You know how I’ve talked before about how travelling is like a roller coaster. Well, I’m going FULL speed right now, with the hairs wild in the wind.
Why? Because of the threat of deportation. Ok, that’s a bit too dramatic, but I have to face the facts. In a month I have to leave New Zealand. My visa expires, the nightmare of every traveller who doesn’t want to leave yet.
New Zealand is the perfect spot for travellers who want a bit more than a vacation. It is SUPER easy to get a Working Holiday Visa. And you definitely should go for it. I don’t think I’ve met anyone that doesn’t like this country. So, if you can, apply for a Working Holiday Visa. This means you can live and work for an entire year in this gorgeous country, conquer some mountains and mingle with sheep.
But what if you want to stay longer?
Although I promised my parents I would never ever fall in love on the other side of the world – I couldn’t help it. Sorry mom, sorry dad.
I was at the end of 2 months travelling through New Zealand, when I met my boyfriend. At that moment I had a working holiday visa of Australia (also very easy to get), but I decided to mess those plans up – all in the name of love. I applied for a New Zealand Working Holiday Visa and started living and working there.
One year and a half later I am still in New Zealand. Unfortunately my Working Holiday visa has expired. A week (!) before the expiration date I got an extra visitors visa approved. Yay! Happy dance! I don’t have to leave – yet.
The plan was to find a job via a sponsorship, so I could stay in the country. Easier said than done. Being a journalist and editor, it’s not convenient to find long-term contracts, which as you can predict I needed for a sponsorship. On top of that you have to prove that there is no New Zealander that can do the job. Long story short: no job (yet).
It is the strangest feeling to fight for your stay in a country. I never had to deal with that before. Being European, I have the luxury of working and living everywhere in Europe. New Zealand is definitely not included. So my boyfriend and I were preparing ourselves to leave the country.
I went one last time to Immigration to prolong my visitors visa a little bit more. Do you notice we weren’t really ready to leave yet? The guy at the Christchurch Immigration counter is the happiest, helpful man ever. So I also asked a bit more about a partnership visa (we had already informed ourselves intensely on that subject, without luck). Suddenly he says we are allowed to apply for a different kind of partnership visa. My heart jumped like crazy. Is it possible? Will we be able to stay in New Zealand?
So at the moment you can find me at my table surrounded by papers, papers and papers. I am not ready to give up this country yet. And I definitely won’t go down without a fight. Will we still be in New Zealand next month? Will we have to leave? Life isn’t exactly boring at the moment, that’s the least I can say!
Next week I’m handing in our huge dossier and then I’m asking for all your crossed fingers and thumbs high up in the air! So I can stay to do a bit more of this:
and this
and this
and this
and this
and this
How about you? Did you ever have to leave a country when you didn’t want to? Have you had some visa stress as well? Let me know what you think!
Do you like these pictures? They’re by my boyfriend Nico Babot, see more of him on Instagram: @thekiwifrog. And my profile you can find under @theworldisacircus.
