Visa For Nz

[kiwibiz]

Hi all . i am hoping someone can help me here . i would like to know what visa to apply for to bring my thai fiancee to New Zealand and to live with me and get married here . i have had a look on the immigration site and get a little confused in which visa to apply for . does NZ have an similar visa as a fiancee visa as some other countrys have ? i have thought maybe a vistor visa but then that does not allow her to work here also i have seen the partnership visa but is that applied for after she gets to NZ . a little confused about all this at the moment . i am returning to Thailand in Dec/Jan and hoping we have it all sorted by then so she can return with me .

maybe someone has been through this already , if any one has any help on this subject we would be very grateful indeed .

Cheers all Kiwibiz

[kiakaha]

without knowing anything about the background of the applicant (this would determine what the easiest/quickest visa to get would be) , I will say that a good option regardless would be to get a "2 year multiple entry Work Visa under the Family Stream's Partnership policy".

Everything you need to know is in this document http://www.immigration.govt.nz/NR/rdonlyre...6E70/0/1016.pdf

See page 12.

You can apply at the NZL Immigration Service office on Wireless Rd in Bangkok.

As long as you a in a provably genuine relationship with your partner(the applicant), then the visa application should be straightforward.

[kiwibiz]

thanks for that kiakaha .

just a little about us , i met my fiancee about the middle of last year and went there in november , i then traveled back there in april and we got engaged , we would have liked her to come sooner to NZ but she has a business there and are going to wait until later this year until she sells it .

just a couple of questions ,i have read the visa form for work visa under family stream policy . it says to provide evidence that we living together in a stable and genuine relationship ,how do we do that ? when i live in NZ and my fiancee in Thailand that is the idea of getting a visa is so we can live together . maybe i have just misread it.

any idea how long it takes to process this visa at the Immigration in Bangkok?

thanks for you help

kiwibiz

[Roadman]

Hi Kiwibiz,

Your circumstances were exactly the same as mine and a friend. We both have our thai partners here in NZ on residency visa's now so don't panic - it does seem a little daunting but you will find the NZIS in Bangkok are good people to deal with and if you have any doubts ask them - they are happy to help you. In turn just be open and honest and you will have no problems achieving your goals.

OK. What you need to apply for is a 3 month visitors visa based on a relationship. Once she is here in Kiwiland then immediately apply for a 2 year work visa/permit and residency visa all together. The 2 year work visa/permit is important as you need that minimium time frame to be automatically eligible for free health service. Also having a work visa/permit together allows her to go in and out of the country - important for holidays or family emergencies back in Thailand.

The 12 month living together is not a big issue. What NZIS are looking for is a relationship and commitment to that relationship by both parties. For example my wife (g/f then) and I had only known each other 6 months and had only spent 3 weeks together in Thailand when we applied as described above and her visa's/permits were passed OK. The full 12 months we had known each other ticked over when she had been here in Kiwiland for 2 months on her visitors visa and within a day or two of receiving her work permits and visa's.

What we did was provided NZIS with very strong evidence that we had that solid relationship. This included monthly financial support I sent her. In your case even if she has her own bussiness send her a few thousand baht a month and keep those transaction receipts. Keep all your phone bills showing your communications with her. Keep all your email communications - these will be needed to be presented in paper form - it is opening up your personel life but then it achieves the objective. Get "dated" photos taken of the two of you together and with her family and friends. Keep all receipts for gifts and anything else you can think of that shows a commitment. And don't be to shy about the both of you sitting down and writting a page or two about your relationship and what your objectives are for the future. Likewise letters from family and friends who also can verify your relationship.

Anyhow that is what we did. Hit them with a mountain of that and they were happy to give her a visitors visa after a 15 minute phone interview.

That first visa will take about 8 weeks as long as you have provided them with all the correct documentation. However be aware that all documents come back to NZ for approval so if you are going there this Xmas New Year to bring her back with you then get your application in by the end of August to avoid the Xmas close down.

Cheers and good luck for the both of you.

Edited June 26, 2007 by Roadman

[kiakaha]

thanks for that kiakaha .

just a little about us , i met my fiancee about the middle of last year and went there in november , i then traveled back there in april and we got engaged , we would have liked her to come sooner to NZ but she has a business there and are going to wait until later this year until she sells it .

just a couple of questions ,i have read the visa form for work visa under family stream policy . it says to provide evidence that we living together in a stable and genuine relationship ,how do we do that ? when i live in NZ and my fiancee in Thailand that is the idea of getting a visa is so we can live together . maybe i have just misread it.

any idea how long it takes to process this visa at the Immigration in Bangkok?

thanks for you help

kiwibiz

types of evidence might be(some may not apply to you) :

photos

correspondance records (email, phone etc..)

dual tenancy/condo lease agreements

dual utiliites agreements

insurance policies

dual bank accounts

your work permits,immigration records in LOS to show you have been physically together here for a while

wills

marriage certificates

childrens birth certificates

anything proving co-habitation at the same address

etc....

How long it takes will depend on the strength of the application + how busy the NZIS Bangkok are .Based on first hand accounts this could be from "on the spot approval" to 1 month+.

Alternatively, if she has "good reason to return" to LOS, she can just come to NZL on a tourist visa independently of you ie: not using the partnership policy , and then get the partnership visa after she has been living with you in NZL for 9 months.

[kiwibiz]

hey thanks to roadman and kiakaha , some great info there .now it seems to be a lot clearer about how to go about this now . your dead right Roadman it all seems pretty daunting at the start and the immigration site can take a bit of navigating to get around and to find some answer for questions about visa's and so forth . have had a bit of a flick through the vistor visa and looks fairly straight forward but if i have any questions i know there where to come for some more info! once again thanks alot you guys ,cheers

kiwibiz

[kiwibiz]

Hi all.

Well my fiancee' received a call from NZ embassy last night and her visa has been approved !!!! It does take a while to go through the processes but i tell you in the end it is all worth it very much.We just supplied as much evidence as possible and were honest with the Embassy . A big thanks to Roadman( will be in touch soon) and Kiakaha for there advice and good luck to everybody else whose GF,Fiancee' and wifes are taking visa's now and in the future.

Thanks too to ThaiVisa you have made a kiwi and a thai very happy !!!!

Cheers Kiwibiz