Can I come on a tourist visa, until my temporary work visa is processed?
 

It has taken a bit longer than I thought to collect all of the relevant supporting documents for my partnership based temporary work visa application - medical, chest x-ray, UK police clearance certificate, etc.

My boyfriend is a kiwi, and he has been back in New Zealand for 6 weeks already. I have another 6 weeks left before my contract finishes at work and I can fly out to join him. I do not have a job lined up yet, but will work that out when I get there.

I have still not sent off the visa application yet, as I'm still waiting on some of the above paperwork coming through. We really want to get my flight into New Zealand booked, so I am wondering if anyone knows whether I can arrive on a tourist visa (I am aiming for the first week in July), then get it converted to my partnership based temporary visa, when it finally gets processed? We meet all the requirements for this type of visa, so I don't foresee any problems with getting it approved.

I just don't want to wait any longer to get there than I have to! If anyone knows if I can do this, I'd appreciate your input.

Re: Can I come on a tourist visa, until my temporary work visa is processed?
 

Hiya. Yes you can come to NZ on a vistors visa and complete your visa requirements when in NZ.

Just bare in mind that you still have to meet the pre requisites for being granted a vistors visa. Like a return ticket or proof of onward travel.

http://glossary.immigration.govt.nz/...ecountries.htm

Re: Can I come on a tourist visa, until my temporary work visa is processed?
 

Thanks Catchafire. I was also wondering how it works with submitting my passport?

I have to submit my passport with the visa application - and obviously I would need it to travel into New Zealand if I come in on a tourist visa. Do you know how long New Zealand Immigration need to keep the passport for? Would I be able to submit my visa application in the next 2 weeks, but get the passport back from them so I can fly in on a tourist visa, then get the completed visa once in New Zealand? Thanks!

Re: Can I come on a tourist visa, until my temporary work visa is processed?
 

Don't you need to have onward or return travel booked if you're on a tourist visa?

Re: Can I come on a tourist visa, until my temporary work visa is processed?
 

Hi lapsed kiwi. I'm not sure about this one. If I have some sort of proof that I'm awaiting my partnership based temporary visa getting processed, would they let me arrive on a tourist visa in the mean time (with no return/onward travel booked)? Has anyone out there done this themselves? Or know of anyone who has?

Re: Can I come on a tourist visa, until my temporary work visa is processed?
 

Also...does anyone know if you can submit your application at one branch (I'd be submitting it in Hong Kong, as that's where I'm working at the moment), travel to New Zealand, and have it completed at another visa application branch there?

Or am I just making this far too complicated for myself?! I just want to get there as soon as possible once my contract finishes here!!

Re: Can I come on a tourist visa, until my temporary work visa is processed?
 

I don't know - it looks like you're sort of assuming you'll get a visa if you have no onward ticket. Not sure how they will like this. Might be safer to buy a fully refundable onward ticket to Aus or somewhere. Or ask immigration beforehand

Re: Can I come on a tourist visa, until my temporary work visa is processed?
 

if you come on a visitors visa they expect you to be a visitor so you will need an onward flight.
as for transferring the application that can be done as we did it from the UK to NZ. We had the go ahead from UK for the visa's but but myself and the kids flew out on visitors visa's with return tickets to the uk. We did not give our passports in until we had the go ahead. once it was transferred from London to Wellington we took out passports down and got them back 2 days later. We did use our return tickets that had been booked to say some more goodbyes and then just booked one ways in UK to come back again

Re: Can I come on a tourist visa, until my temporary work visa is processed?
 

Only my opinion but I reckon your making it way too complicated.
I'd say come to NZ as a visitor - assuming you have a UK passport you can stay for 6 months and don't need to actually apply for a visitor visa - your arrival card will suffice as this which you complete on the airplane prior to landing in NZ.
Then once here submit the partnership temporary work visa application whilst in NZ so you have your passport and the immigration office used is also here in NZ.

You must have proof of onward travel if on a visitor visa and proof you have enough funds for your stay.

