Partnership Policy

This article is about Immigration Policy but it is not a description of policy. In our opinion simplified descriptions of policy are dangerous. If you want to know why we think that, read “Why things go wrong”.

New Zealanders expect that their overseas born spouse or partner will be able to live with them in New Zealand. Immigration policy anticipates that will normally be so but achieving that apparently simple outcome is not always easy.

The acceptance of homosexual and de facto (common law) relationships as well as the historical actions of a minority who used fraudulent marriage as a means to circumvent immigration policy means that simply making a claim and producing a marriage or union certificate is no longer considered evidence of a relationship. There needs to be line by line evidence as to the duration, genuineness and durability of the relationship and that there has been specific, physical, co-habitation. Many genuine couples have not led their lives with the intention of creating such a paper trail; to them their relationship is “self evident”, based on their lifestyle, their commitment and the family they have raised. Unfortunately “self evident” will not necessarily satisfy Immigration New Zealand.

The fear that a genuine relationship may not be recognised and the possibility that separation may be enforced by one’s own government can be extraordinarily offensive, corrosive and threatening to some applicants. It pays to prepare well in advance, take advice on what evidence will be acceptable in any particular case, and start the early collation of that material.

Problems sometimes emerge with re-constituted families who have children who are “his, hers and ours”. Informal domestic arrangements may have worked well while overseas, but in the context of an immigration application, New Zealand will require full custody documentation and, often, the written consent of an absent parent. Careful forward planning is advised.

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