If your partner is a New Zealand citizen or resident, you may be able to apply for a Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa and live, work and study in New Zealand.
To qualify, you must have been living together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 12 months when you apply. You will also need to meet the applicable health and character requirements, and your New Zealand partner must be eligible to support your application.
Applying for residence as the partner of a New Zealander can feel straightforward until you start looking at the detail. The strength of your application depends not just on whether you meet the basic requirements, but on how clearly you can demonstrate your circumstances to Immigration New Zealand.
If it feels daunting, you can start by filling out my short Partnership Eligibility Assessment, and I can guide you from there.
A Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa allows you to live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely, provided you meet the visa requirements.
You can include eligible dependent children aged 24 or younger in your application.
You do not have to be in New Zealand before you apply. If your Resident Visa is granted while you are outside New Zealand, you must enter New Zealand within 12 months of the date it is issued.
Although your right to stay in New Zealand is indefinite, your initial Resident Visa has limited travel conditions.
These normally allow you to travel in and out of New Zealand for two years from the date you first arrive as a resident. If you are already in New Zealand when your Resident Visa is issued, the two years will start from the date of issue.
After holding your Resident Visa for two years in a row, you may be able to apply for a Permanent Resident Visa, which allows you to travel in and out of New Zealand indefinitely. Alternatively, you may be able to extend your Resident Visa’s travel conditions.
If you are outside New Zealand when your travel conditions expire, your Resident Visa will expire too.
There are several key requirements you need to meet.
Your partner must be able to support your residence application and must be a New Zealand citizen or resident.
There are also requirements relating to your partner’s immigration status, character and previous partnership-based residence applications. These can affect whether they are eligible to support you, so it is important to check this as part of your eligibility assessment.
This is a key requirement for the Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa.
You and your partner must have been living together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 12 months when you apply. This is not simply a requirement to have been in a relationship for 12 months – you need to be able to demonstrate the required period of living together.
If you have not yet reached 12 months of living together, you would not meet the requirement for the Resident Visa at that point. Depending on your circumstances, a temporary Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa or Visitor Visa may provide an option while you build up the required period.
You can find more information about the different partnership visa options on my New Zealand Partnership Visas page.
Not sure whether your circumstances meet the requirements, or what evidence you may need to provide? Start with my free Partnership Eligibility Assessment, and I can help you understand the options available to you.
Immigration New Zealand looks at the overall picture of your relationship rather than relying on one particular document or factor.
This can include:
If you have spent periods living apart, you should also be able to explain why you were apart, how long the separation lasted and how you maintained your relationship during that time.
Both you and your partner must be aged 18 or over when the application is made.
Immigration New Zealand will only recognise partnership evidence from after both partners turned 18. This effectively means that the earliest you could submit a Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa application would be after both of you have turned 19, to allow for at least 12 months of eligible living together evidence to be provided.
You will need to meet Immigration New Zealand’s health and character requirements, through providing evidence of the relevant medical examinations, chest X-rays and police certificates (depending on your circumstances).
Additional complications can arise if you have a medical condition or criminal history, so it is important to consider these requirements as part of your eligibility assessment rather than leaving them until the end of the application.
This is one of the most important parts of a Partner Resident Visa application.
Immigration New Zealand defines living together as sharing the same home as your partner. It does not include simply spending time at each other’s homes, staying together while on holiday or living as flatmates.
Evidence might include a joint tenancy agreement or mortgage, joint utility bills and correspondence addressed to you both at the same address, for example.
For a Resident Visa, your evidence needs to fully cover the required 12-month period before you submit your application.
Living together does not necessarily mean you have never spent a night apart.
If you and your partner have spent periods living separately, Immigration New Zealand will want to understand the circumstances. You should explain the reason for the separation, how long you were apart and how you kept in contact during that time.
The important thing is to look at the circumstances of your relationship as a whole and provide evidence that supports your situation. We can help guide you through what Immigration New Zealand will want to see.
There is no single document that proves a relationship is genuine and stable.
Immigration New Zealand considers the overall evidence you provide, including your living arrangements, finances, shared responsibilities, relationship history and how your relationship is recognised by others. They will also want to see that the evidence you provide is consistent with the timeline of your relationship.
Depending on your circumstances, evidence could include:
Living arrangements
Financial arrangements
Your relationship history
Social recognition
The most appropriate evidence will depend on your individual circumstances. A couple who have owned a home together for many years will naturally have different evidence from a couple who have recently started living together or who have spent significant periods apart.
This is why I provide a personalised Document Checklist for every client rather than relying on a generic list of documents.
No. You can apply for a Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa while you are outside New Zealand if you wish.
If your Resident Visa is granted while you are overseas, you must enter New Zealand within 12 months of the date your visa is issued. Once you enter New Zealand as a resident, your initial travel conditions normally allow you to travel in and out of New Zealand for two years.
This means you can complete the residence application before making the move, rather than needing to relocate first and then apply.
In certain circumstances, yes.