Re: Can I come on a tourist visa, until my temporary work visa is processed?
 

when OP says visitors visa I'm just assuming they are planning on coming over on UK passport, is there an actual "visitors visa" ?

thats what myself and the kids did, came over on UK passport and had onward journey booked for the 6mths

Re: Can I come on a tourist visa, until my temporary work visa is processed?
 

There are visitor visas for those countries that are not on the visa waiver list. So they do exist but this forum being 'BE' means that they're rarely mentioned!

And another one saying you will need proof of travel out of NZ if you are coming over as a visitor. It is the airline that checks for this and they will not let you on the plane without it.
P:)

Re: Can I come on a tourist visa, until my temporary work visa is processed?
 

Thanks for your replies everyone. It's been a really hard week. I got the idea in my head that I would try to arrive in New Zealand on a tourist visa (so just with my arrival card...sorry for the confusion - by 'visitor visa' I meant just as a tourist!) then submit my 'partnership based temporary work visa' when i got there... but this idea has now been thrown out the window... My OH is back in New Zealand already (he's a kiwi) and called immigration for me today ...they said that if I came in on a tourist visa then applied for this other visa when I was there, it would likely be declined! The reason they gave is that I'm kind of lying when I arrive in the country...they'd view me as a tourist, and therefore I cannot just change my mind when I get there and decide to stay. Immigration recommended that rather the submitting my application in Hong Kong (where I'm currently working) I'd be better off returning to the UK and submitting the visa application there!! I can't submit my visa application here at the moment because I'm STILL waiting on my UK police clearance, which is a whole other nightmare. I sent off my application to them 3 weeks ago. It's only meant to take 10 days to process, so I emailed them yesterday to find out what's going on. They responded saying that due to the huge volume of applications at the moment, they are still trying to log applications that arrived in their office nearly a month ago!! They said that even if my application for police clearance arrives tomorrow, it won't even get logged in their system for almost another month! Then it's another 10 WORKING days to process it. Part of me thinks I should hang on in Hong Kong until it arrives and submit the visa application here, part of me thinks I might as well book a flight to go home to Scotland at end of June and sort it all from there (even though it'd be expensive with flights)...
Is anyone else going through a similar stress at the moment?!
At this rate, I feel like it'll be September by the time I get to New Zealand, which is absolutely gutting, as I've already been apart from my OH for 7 weeks...

Re: Can I come on a tourist visa, until my temporary work visa is processed?
 

I don't know why they said you'd be 'lying', it seems to me that plenty of people come here on holiday or a tourist visa and then apply for a work visa whilst here and it's perfectly fine. What's the problem with that if you happen to be in the country and meet all of the criteria for a visa?

When I asked Immigration NZ at a UK expo about coming to work here one of the options they recommended was a working holiday visa which is 'meant' to be mainly for holiday, but they said you can work full time for the whole length of the visa and that is true. I am in NZ on that visa now and employers are used to people having it. So if they're like that about the WHV I can't see why they would be awkward about you applying in NZ for your visa. I hope that clears up for you and you can get here more quickly.

Re: Can I come on a tourist visa, until my temporary work visa is processed?
 

Thanks for your reply ChrisWilson. Unfortunately I cannot get a working holiday visa because I've not been a resident of the UK for the past 5 years (I've been working in Hong Kong as a primary teacher at an international school for nearly 2 years, and prior to that I was a teacher in the United Arab Emirates). To be entitled for a working holiday visa as a British citizen, I would need to have been a resident of the UK for the 2 years immediately preceding my application. I was really disappointed when Immigration told me this! Their only suggestion around it was "have you got a passport from another country and you can use their working holiday visa?" Which obviously was not a helpful suggestion!! Hence why I'm applying for the 'partnership based temporary visa'.

Re: Can I come on a tourist visa, until my temporary work visa is processed?
 

Sorry, I wasn't recommending you get the WHV as you're going down another route and I didn't know if you were eligible. My point was about Immigration NZ advising me to use the WHV even though it's meant for holidayers primarily, and why it seems odd that you've had a rough ride with them for wanting to go on a tourist visa then apply for a working one. It just seems odd, but I don't suppose they can recommend you do it.