I take a few breaths, get that heart under control and call back. A friendly lady answers: “Hi Lieselot, can you come to Immigration today with your passport, so I can put the label in it?” I’m like: yes, of course, I can come by… And then I realise what she said! “Sooo… I have the visa?”. I hear her smile and say “Yes, I gave you the work visa”.

WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOO After a little happy dance in bed, I told her that I’ve never had such a good-news-call that early in the morning! * Smile again *

I can stay in New Zealand. I can stay in New Zealand! I CAN STAY IN NEW ZEALAND!

No need to pack my bag in 3 weeks, no need to find a new country, no need to say good bye to these massive mountains. No need to post more about my uncertain situation. I can’t believe it! I can’t wait to start my day tomorrow, waking up without any stress about my current situation. Time to start planning some more adventures in New Zealand! This country has so many hidden treasures, ready for me to explore!

I wouldn’t have been here without Stephen though, the man at the counter at Immigration Christchurch. He’s the one that gives all the advice to people. He sits there all by himself, has non-stop people coming over with tons of questions and he’s ALWAYS smiling, giving you courage and happy to help. He’s the one that mentioned I could still apply for a partnership visa, although we didn’t tick all the boxes. He’s the one that encouraged me to apply and because of him I won’t have to leave New Zealand. Is it obvious I’m super grateful?

I wanted to share my happiness and of course thank him, so I went to give him some Belgian chocolates. He recognised me when I walked in (I’ve been there so many times) and with a friendly face he asks what he can do. I tell him I’m coming to thank him, ’cause I wouldn’t still be here without him (hence the last paragraph). He was super happy with my visit, but wasn’t allowed to accept any gifts..

So now, I’m celebrating my new visa with some Belgian chocolates. To you Stephen!

Do you have any visa stories, with a happy or bad ending? Let me know!

The post My New Zealand Visa is approved! Happy dance! appeared first on The World is a Circus.

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.

The post Damn, my visa expires! The nightmare of every traveller. appeared first on The World is a Circus.