Nz Partner Sponsorship Visa Question

[nzgregor]

After reading a lot of very helpfull posts (thanks Roadman, Kiakaha) I will be putting in an application for my fiancee to come back with me to NZ in the next few weeks.

I have a couple of questions i need some help with. My first question is in regards to letters from friends and family in support of my relationship. I have letters from my friends + family that have been emailed to me along with a scan of their passport ID page as identification. Is it sufficent to print these out and hand in or will i need to get originals posted from NZ with a JP to certify the passport scan.

My second question is in regards to the sponsorship. I have my own house and as such need to show the deed of ownership. NZ now only has the land information database and as such all you can get is an electronic copy, is this sufficent.

Also anyone done this recently have any tips

Thanks for your help

Greg

[kiakaha]

what visa type is the thai national in question applying for ? tourist, work or permanent residency ?

[nzgregor]

We intend to apply for a tourist visa and then a work visa upon arrival in New Zealand and then residency if all is well in two years

[kiakaha]

the thai applicant should apply for the 2 year multi entry work visa...no need to fart about with the tourist visa. i know a thai woman who got this visa on the spot at the Bangkok branch of the NZIS a few years ago(albeit NZL husband had worked in Bangkok for a long time and they were married a long time too). As long as the thai applicant is in a "genuine and stable relationship" with the NZL citizen partner(you), and you have proof of this...then i would recommend this visa.it is no more difficult or easy than the tourist visa in my opinion

As far as documentary evidence goes...originals or copies are fine, unless a particular document needs to be legally notorized/translated etc... as per the NZIS policy for the type of visa.

things that come to mind to prove a genuine and stable relationship with NZL citizen partner of thai applicant are(some may or may not apply to your case) :

NZL or Thai marriage certificate

Joint bank account info

Joint health insurance policy

Life insurance policys with parter as beneficiary

Letters/Testimonials from friends, colleagues etc..

Your work permit/immigration history in Thaialand

Joint tenancy agreements, title deeds to property

Bills in joint name (utilities, phone, cable tv etc....)

childrens birth certificate

etc....

[kiwibiz]

Hi Greg

Having just been through this process with my wife ,i agree with kiakaha and go for a 2 year multi work visa and then once she is here in NZ then go for her residency.

We went the visitor visa way in which she was granted a 9 month visa and have since done the work permit and that will get us through to her residence visa .But looking back at that i wish i had the work visa first ,it just saves time and money .

As Roadman informed me when appling for visa's ,as long as you can show them you are genuine and honest and include as much information about you and your fiancee there is no problem .

In my original sponsership i included bank details(which showed the money i sent to my wife to support her),tenacy agreement(as no house at that time)and i had written a letter detailing our relationship from the first time we meet each until that present time and our plans for the future.

As for certifing your friends passport ,if it were me i would get them to do that and then send to you ,it cetainly cant hurt with your application ,the more info the better i think.

hope this helps and good luck to you both

Kiwibiz

[kiwiocker]

Interesting comments.

I'm planning something similar - taking my girlfriend (we've been in a genuine relationship of about 8 months) back when my one year contract is up in August. My problem is that the apartment is leased in my name, we don't have a joint bank account, insurance etc but we can provide stat decs or equivilent from friends and family that we live together. We've been planning to go the tourist visa way and get married in NZ - would getting married here and applying for the 2 year multi work entry visa make more sense?

any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[kiwibiz]

Hi Kiwiocker.

Just reading your comments it looks like your circumstances are a bit different to mine.I take it that you & your girlfriend have been living together in Thailand for 8 months .

When we applied for my wife's visitor visa we had known each other for about 12 months and i had visited her 3 times and had the thai marriage too.I was undecided then on which visa to apply for so i opted for the visitor visa first as it seemed easier as we had not lived together for a period of time.When we sent everything to the embassy ,i was worried as hel_l that our application would be turned down as we hadnt spent a lot of time together ,but as it turned out all good for us .we had put in a lot of information in that visa ,anything and everything we could find,eg emails,voip records,bank statements,hotel bills,you name it ,it was in it.

Basically they are looking to see if your relationship is the real deal and you have proof to validate it .

Getting married first in thailand or in NZ is totally up to you guys ,if it influences there decision i am not sure .We got married legally here in NZ and then included that in our work permit , i think we still would have got it even if we werent married .It is the living together in a geniune and stable relationship that is the key and it looks you are almost there already (8 months) nearly 12 come August.

