For those of you looking for a short and sweet synopsis of how long my visa took and how much it cost:
-2024-
- January 2, 2024: Arrived back in NZ on a 90-day Visitor Visa, which is automatically granted
- February 5: Drove to Auckland to get a medical exam for Immigration (an appointment which I’d scheduled back in January)
- February 7: Had bloodwork done for Immigration (walk-in; no appointment necessary)
- March 22: Submitted Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa
- March 27: Received an email from Immigration saying that I had been granted an Interim Visa
- April 2: Received an email from Immigration stating that I needed to have a psychiatric evaluation (this was because I take certain medications; not everyone needs to have a psych exam)
- April 26: Drove to Auckland to meet with a psychiatrist for evaluation (an appointment I’d booked back in February, knowing I’d likely be required to have it done)
- April 29: Psychiatrist sent me a letter for Immigration stating that I am mentally stable. I emailed this to Immigration and uploaded it to my online application.
- May 21: Granted a one year Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa–! (it took 9 weeks; Immigration’s website said 11). This visa expires May 21, 2025.
-2025- - January 7, 2025: Submitted Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa (turnaround time: 80% processed within 7 months)
- January 27: Submitted Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa. This is the exact same once I applied for and was granted last year. Because my current PWV expires May 21, 2025 and my PRV isn’t expected until August 2025, I needed to renew this visa so that I am not in the country without a valid visa. (INZ does not grant interim visas for resident visa applications).
COST BREAKDOWN FOR EACH VISA:
TOTAL COST for the Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa - FBI background check: $30 (I ordered it when I was still in the States)
- Required medical exams (physical, chest x-ray, bloodwork): $527
- Psychiatric evaluation: $600
- Petrol to and from Auckland, twice (medical exams and psychiatric evaluation): $197
- Visa application itself, paid when you submit it: $860
TOTAL COST in NZ dollars: $2,214
TOTAL COST in US dollars: $1,317
TOTAL COST for the Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa - Visa application, paid when you submit it: $5,360 NZD $3,024 USD.
TOTAL COST in NZ dollars: $5,360
TOTAL COST in US dollars: $3,024 - TOTAL COST for the Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa #2 (the price doubled in Oct 2024)
TOTAL COST in NZ dollars: $1,630
TOTAL COST in US dollars: $920
What happens next:
I am currently here on the Partner of a NZer Work Visa. My Partner of a NZer Resident Visa should be granted by July or August 2025. Because my PWV expires May 21, 2025, I needed to reapply for the PWV so that I am not caught here without a visa.
Once granted, the Resident Visa is good for two years
.
After that, I will apply for a Permanent Resident Visa. The difference between the two is that Resident Visas have travel conditions that only allow you to re-enter New Zealand as a resident for those two years, whereas a Permanent Resident Visa allows indefinite re-entry to New Zealand. If I am granted a Permanent Resident Visa it will, as the name suggests, allow me to live and work in NZ forever, which is my goal.
After five years of being in NZ on the Permanent Resident Visa–so long as I have spent 240 days of each of those five years living in NZ–I am eligible to apply for Citizenship, which would give me a NZ passport. The US allows dual citizenship, so I will still legally be American and won’t have to surrender my passport.