Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa

If your partner is a New Zealand citizen or resident, the Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa may provide a pathway for you to live in New Zealand permanently.

This visa is designed for people who are in a genuine and stable relationship with an eligible New Zealand citizen or resident. It can apply whether you are married, in a civil union, or in a de facto relationship.

Who can apply?

To qualify, you will generally need to show that you and your New Zealand partner have been living together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 12 months when the residence application is made.

Simply being married or engaged is not enough. Immigration New Zealand will look closely at the nature of the relationship and whether you have genuinely established a shared life together.

Your New Zealand partner must also meet the applicable requirements to support a partnership-based residence application.

Proving your relationship

Evidence of living together and sharing your lives is an important part of the application.

Useful evidence can include a joint tenancy or property documents, utility bills, bank statements, correspondence sent to the same address, joint financial commitments, photographs, travel records, messages and other evidence showing the history and development of the relationship.

Evidence from family members and friends may also help establish that the relationship is genuine and recognised by others.

The quality and consistency of the evidence is important. Immigration New Zealand may consider the entire history of the relationship rather than relying on any single document.

What does “living together” mean?

Living together generally means sharing the same home as partners. Spending time together while maintaining separate homes will not necessarily satisfy this requirement.

Temporary periods apart do not automatically prevent an application from succeeding. Couples may need to live apart temporarily because of work, travel, family responsibilities or immigration circumstances. Where this happens, it is important to explain the separation and provide evidence showing that the relationship continued during that period.

What does the visa allow?

If your application is approved, the Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa allows you to live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely.

Residence also provides a pathway towards a Permanent Resident Visa once the relevant requirements are met.

In some circumstances, a person who has been living overseas with their New Zealand citizen partner for a sufficiently long period may be eligible to receive permanent residence directly, subject to meeting Immigration New Zealand’s requirements.

Can dependent children be included?

Eligible dependent children can generally be included in a partnership-based residence application, provided they meet the applicable immigration, dependency, health and character requirements.

Where children from a previous relationship are involved, additional evidence concerning custody, guardianship or the right to remove the child from their home country may be required.

Health and character requirements

Applicants must meet the applicable health and character requirements for New Zealand residence.

Depending on the applicant’s circumstances, Immigration New Zealand may require medical examinations, chest X-rays and police certificates. Any significant medical or character issue should be identified and addressed carefully as part of the application.
What if you have not lived together for 12 months?

If you are in a genuine relationship with a New Zealand citizen or resident but have not yet accumulated the required period of living together for residence, a partnership-based work or visitor visa may be an option.

This can allow a couple to live together in New Zealand and build the period of cohabitation and supporting evidence needed for a later residence application, provided the temporary visa requirements are met.

Preparing a strong application

Partnership residence applications are evidence-heavy. Immigration New Zealand needs to be satisfied not only that a relationship exists, but that it is genuine, stable and meets the living-together requirements.

A well-prepared application should provide a clear chronology of the relationship, strong evidence of cohabitation and shared life, and explanations for any periods of separation or apparent gaps in the documentary evidence.

For couples who meet the requirements, the Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa can provide a pathway to establishing their future together permanently in New Zealand.