Sweet as: the Immigration Process (pt 1)

I call this part one because I’m sure there will be a part 2 at some point. The process, while complicated and time-consuming, is manageable with a licensed advisor. And for this American expat, it’s far from over.

I thought I knew what it took to get a visa that would allow me to stay in the country. When I arrived in January, I was on a standard tourist visa – they last only 90 days, but I figured it was enough time to get (sort of) settled and to submit my more permanent application. Frankly, I thought New Zealand Customs would question why I was showing up on a one-way ticket given that I had no permission to stay longer than 3 months!  (They didn’t ask, but apparently the volume of clothing and jewelry I brought with me was suspicious.)

I knew that our plan was to have the Kiwi sponsor my visa – Immigration New Zealand (INZ) offers something called “a temporary work visa based on partnership”, and since he’s a permanent resident, our partnership would be the most expedient and flexible way for me to earn my own visa. The requirements are pretty stringent, honestly, and my lawyer suggested that we wait a couple of months to collect as much evidence as possible to prove that we are in a “genuine and stable relationship”. How do you demonstrate that you’re committed to each other? (No, marriage doesn’t help.) Well, I learned the hard way.

First, the practical stuff:

• I had to get an FBI/police report outlining any infractions, arrests, or crimes in my past. Doing this required getting fingerprinted (twice) by the Queenstown Police Department and having those prints sent to an expediter in the US. It only took about 2 1/2 weeks for the report to be completed, so that wasn’t too bad.
• I had to endure a fairly <ahem> invasive medical exam. I made an appointment with a doctor at the Queenstown clinic, but 3 days prior to that I had to have blood drawn so that the results could be ready for the doc. The exam itself consisted of a physical, an eye test, a urine test, a review of the blood work, and a breast exam (standard for women of a *certain* age, apparently). I had to redo the urine test 3 times and still had to send it off to the lab, and I had to redo the blood tests twice thanks to a pretty common false positive. I also had to schedule a chest x-ray (you know, just in case I have TB). Man, it was awesome. <snark>
• The application is something like 24 pages long. They ask some pretty basic questions about where I’ve lived and how old I am. I had to provide work history, a list of family members, countries I’ve visited and/or lived in over the last 5 years, and my intentions for NZ. The Kiwi also had an application to complete, which was significantly shorter – at only 9 pages.
• I needed 6 passport photos. I have no idea why they needed so many.

Second, the evidence. How do you prove to strangers – whom you’ll never meet – that you’re in a genuine relationship? Now I have an answer to that. We pulled together what I would consider the most obnoxiously comprehensive collection of stuff:

• Every email we’ve ever sent (since we met in 2009)
• Every Facebook message
• Screenshot showing when we became Facebook friends (2010, for the record)
• Screenshot showing when we become Skype contacts
• Skype chat history and timestamps of video calls
• WhatsApp chat history (the ENTIRE THING)
• All text messages
• Any photographs of us together (back to 2012)
• Flight itinerary from our 2016 trip to Italy
• Hotel receipts from our 2016 trip to Italy
• Proof of future travel together (flights for my family vacation in June)
• Reference letter from the Kiwi’s original flatmates, vouching for the fact that we lived together in their home
• Bond letter from our current flatmates, proving that we are cohabiting
• Proof of our joint bank account
• Transaction history from our joint account, showing that we pay bills together from that account
• Our car insurance coverage, showing both of our names on the policy
• My local phone bill, which is also listed under his name because I don’t have a visa yet
• Reference letter from the Kiwi’s business partner, affirming our relationship
• A “cover letter” from me, detailing our story – how we met, kept in touch, reunited, and decided to build a life together
• Mail that we’ve received at both addresses
• My new Air New Zealand membership points card
• My new grocery store club card (yep, apparently this matters)
• Our property contract: the defining document for the house we’re building together

What do you think?  Do you think that’s enough information to show that we’re living together, in a genuine and stable relationship, with plans to continue as a couple? My lawyer seemed to think that it was a decent volume of evidence, even though our relationship is technically relatively new. So, we submitted everything a few days before I left for the US, with a certified copy of my passport (which normally is submitted to INZ with the application) since I needed the actual passport for travel. Everyone was pretty optimistic.

We didn’t hear much from Immigration while I was away. It seemed to take longer than normal to get a case manager assigned, but I finally heard from my lawyer – when I landed in Los Angeles, on my way back to NZ. And the news wasn’t good.

INZ chose to decline my application.

The primary argument against me was based on their assessment of our stability as a couple. They don’t believe we’re living together (despite proof to the contrary) and they don’t believe we’re “stable” since our relationship is too new. (Apparently building a house together isn’t sufficient proof that we’re planning a long-term future together!) INZ also cited the fact that I was in the country for only 78 days when I went back to the States.  Well, no sh!t. A tourist visa is only good for 90 days anyway, and I provided a copy of my flight itinerary – which showed a RETURN flight to NZ in 3 weeks time. What in the holy hell do they want?!?

INZ has no appeals process, either. So their decision is essentially final, without much discussion. My lawyer is pretty disgusted by the decision – in fact, he spoke with the case manager the day he received the letter from them, and he said that he’s gotten partnership visas through the process with a lot less evidence than we’ve provided! INZ is offering me a 6-month tourist visa, which doesn’t allow me to work but does help me avoid having to leave after only 3 months. I’ll probably have to accept the extended tourist visa, since there’s little chance of convincing them to change their minds. And in the meantime, I will have to continue to collect as much evidence as possible – every letter, every expense, every detail that proves that the Kiwi and I are “genuine”.

What. The. Serious. F*!@#.

As I said, there will be a part 2 of this saga… I have no idea how this is going to work itself out, so stay tuned.