Tip to everyone planning to apply for partner visas

[Els]

TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES.

 

It doesn't matter if you're a photo person or if you can't stand those horrible camera contraptions and wish they were never invented - take them.

 

You may or may not need them depending on what country you're going for but if you do, you'll wish you had them, and you can't just magic them up then.

 

This is a partial rant because the bf and I just hate taking photos - well, we love taking photos, but we hate them being taken of us. So we have 234273823827 photos of scenery, food, and other stuff, but 10 of ourselves in 3 years. And immigration officers don't like that, and it's causing us a helluva lot of trouble now.

 

TAKE DEM PHOTOS.

[cerridwen]

TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES.

 

It doesn't matter if you're a photo person or if you can't stand those horrible camera contraptions and wish they were never invented - take them.

 

You may or may not need them depending on what country you're going for but if you do, you'll wish you had them, and you can't just magic them up then.

 

This is a partial rant because the bf and I just hate taking photos - well, we love taking photos, but we hate them being taken of us. So we have 234273823827 photos of scenery, food, and other stuff, but 10 of ourselves in 3 years. And immigration officers don't like that, and it's causing us a helluva lot of trouble now.

 

TAKE DEM PHOTOS.

 

And GET BOTH OF YOUR FACES IN THEM!

[Els]

Yeah, that's the hard bit ain't it? If both of you are out with just each other then you constantly need to trouble strangers to take them for you. I need to learn the camwhore trick of stretching the phone out to take the photo backwards, but that just looks so... camwhorish.

[bluegreen]

Just seeing this post or thinking about this makes me wanna weep bitter tears

Cameras make me look awfull especialy pc ones why I don't freaking know.

Hate other type ones to while in real life I been called from cute to beautiful go figure God are we not suffering enough already in this relationships why add insult to an injury eh ....

[Els]

I hate photos of myself too, for some reason I look retarded in them. I think it's probably cause I have no idea how to pose properly for photos.

 

Chin up, don't worry about whether or not you're photogenic, it's a visa you're applying for and not a beauty contest!

[Els]

HOW do people get so many photos of themselves without doing the backwards-cam trick anyway? Proper photos, from a distance.

 

Do they carry tripods around with them and set the timer?

Or ask someone to help them out everywhere they go?

 

Need... moar.. photos...

[cerridwen]

HOW do people get so many photos of themselves without doing the backwards-cam trick anyway? Proper photos, from a distance.

 

Do they carry tripods around with them and set the timer?

Or ask someone to help them out everywhere they go?

 

Need... moar.. photos...

 

We're in the same boat, Els.

 

6 trips...tons of pics of the view out the window...a handful of us, 75% of which have half our faces showing.

 

Rightfully so, Pyro called me the worst photographer on record.

 

You know to save receipts of events, boarding passes, tickets to things you've attended together, right?

 

Perhaps this doesn't apply to your visa but for some, it will.

[Pyro]

Elswyth this thread would have been more helpful for Cerridwen certain people here if you would have posted it about six months ago.

 

Because of the delay we have Cerridwen people in LDR relationships taking the worst photos that I have ever seen.

[cerridwen]

Elswyth this thread would have been more helpful for Cerridwen certain people here if you would have posted it about six months ago.

 

Because of the delay we have Cerridwen people in LDR relationships taking the worst photos that I have ever seen.

 

I'm going to hunt down that one photo and post it in my profile as a cautionary tale.

 

Don't let this be you, people!

[Pyro]

I'm going to hunt down that one photo and post it in my profile as a cautionary tale.

 

Don't let this be you, people!

 

This is a photo and this a photo being taken by Cerridwen. Any questions?

[LittleTiger]

HOW do people get so many photos of themselves without doing the backwards-cam trick anyway? Proper photos, from a distance.

 

Do they carry tripods around with them and set the timer?

Or ask someone to help them out everywhere they go?

 

Need... moar.. photos...

 

We don't carry a tripod but kiwi man is pretty inventive with using the landscape as props for pretty much any eventuality - not just photos. He tells me all kiwi men have this trait but it makes me swoon nonetheless.

 

Most of our photos have been taken with the camera on timer and propped up on a table, chair, wall, hedge, rock, plank of wood, shoes, clothes - pretty much anything that will hold the weight of the camera. We took one in a hot tub with the camera on the edge of the pool - be careful not to splash!

