replies everyone! Very helpful! I have decided to do the application myself. I will come back on this forum with any questions I have during the process!

Do I submit my work visa application online first? And then my partner will send her application after? Can the partner application not be done online also?

Thank you!

souzalesson

You have to apply online with your partner. on the forms they will ask if you have one though..

toby1985

When I am applying for my work visa online it just asked if I have a partner or not. It doesn't ask for any details.

And on the website in the partner visa section it only has a paper application option it seems.

I'll paste a link below:
https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-...ion=Wellington

souzalesson

If you're in NZ, you should give them a call, they answer really quickly