moomin13

I have a big decision to make can anyone help. My husband came from nz and met and married me! Uk living is not good and I know he would love to return. He has a permanent resturning resident visa. The info from people is mixed. 1. Go there with returning tickets and apply for my visa in nz its easier or..2. Apply here under which quota? am I guaranteed to get in?Is there only a few places each year? is there only a short window per year to apply? where on earth do I find this all out if its right? Please help! which is the best way to go?!

turkeytickler

your husband is a nz citizen and you are british? easy - apply for a 2 year work permit from the NZ embassy in london. You can apply under the "family" route. i did the same last year and it took about 2 months to go through. you will have to pass a medical and police check but its no biggie. once you are there you can apply for permanent residence (you can do it from the UK but it takes a lot longer than a work permit) which although they say can take up to 1 year to process, mine took about 4 months...

hth

moomin13

Hi, no, my hubby has a nz permanent residency visa. He has a driving licence, GST number etc. Was thinking on getting a visitors permit-six months I assume-and an open travel ticket. If all goes well I could apply whilst over there?

turkeytickler

i dont know what your chances are unless he is a citizen - could be just as good but i dont know.... these chaps should be able to assist http://www.immigration.govt.nz/

you would be pushing it to get anything on a 6 month visitors visa.... i got lucky with it taken 4 months, there is no guarantee yours wouldnt take longer....

Pinkie Pie

Hi there

This is the link to the 'joining your partner in NZ' page on the NZIS website...hopefully it should be able to point you in the right direction.

http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migra.../live/partner/

I realise that your partner isn't actually in NZ at the moment but this link might just help...if he is a resident/citizen it does say that he can sponsor you if he is eligible...

newkiwi

If your husband is a NZ Permanent Resident you may be able to apply as a spouse, but look on the immigration.govt.nz website for details. I think you have to be able to prove your marriage is genuine. Look at the application form for Permanent Residency, there are specific sections to fill out if you are applying as a spouse. also, your husband should look at the "sponsoring a partner" requirements.

Good luck

Batty

Hi. I'm married to a Kiwi and applied when I got here. That was on 4 July and I got the approval yesterday - 8 and a half months. I too was told it could take up to a year. If your hubby has PR he should be able to sponsor you - it seems to take a lot less time to do it in the UK.

uk+kiwi

Hi Batty,

Does that 8 1/2 months count towards your 5 years to gain NZ citizenship should you wish to apply for it? I'm guessing so, but it may not in which case the processing time for PR may be seen as more important and could sway people to apply from the UK?

NZIS told me the 2 year working visa would be the quickest route: 4-8 weeks, but this is with a kiwi spouse which I know the OP doesn't have and I am unaware what the difference is for sponsorship by a PR instead of citizen.

Carmen.

moomin13

Many thanks for all replies. I have gone through all the info on the websites and realise that there just wont be enough time! I think it will be a snap decision and try and wing it..I was hoping to get a visitors visa for the six months then re apply for anoter whilst the other stuff hopefully is accepted??My hubby still has a business to re-open in NZ which will be as soon as possible. Just hope that things work out...if not god bless..the return tickets are still valid...please keep replies/help coming!Thanks again.

Batty

I don't know Carmen - I'll have to find out. For us, we didn't know exactly when we'd be leaving so on one hand I was afraid that it wouldn't be through before I left and on the other that it would have expired before we'd be able to leave. I remember reading something about a person with PR being able to sponsor their spouse or a family member in the information I had. I think it's definitely better to do it before you get here if you can - the months of uncertainty don't help the settling in process at all. I got my work permit (1 year) in 4 days but I had a job already and gave them the contract so that probably was the reason I got it so quickly. I'm just glad it's all over now.

uk+kiwi

Thanks for that. Just thought I'd ask and will investigate further when/if we ever make a decision about when we're going to NZ. I think we may stay here for a while longer so I'm not in a rush, was just curious.

Might pop down again in August for a wee visit which would be nice.

sky

I think it's from the moment you stepped off the plane