British Husband of Kiwi Wife
 

May have posted in wrong thread before,
My husband has been offered a job in Perth which we accepted, however done so before we realised we would need a visa for Chris, we have 4 kids who were all born in NZ, the company he would work for will sponsor him but there could be a quicker way if any of you can help us out that would be fantastic, ideally we need to be there really soon. Also as mentioned in an earlier thread Chris has a minor court conviction which will not be an issue (have checked this out) so he cannot get NZ citizenship to short track this.

Cheers any help is a biggee

Bridgee and Chris

Re: British Husband of Kiwi Wife
 

It surprises me that a conviction would at the same time bar one from NZ citizenship, and yet not pose a problem for Australia. Are you sure about this?

In any case, 6-8 weeks is likely too short a timescale to obtain NZ citizenship.

It would have been much easier had he obtained NZ citizenship when first eligible. The reasons are has follows:

- NZ citizens no longer automatically get permanent resident rights in Australia

- As NZ citizens you can live/work in Australia still but not sponsor for permanent residence (or become Australian citizens) unless you obtain PR or qualify as an 'eligible' NZ citizen:
http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1162.pdf

- Hence your rights as NZ citizens are limited. For non-NZ citizen family members, things are even more limited. You can sponsor for a subclass 461 temporary visa only.

- Or the employer can sponsor for a visa. Will the employer sponsor for permanent residence, and do you qualify for permanent residence? If you don't qualify for ENS in the light of the April rules, it may be better to go onto a 457 visa rather than a 461 as then getting ENS after 2 years is more do-able.

- He should at the very least get an indefinite returning resident visa before leaving NZ (if these are still issued)

- He needs a visa sorted out before leaving NZ, it's not a good idea to arrive as a tourist (he could be put on the next plane back to NZ and there are other problems too).

Jeremy