If you’re the partner of a New Zealand citizen or resident, you may be able to obtain a New Zealand Partner Visa to live, work and build your life together in New Zealand.
There are several partnership-based visa options, including temporary Work and Visitor Visas and the Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa. The right option will depend on your circumstances, including your relationship, how long you have been living together and your plans for moving to New Zealand.
As a Licensed New Zealand Immigration Adviser, I can help you understand which visa may be right for you, assess your eligibility and guide you through the application process.
It all starts with filling out my short Partnership Eligibility Assessment, and I can guide you from there.
If you have been living together with your New Zealand partner for 12 months or more, you may be granted a temporary visa based on your relationship for up to 36 months.
If you have been living together with your New Zealand partner for less than 12 months, you may still be granted a temporary visa based on your relationship (for up to 12 months), depending on the length of time living together and how genuine and stable your relationship is.
A Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa will allow you to work in any job for any employer for the duration of your visa.
To apply for a New Zealand Partnership Work Visa, you will need to:
If you are looking to move to New Zealand with your New Zealand partner but don’t plan to work while you are there, you may want to consider a Partner of a New Zealander Visitor Visa.
As with the Partner Work Visa, if you have been living together with your New Zealand partner for 12 months or more, you may be granted a temporary visa based on your relationship for up to 36 months.
If you have been living together for less than 12 months, you may still be granted a temporary visa based on your relationship for up to 12 months, depending on how long you have been living together and whether Immigration New Zealand considers your relationship to be genuine and stable.
If you have been living together with your New Zealand citizen or resident partner for at least 12 months, you may be eligible for a Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa.
A Resident Visa allows you to live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely. Your Resident Visa will normally include travel conditions allowing you to travel in and out of New Zealand for two years. After which you will need to apply for a Permanent Resident Visa or, in some circumstances, a variation of your travel conditions if you want to continue travelling in and out of New Zealand without your Resident Visa expiring when you leave New Zealand.
To qualify for a Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa, you will need to show that you and your partner have been living together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 12 months, as well as meeting the applicable health and character requirements.
The evidence you provide is an important part of your application. Immigration New Zealand will consider evidence of your living arrangements, shared finances and commitments, communication and the history of your relationship.
If you are not yet eligible for residence because you have not lived together for 12 months, a Partner of a New Zealander Visitor Visa or Work Visa may be an option while you build up the required period.
For a detailed explanation of the eligibility requirements, living-together evidence and application process, read my guide to the Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa.
Take our free New Zealand Partnership Visa Eligibility Assessment to find out if you are eligible.
If you have been living together with your New Zealand partner for at least 5 years outside of New Zealand and they are a citizen (rather than a resident), you may be eligible for a Permanent Resident Visa. This is a great opportunity if you meet the eligibility criteria, as you usually need to spend at least 2 years on a Resident Visa before applying for permanent residence.
A Partner of a New Zealander Permanent Resident Visa provides you with complete flexibility, as there is no time limit you need to enter New Zealand by, and your visa does not come with travel conditions that limit the time you can travel in and out of New Zealand.
Take our free New Zealand Partnership Visa Eligibility Assessment to find out if you are eligible.
Immigration New Zealand isn’t assessing how loving or committed your relationship feels — they’re looking for clear, practical evidence that your partnership is genuine, stable, and likely to continue.
The key areas they focus on include:
Living together: Evidence that you share a home, or have a clear and consistent pattern of living together when circumstances allow.
Financial interdependence: Signs that you manage some aspects of life jointly — shared accounts, bills, purchases, or financial responsibilities.
Shared commitments: Practical indicators of a life built together, such as joint plans, travel, pets, children, or long‑term arrangements.
Communication and history: A consistent timeline showing how your relationship developed and how you maintain it, especially if you’ve spent time apart.
Social recognition: Proof that friends, family, employers, or landlords recognise your relationship as genuine and long‑term.
Immigration New Zealand’s assessment is evidence-based, so clear and consistent evidence can make a significant difference to your application.
As a Licensed New Zealand Immigration Adviser specialising in partner visas, I help you understand what evidence is relevant to your circumstances and how to present it clearly.
Most couples tell me the process feels overwhelming at first. Not because their relationship isn’t genuine, but because it’s hard to know what Immigration New Zealand expects or how much evidence is enough. My role is to make the steps clear, remove the guesswork and help you feel confident that your application reflects your relationship.
You will get:
Immigration New Zealand looks at the overall picture of your relationship, including your living arrangements, finances, shared commitments, communication and how your relationship is recognised by others.
There is no single piece of evidence that guarantees a successful application. The most important thing is that your evidence is genuine, consistent and clearly supports your circumstances.
All our clients receive a tailored Document Checklist explaining exactly what evidence to provide.
Whilst there is no upper age limit, both the applicant and the supporting partner must be 18 or over at the time the application is submitted. Immigration New Zealand will only accept partnership evidence from after both partners have turned 18. Any evidence from before both individuals were 18 will not be used to assess the relationship.
Immigration instructions can and do change for all visa categories, including Partner Visas. This can happen with little or no warning. I always ensure the advice I provide is based on the most up to date immigration instructions.
You can read about the most recent Partner Visa changes in our News page.
If you’d like to explore the partner visa process in more depth, these short guides walk you through the key parts of the journey and what couples often find most helpful when preparing their application:
What Immigration New Zealand is Really Looking For in a Partnership Visa Application
A Step-by-Step Guide to Securing Your Partner of a New Zealander Visa
See my LinkedIn article on the key factors INZ considers when assessing partner visas
