Applying for Visitor Visa with Deferred RV

'If my spouse and son would join me in traveling to New Zealand, can they temporarily get a Tourist/Visitor's visa?  Will it not cancel their application for residence?'

We asked our case officer this question and here was her answer:

"Your spouse and child can try to apply for a visitor visa separately through your nearest INZ Branch. But there is no guarantee that it would be approved. Anyway, it won’t affect your residence visa application."

We asked this question when we were contemplating on whether to join my husband in going to NZ or stay in PH while waiting for him to get settled.  We applied for Residence Visa (RV) but was granted Work To Residence (WTR) or Job Search Visa (JSV).  If this is the case, only the primary applicant gets a JSV. The RV application will be deferred until the main applicant obtains a skilled employment and gets approval of the original application for RV.

So that's what we did as opting for a separate visa application will cause us more stress. We waited for my husband to obtain skilled employment and get settled here in NZ then we continued with our original application for RV which was finally approved a month after my husband signed a job offer and and lodged our requirements.