Kiwibiz

[kiakaha]

Interesting comments.

I'm planning something similar - taking my girlfriend (we've been in a genuine relationship of about 8 months) back when my one year contract is up in August. My problem is that the apartment is leased in my name, we don't have a joint bank account, insurance etc but we can provide stat decs or equivilent from friends and family that we live together. We've been planning to go the tourist visa way and get married in NZ - would getting married here and applying for the 2 year multi work entry visa make more sense?

any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

A legal marriage is largely irrelevant in the eyes of the NZIS, anyone can get married. Of course if you've been married for many, many years then your marriage cert could be used as evidence of length of relationship, but a recent marriage, well it nothing but a peice of paper really as far as proof goes.In fact I would say that presenting a recent marriage cert does more harm than good because it gives off the impression that you got married for the visa and not for genuine reasons.

NZIS want proof of a genuine and stable relationship with your PARTNER(note the terminology "spouse" is not used).

You do not need to be legally married for the 2 yr work visa.You need to prove the relationship with the PARTNER is genuine and stable.

[kiwiocker]

Kiwibiz and Kiakaha,

Thank you both for your responses. You make a lot of sense and I'll run with your advice. The only other query is how is a Thai girl going to cope in a Wellington southerly! I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Cheers

[kiakaha]

Kiwibiz and Kiakaha,

Thank you both for your responses. You make a lot of sense and I'll run with your advice. The only other query is how is a Thai girl going to cope in a Wellington southerly! I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Cheers

Tell her to go to SnowTown at Dreamworld in Bangkok for 2 weeks of acclimatisation prior to departure

And by night she can hang out at Soi 8 pub in Bangkok to get used to lots of kiwi accents around her

[nzgregor]

Thanks for the replies, I will run with going for the two year work visa.

My situation is very much the same as yours kiwiocker, we met in October while i was on holiday and i have been back in Thailand since January. We have been staying in bungalows in phuket and also at my fiancee's house in Isaan so have no tenancy agreements etc. I have a lot of support from family and friends and alot of photo's. We will be in bangkok in two or three weeks if you want to catch up for a beer and a chat. I know the missus would be keen to meet anyone else thai who is heading to NZ.

Arriving NZ around August should make for an interesting experience, my missus wraps up in a thick blanket if the temp drops below 25.

[kiwijor]

Hi Greg, I would get your friends letters printed in New Zealand, and witnessed by a JP [if possible] every little thing helps!! - You will need to have known [and possibly lived with] your Fiancee for at least a year or more for her to be able to stay in NZ any time, There is a wealth of information on the New Zealand Bangkok Embassy website, but you have to dig deep to get it all, you will need the letters addressed to the both of you!

And you will need letters from her family with photo's, showing the two of you together in Thailand over the past year or whatever.

Regards Kiwijor.

>>I will be putting in an application for my fiancee to come back with me to NZ in the next few weeks. >>

>>Thanks for your help

>>Greg

Edited June 1, 2008 by kiwijor

[Roadman]

Not quite correct Kiwijor.

Although NZIS info does state this requirement you do not need to have been in a relationship or known your partner for 12 months - hence the reason NZIS will give tourist visa's to allow for that 12 months of the relationship to be developed - as long as you can prove the relationship is genuine. They also "seem" to work on the basis that a first up tourist visa also gives both parties and especially the Thai partner the chance to see if once they have arrived in Kiwiland that they are still comfortable with the whole big change. In my case my partner and I had only known each other 6 months when we applied and only had spent 3 weeks together in that whole time. Plenty of other couples we know also fall into this category.

Hi Kiwibiz. I take it after all the worry of going through the process life together here is now sweet.

A few bits of advice.

Kiwis have one of the best immigration services available. Make use of them as they are there to help and will do so - big savings in cost and time. Would advise that (as every case is different) in the first instance your partner and yourself contact NZIS and introduce yourselves, explain your circumstances and ask for advice on a few things that you may be unsure of, or if you think you have everything covered then make up a few questions so you can establish that relationship between yourselves and NZIS. Key words there are your partner and yourself together and using the correct words - "us" and "we". If you are unsure about getting personel assistance in Bangkok then ring through to the NZIS office closest to your home in NZ as once your partner is here in Kiwiland then you are virtually starting the process again here for further visa's and permits. If you are on the border between Hamilton and Auckland then ring Hamilton. You both also have to do a more indepth interview here for a residency visa/permit. So as in bussiness build your relationships with NZIS and things will move more smoothly.

