Pathway to Residence for New or Long-Distance Relationships
For couples in new or long-distance relationships, the journey to becoming New Zealand residents can be both challenging and rewarding. From obtaining a Visitor Visa to ultimately becoming eligible for New Zealand citizenship, this article will provide a detailed roadmap for you and your partner.
Step 1: Visitor Visa
The first step on your journey towards New Zealand residence is obtaining a basic visitor visa. This visa is designed to allow you to enter New Zealand for a short-term stay. Here are the key details of this visa:
Visitor Visa (General)
Purpose: The primary purpose of this visa is to gain entry to New Zealand.
Duration: It is typically a short-term visa, valid for up to 12 months, with multiple entries allowed. On each entry, you can stay for up to 6 months.
Genuine Visitor Evidence: It is crucial to provide evidence that your visit is genuine and that you intend to return to your home country.
Genuine Relationship Evidence: Since you are in a relationship, you will also need to provide evidence of the genuineness of your relationship.
Other Documents: Before applying, you should prepare a Relationship Timeline, Cover Letter for the applicant, and Support Letter for the New Zealand partner.
Once your visitor visa is approved, you can book your travel to New Zealand and start planning ahead. For example, it's a good idea to apply for a New Zealand bank account before traveling to activate upon arrival.
Once you’ve arrived, you should start gathering evidence of living together to prepare for the next step, applying for a partner temporary visa.
Step 2: Partner Temporary Visa
The second step is to apply for a temporary visa (work or visitor) based on partnership once you’ve started living together. This visa is available for partners of New Zealand citizens, residents, or work visa holders if you can show with documents as evidence that you’ve been living together in a genuine and stable relationship.
Depending on the visa category, you may have open or restricted work rights:
Partner of a New Zealander Work or Visitor Visa
Work Visa: If your supporting partner is a New Zealander, you may be eligible for an open work visa with unrestricted work rights.
Visitor Visa: Alternatively, you can opt for a Visitor Visa, which is generally cheaper, but it doesn't come with work rights.
Partner of a Worker Work or Visitor Visa
Work Visa: If your supporting partner is a worker in New Zealand, you may be eligible for a work visa. However, this work visa may come with some restrictions.
Visitor Visa: Again, this is generally cheaper, but it doesn't come with work rights.
In this step, we recommend that you provide an updated Relationship Timeline to provide context to your living together evidence. You'll also be required to provide police certificates and complete a medical examination at this step.
It's important to note that a partner temporary visa paves the way for you to stay in New Zealand for a more extended period to fulfil the 12-month living together requirement needed to apply for residence.
Step 3: Partner Resident Visa
Once you have successfully completed the partner temporary visa stage, the next step is applying for a partner resident visa based on partnership. This visa allows you to become a New Zealand resident and become a permanent resident after 2 years.
Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa
This visa is only available if your supporting partner is a New Zealand citizen or resident at the time of your application.
Key requirements for this visa include:
Full Birth Certificate: You will need to obtain a full birth certificate if you don't already have one on hand.
Updated Relationship Timeline: This should reflect your ongoing relationship since your temporary visa application.
12 Months Living Together Evidence: You must accumulate evidence of living together for the past 12 months. You don’t need to provide any evidence you’ve already submitted.
Updated Genuine Relationship Evidence: Like the Relationship Timeline, you should provide updated evidence of your genuine relationship.
Police Check and Medicals: These should still be valid from your temporary visa application
Partner Police Checks: These should also still be valid from your temporary visa application.
This step is crucial, as it's the gateway to achieving New Zealand residence status for both you and your partner. With this visa, you'll be on the path to permanent residency and citizenship.
Step 4: New Zealand Citizenship
After obtaining New Zealand residence, you'll be on the path to becoming eligible for New Zealand citizenship.
The main requirement for New Zealand is that you must have lived in New Zealand for at least 5 years as a resident for a majority of that time.
Becoming a New Zealand citizen is the final step in your journey. It grants you the full rights and responsibilities of a New Zealand citizen, including the ability to vote, access government services, and enjoy all the privileges of citizenship.
Any questions? Need help?
It’s 100% FREE to book a call with me and answer any questions you have before moving forward.
After the call and once you’ve confirmed that we’ll be working together, I’ll prepare the online application form and send you a detailed checklist of everything we need to get the application ready to submit.