 

In most cases it's impossible to tell that our photos weren't taken by a third party.

 

It helps to have a good lens too, so you can focus whatever the distance from the camera you have to be.

 

Sorry to hear lack of photos is causing problems for you - it's a great tip for new LDRers though.

[Els]

We're in the same boat, Els.

 

6 trips...tons of pics of the view out the window...a handful of us, 75% of which have half our faces showing.

 

Rightfully so, Pyro called me the worst photographer on record.

 

You know to save receipts of events, boarding passes, tickets to things you've attended together, right?

 

Perhaps this doesn't apply to your visa but for some, it will.

 

I think I'll have you beat for the worst photographer on record. Some of our trips don't have ANY photos of us.

 

Yup, the receipts are a good tip. Interestingly enough I am a bit of a record hoarder so I do have receipts. The funniest bit is the proof of living together for a year. We didn't actually start out living together with the intention of me applying for a partner visa, but when we did decide to do so, I found that we had all the proof needed simply because I had not bothered to throw out any mail since we started. :laugh:

 

Elswyth this thread would have been more helpful for Cerridwen certain people here if you would have posted it about six months ago.

 

Because of the delay we have Cerridwen people in LDR relationships taking the worst photos that I have ever seen.

 

Believe me, it would have been more helpful for me as well as cerridwen certain people if I had only known it half a year ago too!

 

We don't carry a tripod but kiwi man is pretty inventive with using the landscape as props for pretty much any eventuality - not just photos. He tells me all kiwi men have this trait but it makes me swoon nonetheless.

 

Most of our photos have been taken with the camera on timer and propped up on a table, chair, wall, hedge, rock, plank of wood, shoes, clothes - pretty much anything that will hold the weight of the camera. We took one in a hot tub with the camera on the edge of the pool - be careful not to splash!

 

In most cases it's impossible to tell that our photos weren't taken by a third party.

 

It helps to have a good lens too, so you can focus whatever the distance from the camera you have to be.

 

Sorry to hear lack of photos is causing problems for you - it's a great tip for new LDRers though.

 

Oh, cool, that's a neat idea. We don't have a proper camera - we use a smart phone to take pictures with, so it'll probably be a bit trickier to balance than a camera, but we could try.

 

Fortunately I don't need partner residence to stay here, barring unforeseen circumstances - grad students are eligible for student visas for the entirety of their programme, renewable each year. Permanent residence is just a certainty I want to have, as opposed to going from one temporary visa to another.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Elswyth

[CherryT]

Yeah, that's the hard bit ain't it? If both of you are out with just each other then you constantly need to trouble strangers to take them for you. I need to learn the camwhore trick of stretching the phone out to take the photo backwards, but that just looks so... camwhorish.

 

Oh, we camwhore!! haha. It's the only way. Sometimes we ask strangers if they look like they'd be open to taking just one of us. But other than that, we just camwhore ourselves. We don't care if we look good, we just want the memories for when we're a part... it's nice to look back on a rough day and remember why we go through this. So luckily for us, we'll have tonnes of pictures. What other tips can you give us on partner visas? judging by some of the visa feedback I've gotten, this may be our only option.

[Els]

Oh, we camwhore!! haha. It's the only way. Sometimes we ask strangers if they look like they'd be open to taking just one of us. But other than that, we just camwhore ourselves. We don't care if we look good, we just want the memories for when we're a part... it's nice to look back on a rough day and remember why we go through this. So luckily for us, we'll have tonnes of pictures. What other tips can you give us on partner visas? judging by some of the visa feedback I've gotten, this may be our only option.

 

Yeah, definitely time to camwhore more!

 

I have plenty of tips, such as saving correspondence and creating a joint bank account, but they might not be applicable to the USA. Best if you read up on the immigration website instead, I think.

[anne1707]

It's not just photos of you together that can help but also photos of you both with each others' families, friends etc especially at Christmas, special holidays, birthdays etc

[FitChick]

Years ago a coworker had a sham wedding to get someone into the country. This was before they fined and jailed you. They staged all sorts of scenarios with them doing things together or with their friends. They even both cut their hair so it looked like an earlier photo. Pretty funny actually.

[amazingdrummer]

I deleted half of our photos cuz I looked fat in them. Yeah, it served me right.

