Understanding the Processing Times for Partnership Visa applications

Processing times at Immigration New Zealand (INZ) for Partnership Visa applications will depend on the type of visa being applied for (e.g. work visa or residence) as well as potentially a range of other factors.

On its website, INZ provides information about its estimated processing times for different visa categories (although the information is not always accurate). At the date of this post, INZ’s estimated timescales for the following partnership based visa applications are:

• approximately 5 – 15 months for Partnership Based Residence Visa applications (for partners of NZ citizens or residents)

• approximately 3 – 5 months for Partnership Based Work Visa applications (for partners of NZ citizens or residents)

• approximately 4 months for Partner of a Worker Work Visa applications (for partners of work visa holders).

Processing times can also vary on a number of other factors, including:

• INZ’s staff capacity and fluctuations in the demand on its service

• The complexity of the particular visa application – for example, if INZ has concerns about the application or a medical and/or character waiver is required, this will likely delay processing

• The applicant’s nationality, as some countries take longer to provide information to INZ (e.g. security clearances) than other countries and/or have a higher risk profile.

When planning your partnership visa application, it’s important to consider the likely processing times at INZ.

For example, if you’re currently in NZ on a temporary visa that was granted under a non-partnership visa category (e.g. you hold a student, post-study work or accredited employer work visa) and that visa expires during the processing of your partnership work visa application, any interim visa that INZ issues to you (so you can remain in NZ while your partnership work visa application is processed) will come with visitor visa conditions only; meaning you won’t be able to continue to work.

If you’re the partner of an NZ citizen or resident who holds an initial one year partnership work visa, you’ll need to consider the likely processing time of any partnership residence visa application you lodge and whether you might also need to lodge a second partnership work visa application so you can remain in NZ while your residence visa application is processed.

Very often, the ‘time’ factor needs to be balanced with the ‘risk’ factor. That is to say, your desire to apply for and (hopefully) be granted a partnership visa as soon as possible – for example, so you might continue to work (the first example above) or avoid the need to lodge a second partnership work visa application (the second example above) – must be weighed against the risks of applying too early and when you don’t yet meet the relevant partnership visa requirements.

Timing is also important if you and your supporting partner have only recently commenced living together and you’ve applied for a partnership work visa, as your application’s processing time will afford you more time for living together and gathering more evidence in support of the ‘living together’ requirement. However, lodging an application in these circumstances carries greater risk, and I always recommend you seek professional advice before lodging your application.

These are just some of the important timing matters you may need to consider when applying for a partnership visa, in addition to the myriad of other issues one must consider.

If you’re thinking about applying for a NZ partnership visa, get in touch for a free call.