Can my partner work while our partnership visa is being processed?

Usually your partner cannot start working just because an application has been lodged. Work rights come from holding a visa that grants them - they do not begin simply because a partnership visa is in progress. If your partner is on a visitor visa while waiting, that visa carries no work rights, and working without the right visa can seriously harm a future application.

Once a partner of a New Zealander work visa is granted, it normally comes with open work rights, meaning your partner can work for almost any employer in almost any role without the employer needing to do anything extra. The key point is that those rights start from the grant of the visa, not from the date you applied.

If your partner currently holds a visa with valid conditions, those existing conditions continue until that visa expires. Because the rules around interim periods can be tricky, it is worth checking your specific situation with MyLaw before anyone starts work.