Visa type
Partnership Residence Visa
Issue Type
Genuine and stable relationship
Turnaround
64 days
Background
[Applicant A] is from Russia and met her partner, [SPONSOR], a New Zealand citizen working as a contract milker, through online dating in December 2019 while he was on holiday in Japan. Their relationship began in early 2020 during the COVID border closures, which meant they had to manage being in different countries. They later lived together in England for about eighteen months before moving to his dairy farm in Mid Canterbury.
Our approach
We wrote a detailed cover letter telling the story of the relationship from start to finish: meeting online in December 2019, the relationship developing through 2020, living together in England in 2021 and 2022, and moving to New Zealand in 2022. We backed it with evidence of their shared finances and a letter from the partner’s employer at the Mid Canterbury dairy farm.
Outcome
The Partner Work Visa was granted in 64 days. A clear, well-evidenced account of the couple’s journey across three countries showed a genuine and stable relationship.
Lessons
A relationship that began online can be clearly genuine when the story is told well. We set out how [Applicant A] and her partner met, how the relationship grew, and where they are now, so the online start was simply the beginning of a real, continuing relationship rather than a question mark.
Where a couple’s history spans several countries, each stage needs its own evidence. We documented their early communication during the pandemic, their time living together in England, and their move to New Zealand, which together showed the relationship held up across borders.
A plain, chronological cover letter helps the officer follow the story. Laying out the timeline from December 2019 to the move to the dairy farm made the relationship easy to understand and to trust.
Evidence of shared finances and the partner’s job grounds the relationship in everyday life. Their joint financial evidence and the employer’s letter showed a settled, shared life in rural New Zealand, which supported the genuine-and-stable test.