Visa Types covered:
Visa Types covered:
Visa Types covered:
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Family Migration
Trying to navigate the immigration system on your own can be stressful and time-consuming. In a pre-Covid year we might have 10 or so policy changes a year on average. Since Covid, it's been more than 60. This requires agility of mind and process.
Immigration is a high-stakes journey - getting it wrong can cost you time, money and worst still, your future in New Zealand. At Into NZ we know immigration polices and process like the backs of our hands.
Partnership Category
Partners of New Zealand Citizens/Residents and some temporary work or student visas can qualify for a partnership visa in certain circumstances.
Partnerships come in all shapes and forms and New Zealand is pretty liberal in that it doesn't matter whether you are married, in a same sex civil union or a de facto relationship. What does count is being able to prove that you are "living together in a genuine and stable relationship". This causes serious issues for those couples that are unable to live together for one reason or another.
For temporary entry there is no stipulated minimum time you must have lived together. To apply for residence, however, you must have been living together for at least 12 months.
If you are the 5+ year Partner of an "ex-pat" Kiwi (some fine print exists around the definition) you may be able to apply for residence but leapfrog to permanent residence. Something we will consider in our initial assessment.
The key to a good partnership application is providing hard evidence of joint living and the stability of your relationship. A marriage certificate and even children's birth certificates are simply not enough. When it comes to the living together requirements it is important to understand that Immigration NZ distinguishes between time spent visiting each other or holidaying together. This causes multiple issues and leads to many visa declines.
Many applicants fail to appreciate the nuances – especially with young relationships that may be felt to be more in the nature of "going out" rather than partnership.
With the border closures, the issues have become even more contentious with many partners needing to "fetch and fly" in order to be able to unite and get into New Zealand together.
With Covid-19 and the NZ border closures, some cases require a border exception in addition to the normal visa processes. Again, this is something we have been closely involved with and are able to make the appropriate requests and Critical Purpose visa applications as appropriate.
If you are in a relationship situation and require expert advice, contact us today for instant help.
Parent Category
Parents of NZ Citizens/Residents can apply for a 3-year parent/grandparent visitor visa. In certain circumstances they can also be granted residence to join family in NZ. There are, in essence, 2 different parent residence categories:
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Parent Investor Category – Requires investment of NZD1 million for 4 years, settlement funds of NZD.5 million + an annual income of NZD60,000 (equivalent) per year. Your NZ Citizen or Resident adult child does not need to sponsor. There is no Expression of Interest.
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Parent Lottery – Requires you to be sponsored by an NZ Citizen or Resident adult child who has held residence for at least 3 yrs. You can, in fact, be sponsored by:
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your adult NZ citizen or resident child;
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jointly by your adult child & their partner;
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jointly by your adult child & another adult child of a parent included in the application.
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Sponsors must. have earned at least the minimum incoe requirements for 2 years in the 3-year period before an Expression of Interest is selected. The minimum income depends on how many parents are being sponsored and how many sponsors are involved.
These two categories share in common that you must have a New Zealand citizen or resident child living in New Zealand to support or sponsor your application, no dependent children and you must be a competent user of English - if English is not your second language you must be able to either achieve an IELTS test result of 4+ or be prepared to pre-purchase English language tuition at set rates.
For more information contact us today to find out which, if any, of the parent categories you could apply under.
Dependent Child
Dependent children aged 24 years or younger can be granted residence if either included in their parents' residence application or by making a Dependent Child residence application in their own right.
There are a number of criteria that need to be met, depending on the age and circumstances of the child but in all cases the child must be single and have no children of their own. Depending on their age, they may need to meet English language requirements and prove that they are substantially financially dependent on an adult.
If the child is under 16 years of age and the biological parents are not both New Zealanders or applicants to become New Zealand residents, special "custody" rules appy which need careful consideration.
Adoption of childen is another matter subject to specific rules which can be difficult to meet.
Different rules apply to dependent children applying for temporary visas - the age cut off in that case is 19 years and the child must be in school, not in higher education. For families with teenage children about to leave or who have already left school, care needs to be given to planning their move while you transition to residence visas.
At Into NZ we can advise whether your child meets the "dependency" criteria for residence and/or temporary entry. Contact us today for access to expert advice.