Visas - A Family Affair
This weeks blog is a game of two-halves, with the first part focussing on the trials and tribulations of telling your children, that you are about to uproot them, to move to another country. The second half, is focussed on the slightly more technical aspects of actually including those children in your application (there are different rules for different visas).
The inspiration for this blog came from a conversation I had with a potential client earlier in the week. Bob (not his real name) was contemplating the big move, along with his wife (who was already onboard) their two children - somewhat less enthusiastic. As we discussed the various steps involved, and some of the challenges, the topic of “when and how do we tell the kids” came about. Bob was already knee deep in some teenage angst, having dropped this particular bombshell on his children already.
That discussion did get me thinking, because as a father of two (Miss 12 and Miss 8), I wondered how I might approach that topic, if I were leaving New Zealand to live permanently in a far off land. It also made me consider, how well the rules for including children are understood out there, amongst our future new kiwis, particularly if your children are getting up to that 20 to 25 year age bracket.
So, this post covers a bit of both of those topics…starting with the challenging discussions you might be about to have with your children and then moving on to some of the technical issues to do with including children in the application process, and how that differs across the various visa pathways.
Involving The Children
Children are often well aware of your plans to move, and sometimes being involved, can make the transition easier (for you and them).
Keeping It All In The Family
More often than not my clients and potential clients tell me that their move is “all about the children” - securing them a better future, better opportunities, running water, lights that turn on, schools that aren’t being burned down and an unemployment rate in single digits. I get it, and it makes sense, but equally, those children can sometimes be the last to know that all of this amazing new stuff is about to become theirs in a new, far off land. Children are often the last to know about the move and if they are in that “tween” or older age bracket - things can get messy very quickly. So exactly when to do you tell, them? Do you start early or wait until you are taking the left turn to the airport, when they thought you were heading to McDonalds?
It is of course a deeply personal question and I dont want to sound like Dr. Phil, but having done this for a while, I have seen both tactics (early and late announcements) and the results they can bring. In my humble (but educated) opinion, I would suggest that children nowadays are far more aware of what is going on than we might think. Bringing them in early to the process and involving them can often take the confusion and anxiety out of it all, and often you might find they are actually just as excited as you are.
Giving them tasks to work on, such as how to research moving the family pooch or where the best beaches are in NZ for when you get here, or even having them look at schools and locations - all things which can get them involved, excited and less nervous. For the most part children are worried about giving up their hard-earned social networks and so having them document their move and plans, giving them something to share with friends and as a way to keep those contacts going can be useful.
Ultimately children are far more adaptable than us parents and ironically while they might put up the biggest fight at the beginning they are often the quickest to settle, adapt and integrate when they arrive. I can, hand on heart, say that over my twenty years of assisting families to move, I have never heard of a younger family member, wanting to leave - on the very rare occasion the parents might decide to depart, and then they end up facing the same problem with having to try and extract their children from New Zealand (which they have now come to call home).
There is obviously no “one size fits all” approach to this, but from experience, the more you include your children, regardless of their age, the smoother the end result (and move) will be.
Different Visas - Different Ages
There are different age limits for children, depending on whether you are applying for a Temporary or Resident class Visa.
Age Isn’t Just A Number
When it comes to actually including your children in the process, and assuming you have managed to convince them that they will enjoy it and yes we still have McDonalds and the Internet, you need to also factor in how that works from a Visa perspective. We do have different rules for children, depending on the Visa you are applying for and that can create some logistical challenges for those who might need to work here for one or two years before being able to apply for Residence. Planning your move, and knowing which Visas your children will be eligible for has become more important under our current Visa settings, because you won’t necessarily be applying for Residence right away.
For Temporary Visas (e.g. Work Visas, Student Visas and Visitor Visas) the age cut-off to include your dependent children is 20 years of age. So for example, if you secure a job here and a Work Visa, your 15 year old son, can secure a Student Visa here and study as a domestic student (no fees). Your 20 year old daughter however would have to apply for a Temporary Visa in their own right - e.g. the fact you have a Visa doesn’t immediately qualify them for anything.
However for Residence, the rules change again and for those applications, you can include a child up to the age of 25 years (the day they turn 25 you can’t include them), however depending on their age, you may have to prove that they are in fact dependent on you, single and have no children of their own.
So, if you are heading here and need to work for three years to secure Residence, and you have an 18 year old child in tow, you have to give some serious thought to what that child is going to do when they finish secondary school and are no longer eligible to hold a Temporary Visa based on you. There are options, some more costly than others (Student Visas) but having a plan will help to take some of the sting out of the process.
This age difference is largely based on the fact that for tertiary studies (university etc.) those are only available, at the local discounted rate to Resident Visa holders. So on a Temporary Visa we restrict the age to which children can come across. For Residence we lift the age cap, provided however that child is actually dependent on you.
Once your 21 year old is working and earning a living or living with a partner and having their own children, they no longer qualify on the basis of you and would have to apply for Visas in their own right and under their own steam.
Coming up with plans in these situations can be tricky and so having some good advice to manage that process is essential, for both you and your children.
“Totally or Substantially”
When it comes to proving that your older child is dependent, the criteria can be very confusing and often leads to queries from INZ.
Dependence Has To Be Proven
If you are including older children (generally those 18 and over), then INZ may ask you to prove that they are “dependent” which comes with a few different strings attached.
For children aged 18 to 20 (19 in the case of Temporary Visas) INZ may ask for evidence of dependence, if there is reason to doubt that they might not be. For children aged 21 to 24, who are being included in a Resident Visa application, evidence of dependence is required as part of the application. You also have to prove (in all cases) that your children are single, e.g. not living with a partner and have no children of their own.
Proving a child is dependent can be more complicated than it sounds and equally if they are working part-time that doesn’t make them independent. It all comes down to whether or not they are “totally” or “substantially” reliant on your or your partner (or both) for their ability to live. This includes the cost of their accommodation, food, travel, clothing, healthcare and so on. If they are working, INZ will want to see what they earn and whether that is enough to sustain them without your support. For many families, with older children, looking to make the move, the dependence issue can pose some real headaches.
If you are considering the big journey across to New Zealand and you have children involved, think carefully about how your eligibility will work in terms of the timeframes involved. You may not be securing Residence right away and so you need to think about the timelines as they might apply to your children (particularly those that are older).
Also consider including them in in the process - things are far less scary, if they are known and more often than not, children are actually as keen to make the move as their parents. Getting them involved in the move, the process and the research can make the whole thing less daunting and more enjoyable (for everyone).
Assisting families to make the move is what we do, because we appreciate that the Visa process (or rather the relocation process) is very much a family affair.
Until next week.
