Visitor visa approved after a response to immigration concerns

[Applicant A] is from overseas and had been in a long-distance relationship with her New Zealand partner [PARTNER], whom she met while they were both working on a cruise ship. She applied for a visitor visa to spend time with him and his family in New Zealand. Because the couple had not yet lived together and she hoped to settle in New Zealand in time, Immigration New Zealand looked at the application closely and wrote to her with its concerns before making a decision.

We prepared a detailed written response dealing with each concern in turn. We explained the purpose and length of the visit and her plan to return home. We set out the full story of the relationship, from how the couple met to how they kept it going by daily calls and messages and an in-person visit, backed by their communication records and photos. And we provided evidence of her ties at home, including family letters, her savings and money she sends home, and her ownership of land.

Immigration New Zealand granted the visitor visa. Our response satisfied it on all three points, so a formal letter of concern became an approval.

The most reliable way to answer a letter of concern is to take each point in turn and line up the evidence against it, so the officer can see every concern has been met. A relationship that has been carried on at a distance can still be shown to be genuine, as long as the messages, calls and visits are presented clearly as one story. And the question of whether someone will return home is best answered with concrete proof of family, money and property at home, rather than a simple promise to come back.