What is a Relationship Support Letter, and what should it include?

What is a relationship support letter?

In the context of a New Zealand Partnership Visa application, a relationship support letter is a detailed letter attesting to the relationship between the visa applicant and their supporting partner – specifically, that they are "living together in a genuine and stable relationship" as per INZ Instructions.

What is the purpose of a relationship support letter?

Its main purpose is to provide information about the relationship (including how it commenced and has developed) and demonstrate its credibility and genuineness. A good relationship support letter should bolster the other types of relationship evidence that is provided in support of the visa application, as well as establish rapport with the INZ officer who is processing the application (e.g. by helping the officer to "get to know" the couple more intimately). 

Who should write a relationship support letter?

Normally, I'd recommend separate letters provided by the applicant and their supporting partner, as well from the couple's immediate and extended family members (e.g. children of the applicant and/or the supporting partner, parents, siblings, relatives, etc.), close friends or colleagues of the couple who can attest to the relationship.

What should the letter include?

Relationship support letters from the applicant and supporting partner should include the following:

• A brief overview of their relationship (including approximate dates), with details of when, where and how they first met, how their relationship developed, and the date they commenced living together and their residential address(es)

• Their living/domestic and financial arrangements

• How the couple spends their time together, including leisure time and holidays

• Their relationship with each other's immediate and extended families

• Any challenges the couple may have experienced in terms of cultural differences and how they have navigated those challenges/differences

• Future plans for the relationship (e.g. marriage, children, house, etc.)

 Relationship support letters from family and friends should include a discussion of the following:

• Who they are / how they know the couple / their relationship with the couple, and the purpose of their letter

• What they know about the history of the couple's relationship and how it has developed

• Confirm the couple are living together and for how long

• Any occasions they've seen the couple together

• Confirm the couple's relationship is genuine, stable and permanent and why they think this

• Confirm they support the visa application

What are the "Dos" and "Don'ts" in writing a relationship support letter?

 Do provide relationship support letters that:

• Are written in English or accompanied by a certified English translation (if the letter is not written in English)

• Are formally prepared, including addressed to Immigration New Zealand, and including the date and the writer's contact details and signature

• Are clear, accurate and consistent.

Do not provide support letters which contain:

• False or misleading information

• Statements about matters which are outside of the writer's knowledge

• Inconsistent or irrelevant information

What are the legal implications of the letter?

Given that relationship support letters are intended to include statements of fact about the relationship, they comprise important legal evidence in support of the visa application. Consequently, it's important that support letters are factually accurate and consistent with each other, as well as with the remainder of the documentary evidence provided in support of the visa application. Mistakes and inconsistencies appearing in relationship support letters can significantly undermine the evidential basis for the relationship and lead to an application being declined.

Furthermore, suppose the supporting partner in the application is also a migrant. In that case, it's critical that the information provided in the relationship support letters for their partner's application is consistent with the information they provided to INZ in support of their own previous visa application(s) - particularly information relating to any of their previous relationship(s). For example, on a number of occasions, I've been contacted by a supporting partner who has received a Deportation Liability Notice from INZ due to inconsistencies that appeared between the information the supporting partner provided to INZ for their current partner's NZ visa application and the information they provided to INZ in their own previous/historical residence visa application to INZ. Based on those inconsistencies, INZ alleged that false/misleading information had been provided in the supporting partner's residence visa application and, therefore, the supporting partner was now liable for deportation.

Conclusion

Given the significance and gravity of a good relationship support letter to a partnership visa application and the risk and potential consequences of errors in those letters, I cannot emphasise enough the importance of engaging an independent expert such as an Immigration Lawyer to assist. Your lawyer will be well placed to guide you and the other writers on what specific information the letters for your application should contain (given that no two clients are the same) and then cast a critical eye over the relationship support letters and your application as a whole, helping to ensure that all information and supporting evidence for your application is accurate, consistent and compelling.