Also when you are applying for work permits / visa's make sure you apply for a 2 year period asap - this gives your new partner immediate access to free emergency health care - a bill for 2 or 3 weeks in a hospital is worry one does not need.

Edited June 2, 2008 by Roadman

[boggzzy]

After reading a lot of very helpfull posts (thanks Roadman, Kiakaha) I will be putting in an application for my fiancee to come back with me to NZ in the next few weeks.

I have a couple of questions i need some help with. My first question is in regards to letters from friends and family in support of my relationship. I have letters from my friends + family that have been emailed to me along with a scan of their passport ID page as identification. Is it sufficent to print these out and hand in or will i need to get originals posted from NZ with a JP to certify the passport scan.

My second question is in regards to the sponsorship. I have my own house and as such need to show the deed of ownership. NZ now only has the land information database and as such all you can get is an electronic copy, is this sufficent.

Also anyone done this recently have any tips

Thanks for your help

Greg

i Have recently done this for my wife(then my Girlfried) But For Australia. my advice is simple the more information you can supply the better the chances. i sent hundreds of pictures of me with g/f perticularly with other people in the picture. i typed a 4 A4 page letter on how we met etc. i was 100% truthful and did not hide anything.in short if it says certified then thats what you need to get. we got her visa and we are now Married.

[kiwibiz]

Hi Roadman

Yep all sweet here in Kiwiland.

My wife and I are doing the residence visa soon ,just getting all our documents sorted now.She is really enjoying here (apart from the cold days as we start to head into winter)and the fact she cant buy papaya salad or plara!!

As you know it all seems a bit of worry when first applying for visa's and not sure on what to do and which visa is the best .But for sure the Bangkok and the NZ immigration(Hamilton) are good people to deal with,and are definately there to help .you only need to ask if not sure about something. The help that you and Kiakaha gave me in the start was invaluable and set my mind at ease . As i had no idea at the start and reading the immigration site made no sense to me in the beginning .But in the end it is all worth it ,to have my wife here in NZ is just the best!!

Sorry if this getting away from the original subject but really just want to say this is a fantastic site , so many posts from around the world which is interesting to see how other people get on with their respective immigration departments and such.

Kiwibiz

[nzgregor]

Hi All,

Thanks for all the advice. We have been in New Zealand six months now and are both very happy. We appied for the visitors Visa and it was granted in 7 days. Work visa was applied for in New Zealand and took four weeks.

All I will add to the above advice is that the more information you can supply the better. NZ immigration were helpfull and professional both in Bangkok and New Zealand and give good advice if you need it.

One thing to be wary of is your lady getting advice from Thai friends, they come up with some bizarre scenarios of how to go about dealing with immigration and most of it is based on false information. As an immigration official said to me, the immigration website describes exactly what you have to do and supply, follow instructions, supply all documentation, be honest and genuine and you will not have any issues.

So far so good, just putting final touches to the residency application.

Thanks Again, I am one happy kiwi

Greg

[Kiwi/Thai]

I have recently spoken to nzgregor and he sure is happy. One thing he has forgotten to mention however is that if your good lady decides to go for a walk be sure she remembers her new address and or phone number. Sending out a search party is very inconvenient even if it does provide a few laughs.

See you both soon xx

[Pakeha]

Congrats nzgregor.

One thing worth reiterating for future readers is that you do not have to live together for twelve months. As stated you have to be in a 'genuine relationship'. We used (a years worth of) phone records in support of our initial work visa application and I believe they went a long way to demonstrating we were genuine.

Also, original, signed letters from friends and family in both english and thai were useful. We had a lot of supporting evidence and the application was a pretty hefty document. No questions were asked and it was approved straight off the mark.

I think for the PR application you have to have been living together for twelve months. It also takes a lot longer to process. I think we waited 9 months from submitting it to getting it. It's worth submtting the application as soon as you can.

We're one year off my partner being able to get NZ citizenship now which is great. As soon as she has that we are free to live wherever we like - Thailand or anywhere really - knowing we can both come and go from NZ anytime and for as long as we like.