and the verdict is...

We received an e-mail this morning from INZ, a day after submitting another pile of letters and signatures and our certificate of marriage. Here's what it said:

Hi Bryan,

Thanks for your letter. I am pleased to let you know that we have approved you and your wife's work permits and your passports are now ready to collect from our office.

We have not yet finalised your Variation of Conditions application as we have had to conduct a Labour Market Test to determine whether or not there are any New Zealanders or residents in the labour force able to undertake work offered to you by Subway. This is part of our policy.

Once we receive the results of the test, we will be in touch.

Great news, eh? We're guessing it's unlikely that Bryan will continue to be able to work at Subway (or in any part-time job outside of the church), but he's hardly heartbroken about that :) I now have a work permit that allows me to work in any job for any employer, so I can begin looking for jobs and hopefully become the breadwinner for a while.

The other good news is that since our permits and visas have been approved until 20 August 2011 (a period of two years from the date that we first entered the country), we are now eligible to receive healthcare in New Zealand. No more travel insurance! We'd have preferred permits for three years, but since our police checks have still not arrived, they can't grant us anything longer. Unfortunately, this means we'll likely be going through the same process again next year, though at least now we have the documents together.

So it's official - start planning your visits!

-Rachel