Just over a year after the decision to throw it all in and embark on an adventure in New Zealand – and after countless hours of preparation, nerves, paperwork and more coordination than we care to remember – the moment has finally come:

WE GOT RESIDENCY!!!

For those who aren’t sure what that means: Residency is permanent the right to live in New Zealand. In plain terms: we’re allowed to stay. We can buy a house. We can vote in the next election. And in five years, we could even apply for New Zealand citizenship. In short: New Zealand has officially accepted us – and we are very happy to accept that 😊

The road to get here: nerves, paperwork and endless forms

In the middle of last year we made the decision: study in NZ, job in NZ, Residency in NZ. Sounds simple. It wasn’t.

For six months, Thomas and I sat down every evening – as soon as the kids were in bed – for at least one to two hours in front of our computers, preparing, organising, filling in forms, translating, getting things certified and starting all over again. University applications to submit, English to study for the obligatory tests. Anyone who thinks emigrating is a spontaneous adventure has clearly never filled in a New Zealand immigration application.

What needed to be translated and officially certified? Brace yourselves: birth certificates for all family members, marriage certificate, divorce decrees, custody orders, school reports, university degrees, professional qualifications and employment references, police clearance certificates, health insurance records and medical documents, as well as proof of sufficient financial means. Every single document – translated, certified, submitted. Welcome to the paper jungle.

Then the big one: proving that we are genuinely in a real relationship. Yes, you read that right – a marriage certificate is not enough in NZ. The immigration authority wants to make sure it’s not a sham marriage. What made things more complicated: we didn’t have a shared address in Germany – each part of our blended family was registered at their own long-established home address. Two separate addresses, no children in common – which looks pretty much like a fake marriage on paper! 😄

And yes, we are a wonderfully chaotic blended family of six children – but none of them are ours together. Not for lack of trying on the kids‘ part, mind you. They came to us in all seriousness with the argument: „But we’d get up in the night to settle the baby too!“ Sure you would. We can kid ourselves just fine, thank you. Veto applied 😄

So we wrote a multi-page document describing our relationship in full detail – complete with family photos – and two close friends kindly wrote letters on our behalf confirming that we are, in fact, a real family. All without the need for a diary of intimate encounters, naturally 😉

Meanwhile: organising the sale of two houses, clearing out two households, running a flea market, giving things away, selling on eBay, booking a container. In between: farewell parties – at what felt like fortnightly intervals. Then the medical examination, which in Germany can only be carried out by specific approved doctors in Berlin or Frankfurt – so off to Frankfurt we went (see that blog post). English tests for everyone. And finally, once already in New Zealand: finding a job that meets the requirements for Residency – see the Prostitution Blog 😉

According to our immigration adviser, the process typically takes eight to ten weeks from submission to decision. In the meantime, all passports – including the children’s German ones – had to be sent to Auckland so that Immigration New Zealand could take copies. Thankfully they came back quickly and in one piece.

And then, thanks to the outstanding preparation by Peter and his team – after just five weeks, the call came.

Wednesday, 9 o’clock in the morning, I’m sitting at my desk at work. My phone rings – Anna from the immigration advisory team. Her voice: excited. Her opening words: „Vroni, you can pop the champagne – your application has been approved. You have Residency!“

In the open-plan office I managed to hold back a very loud cheer – but inside I completely lost it for a moment. And then I immediately shared the news with my colleagues, one by one. Twice. 😄

A huge heartfelt thank you to Anna, Erik, Katharina and Peter from the Peter Hahn team for the outstanding support over the past two years.

And by the way, this is what Residency looks like on paper – rather anticlimactic for something we worked so hard for:

What a move like this actually costs – in the spirit of full transparency

We’re often asked what all of this actually costs. So here’s an honest breakdown – because dreams, as everyone knows, come with a price tag:

The large container that moved both our households to New Zealand: around €15,000. Immigration advisory services including all translation costs, English tests and visa applications to INZ: another €15,000. The medical examination – which, by the way, can only be carried out by two certified doctors in the whole of Germany: €2,500. AirBnB accommodation while we searched for a rental house: around €10,000. And then the biggest item on the list: international student tuition fees – a whopping €30,000. That said, we are already getting around 30% of that back from the third semester onwards, now that thanks to our Residency we only pay the considerably lower domestic Kiwi fees. A very welcome silver lining. And Thomas? He can now take all the time in the world – he could theoretically drop out at any point, but he’s genuinely loving it and building a growing Kiwi network along the way. Win-win.

All in all: a solid five-figure sum – but measured against what we’ve gained, it feels like the best investment we’ve ever made 😊

The celebration – Kiwi style

Wednesday evening brought a well-earned celebration, just the two of us: we popped the champagne over a Chinese dinner – in the most literal sense. And with a rather special soundtrack in the background: next door, at Wolfbrook Stadium – one of Christchurch’s largest event venues – Ferdinand was simultaneously competing in the Canterbury Maths Challenge. This is an annual regional mathematics competition in which students from across the Canterbury region work in teams to solve fiendishly tricky mathematical problems – against the clock, with brainpower and a healthy dose of nerves. So while we were clinking glasses, Ferdinand was solving equations next door 😄

What this means for us now

From now on, Thomas and the kids can travel back to Germany whenever they like – as long as I, as the primary applicant, spend at least 184 days per year in NZ for the next two years. After those two years, we will receive the final, permanent right of residence – and then we can do whatever we want, wherever we want.

And one more thing: we will be renaming our blog. From „Vroni and Thomi studying in NZ“ to „Emigrating to NZ“. Because we’re allowed to stay – forever – if we choose to 😊

Kisses to the Northern Hemisphere 🌍