If your partner is a New Zealand citizen (rather than a resident visa holder) and you have lived together for at least five years outside New Zealand, Immigration New Zealand may grant you a Permanent Resident Visa instead of a Resident Visa. Your partner must also meet Immigration New Zealand’s specific overseas residence and timing requirements.
This can be particularly valuable for couples who have built their life together overseas but want the security and flexibility of New Zealand permanent residence before deciding when, or whether, to move.
A Permanent Resident Visa allows you to travel to and from New Zealand indefinitely, without the travel conditions attached to an initial Resident Visa.
The eligibility criteria for this pathway are specific, and the details of your circumstances matter. I can assess whether this route may be available to you and explain what evidence will be needed to establish your eligibility.
If your Resident Visa is granted while you are outside New Zealand, you must enter New Zealand within 12 months of the date it is issued.
A Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa allows you to:
After holding a Resident Visa for two years in a row, you may be able to apply for a Permanent Resident Visa. You will need to be able to demonstrate your commitment to New Zealand and that you are of good character. If you were outside New Zealand when your Resident Visa was granted, you would start counting the two years from the date you enter New Zealand.
A Permanent Resident Visa gives you indefinite travel rights in and out of New Zealand, provided the visa remains in a valid passport.
A successful application needs to bring together your eligibility, relationship evidence and supporting documentation in a clear and consistent way.
The process generally involves:
Before preparing the application, make sure you meet the key requirements, including the 12-month living-together requirement and the requirements relating to your supporting partner and dependent children. You will also want to know if you are eligible to apply for a Partner of a New Zealander Permanent Resident Visa as this will determine what evidence you need to provide and how you complete the application form.
You will need sufficient evidence covering your period of living together and demonstrating that your relationship is genuine and stable.
This can include identity documents, evidence of your partner’s New Zealand citizenship or residence, health and character documents and documents relating to any dependent children included in the application.
You should make sure you submit all of the required supporting evidence at the point you submit your online application form.
INZ may ask for further information or evidence while assessing your application. At times, they may issue a more formal Potentially Prejudicial Information letter, if they have concerns about your application. We manage these requests and respond to INZ on behalf of our clients.
If your application is approved, Immigration New Zealand will issue your Resident Visa as an e-visa. Your visa must be linked to a valid passport for travel. If your passport expires or you get a new passport, follow Immigration New Zealand’s guidance on transferring your visa to a new passport.
The current Immigration New Zealand application fee starts from NZD $5,360.
The fee charged by Immigration New Zealand is separate from any professional fees, medical or police certificate costs, translation costs or other expenses associated with your application.
Immigration fees and requirements can change, so always check the current fee before submitting an application.
The Immigration New Zealand website currently shows that 80% of Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa applications are processed within 7 months.
Processing times often change, however, and can also vary from the published times, depending on the circumstances of the application and whether Immigration New Zealand needs additional information.
If you need to travel to New Zealand sooner, and you have not yet reached the point where you can obtain your Resident Visa, applying for a temporary partnership visa may be an option depending on your circumstances
No. Marriage is not a requirement to qualify for a Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa, but it can be useful evidence of your commitment.
What matters is whether you can demonstrate that you and your partner are living together in a genuine and stable relationship and meet the other visa requirements.
Not for the Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa. You must have been living together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 12 months when you apply.
If you have not yet reached 12 months, you may have other temporary partnership visa options depending on your circumstances.
The length of your relationship does not replace the 12-month living-together requirement for the Resident Visa.
If you have not yet lived together for 12 months, you would need to consider another visa option (potentially a temporary partnership visa) while you build up the required period.
Yes. You do not need to be living in New Zealand when you apply.
If your Resident Visa is granted while you are outside New Zealand, you must enter New Zealand within 12 months of the visa being issued.
Eligible dependent children aged 24 or younger can be included in a Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa application. The definition of a dependent child varies according to age and circumstances.
If your children are already New Zealand citizens, they do not need a New Zealand visa.
Yes. A Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa allows you to work in New Zealand, subject to the usual requirements for lawful employment and any occupational registration that applies to your work. It also allows you to be self-employed.
Previous partnership-based residence applications can affect whether your partner is eligible to support your application. The rules depend on the circumstances of previous applications, so it is important to check your partner’s eligibility before proceeding.
Applying for residence is a significant step. The application needs to demonstrate not only that you meet the requirements, but that the evidence you provide clearly supports your circumstances.
As a Licensed New Zealand Immigration Adviser based in the UK, I can take you through the process from your initial eligibility assessment through to the submission of your application.
My Partner Resident Visa service includes:
My role is not simply to tell you which documents to provide. I look at your circumstances as a whole, identify any potential issues and help you present your application clearly and consistently. I’m also there to support you from start to finish, and answer any questions you have, big or small.
That means you don’t have to work out the immigration requirements on your own or wonder whether the evidence you have collected is enough.
If you are planning to move to New Zealand with your partner but are not sure which visa is right for you, start with my free Partnership Eligibility Assessment.
It will help establish which pathway may be appropriate for your circumstances and whether you are ready to apply for residence.
If you already know that the Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa is the right pathway for you and would like professional help with your application, I would be happy to discuss how I can help.