Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa
Build your life in New Zealand with your partner. The Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa lets eligible partners live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely, provided you meet the 12 month living together and partner support requirements.
What Is the Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa?
The Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa is a residence visa for people whose partner is an eligible New Zealand citizen or resident.
Unlike a temporary partnership visa, it lets you live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely once granted. Eligible dependent children aged 24 or younger can also be included in your application, provided they meet the relevant dependency, health and character requirements.
Immigration New Zealand currently lists:
• Stay: Indefinitely
• Visa cost: From NZD $5,360
• Processing: 80% within 7 months
• Permanent residence: You may apply after holding the resident visa for at least 2 years and meeting the applicable Permanent Resident Visa requirements
I like having those four facts here because they answer most of the basic SERP intent without adding another large section.
Need help with your Australian Visa?
IMMagine Immigration offers a range of immigration services, including assistance with work visa applications.
Need help with your New Zealand Visa?
A partnership application needs more than a marriage certificate, photographs or a statement that you are a couple. Immigration New Zealand looks at your living arrangements, relationship history, shared responsibilities and whether your supporting partner meets the relevant requirements.
IMMagine can review these issues before you commit to the application.
Partner Resident Visa Benefits
• Live in New Zealand indefinitely
• Work in New Zealand
• Study in New Zealand
• Include eligible dependent children aged 24 or younger
• Apply through your relationship rather than an occupation, points test or employer pathway
• Become eligible to apply for a Permanent Resident Visa after meeting the required residence period and other permanent residence criteria
How We Can Help You
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Assess whether you and your partner meet the residence requirements
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Review your 12 months of living together evidence and identify gaps
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Check whether your partner is eligible to support your application
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Organise relationship evidence into a clear timeline
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Review health, character and dependent child requirements
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Prepare and manage your application and respond to Immigration New Zealand requests
Who Can Apply for a Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa?
You may qualify if your partner is an eligible New Zealand citizen or resident and you have lived together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 12 months when you apply.
Immigration New Zealand expects evidence that you genuinely live together as a couple. This may include tenancy records, utility bills, shared finances, correspondence, photographs and other documents showing your relationship over the 12 month period.
Your partner must also be eligible to support your application. They generally cannot have successfully supported another partner for residence within the previous 5 years or supported more than one previous partner for residence.
Both you and your partner must also meet the relevant identity, health, character and immigration requirements.
Step by Step
Our Process
1. Free Eligibility Check
Complete our short questionnaire and attach your resume (or provide a summary of qualifications and work experience). Within 48 working hours, we will provide a free written assessment of Visa options.
2. Online Consultation
Book a 75–90 minute paid online consultation to explore your visa options and get answers to all your questions.
3. Visa Application
Once you decide to proceed, we will handle the preparation and processing of your visa application.
About Our Strategy Consultation
If your initial FREE assessment is evaluated as positive you will qualify for a Strategy Consultation with one of our registered migration agents.
The Strategy Consult is:
A professional assessment by a registered migration agent
A review of your most realistic visa pathways
An explanation of timelines, risks, and trade-offs
Guidance before you invest significant time or money
The Consult is NOT:
A guarantee of eligibility or visa approval
A sales call
Generalised or automated advice
People seeking guarantees
(This saves everyone time)
35 years of experience in the migration industry
Government registered/licensed migration agents with offices in Melbourne (Australia) and Auckland (New Zealand)
Success oriented fee structure with instalments paid on reaching milestones in the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Immigration New Zealand currently lists the visa cost as starting from NZD $5,360. Other expenses may include medical examinations, police certificates, translations and professional immigration advice. Government fees can change, so the amount should be checked again when you are ready to apply.
No. Immigration New Zealand recognises partnerships involving marriage, civil unions and de facto relationships. The important requirement is that you are living together in a genuine and stable relationship and meet the specific criteria for the visa. A marriage certificate alone does not replace evidence of living together.
Immigration New Zealand currently states that 80% of Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa applications are processed within 7 months. This is a processing indicator rather than a guaranteed timeframe. Individual applications can take longer where further evidence, health, character or other checks are required.
You can include eligible dependent children aged 24 or younger. Additional dependency requirements apply. Children aged 21 to 24 must generally be financially dependent, and children aged 18 or older must not have children of their own. Eligible children must also meet identity, health and character requirements.
You normally cannot meet the living together requirement for this resident visa until you have accumulated at least 12 months of qualifying cohabitation. Depending on your circumstances, a Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa or Partner of a New Zealander Visitor Visa may be worth assessing in the meantime.
In limited circumstances, yes. Immigration New Zealand may grant a Permanent Resident Visa instead where your partner is a New Zealand citizen, you have lived together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 5 years, and your partner has also lived outside New Zealand for the required 5 year period. Specific rules apply to how much time your partner may have spent in New Zealand during that period.
Not necessarily. Immigration New Zealand can consider periods when partners have lived apart. You should explain why the separation occurred, how long it lasted and how you maintained the relationship during that period. INZ then considers whether there were genuine and compelling reasons for living apart.
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