[carhill]

When I was dating internationally, it was during the advent of digital consumer cameras and I recall either myself or my girlfriend approaching staff or passersby to take a 'tacky tourist photo' of us. I understood from other guys who had gone through the K1 back then that it was important to having 'couple' pictures with clearly identifiable in-country landmarks/scenery, hence 'tacky tourist photos'. I have them from castles, flea markets, the circus, etc, etc. Never went through the K1 but found the advice to be sound. It's an aspect of authenticity which immigration looks at. Good advice.

[Els]

When I was dating internationally, it was during the advent of digital consumer cameras and I recall either myself or my girlfriend approaching staff or passersby to take a 'tacky tourist photo' of us. I understood from other guys who had gone through the K1 back then that it was important to having 'couple' pictures with clearly identifiable in-country landmarks/scenery, hence 'tacky tourist photos'. I have them from castles, flea markets, the circus, etc, etc. Never went through the K1 but found the advice to be sound. It's an aspect of authenticity which immigration looks at. Good advice.

 

Yeah, silly me thought that the ~10 photos that friends etc had taken of us should be enough, because who the heck gets people in to stage photos like that?

 

Clearly I was naive.

[Pyro]

Yeah, silly me thought that the ~10 photos that friends etc had taken of us should be enough, because who the heck gets people in to stage photos like that?

 

Clearly I was naive.

 

10 photos was not enough? Is that what you are saying?

[Els]

10 photos was not enough? Is that what you are saying?

 

Yes, for my application at least.

[Pyro]

Yes, for my application at least.

 

It really does vary per country.

 

We got away with 5 or 6.

[Els]

It really does vary per country.

 

We got away with 5 or 6.

 

Yep. Here they are quite strict with partner visas - even couples who have been married for decades with the kids to show for it have to live together for a year and show proof thereof, as well as all the other evidence that everyone else needs. We also sit for interviews where they interrogate us on our partner's daily habits, and there are surprise visits by officers. It is good in a way because it's harder for scammers to commit to a year together and do all that compared to just getting a marriage cert, and also acknowledges de facto couples and civil union couples (gays/lesbians) as being legally equal to marriage. But the requirements are so strict that most couples who have been together already still take a year to prepare after they decide to apply, cause they threw away their mail or didn't have pictures or something.

 

Admittedly I am applying for a residence visa, not just a temporary visa, so it might be different.

[LittleTiger]

Yep. Here they are quite strict with partner visas - even couples who have been married for decades with the kids to show for it have to live together for a year and show proof thereof, as well as all the other evidence that everyone else needs. We also sit for interviews where they interrogate us on our partner's daily habits, and there are surprise visits by officers. It is good in a way because it's harder for scammers to commit to a year together and do all that compared to just getting a marriage cert, and also acknowledges de facto couples and civil union couples (gays/lesbians) as being legally equal to marriage. But the requirements are so strict that most couples who have been together already still take a year to prepare after they decide to apply, cause they threw away their mail or didn't have pictures or something.

 

Admittedly I am applying for a residence visa, not just a temporary visa, so it might be different.

 

This is exactly the problem we have - this living together for a year rule! I just can't afford to abandon my UK business, sell up everything and move 12,000 miles to NZ with my pets and my belongings, without a cast iron guarantee that my permanent resident's visa will be approved. We have loads of photos for when we can eventually find a solution, and they could interrogate us all they liked and we'd probably pass with flying colours, but we simply cannot live together for a whole year. Damn immigration rules!

[Els]

This is exactly the problem we have - this living together for a year rule! I just can't afford to abandon my UK business, sell up everything and move 12,000 miles to NZ with my pets and my belongings, without a cast iron guarantee that my permanent resident's visa will be approved. We have loads of photos for when we can eventually find a solution, and they could interrogate us all they liked and we'd probably pass with flying colours, but we simply cannot live together for a whole year. Damn immigration rules!

 

Oh, I think you can apply for a partner visa (not residence) with only a month of living together or so, and renew it til you reach a year, after which you apply for residence. And if you've gotten a partner visa approved before, you're much more likely to get residence via partnership than someone applying off the bat, cause all you need to do is submit updated proof at the end that the R is still ongoing.

 

But I hear you, it's hard to move if you have a lot tying you back home and you need the certainty of residence before you give up all of that. It's tough.