Partnership
If you are applying for a visa based on your partnership, find out how we define partnership and what evidence you can provide to show your relationship is genuine.
How we define partnership
We define partnership as 2 people, who live together in a genuine and stable relationship in any of the following:
a legal marriage
a civil union
a de facto relationship.
Providing evidence of your partnership
You must be able to show us that you and your partner are living together in a genuine and stable relationship before we can approve a visa application based on your partnership.
Living together
Living together means sharing the same home as your partner.
This does not include:
spending time in each other’s homes while you each maintain your own home
sharing accommodation while on holiday
living as flatmates in the same house.
Evidence showing you are living together can include:
joint ownership of, or home loan for, residential property
a joint rental agreement or rental receipts
joint utility accounts, like power or phone bills
joint or individual mail sent to your shared address.
For some partnership applications (such as a Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa), evidence of living together must cover a period of 12 months. Make sure you check the category you're applying under to see if we need this from you.
You can provide us with items showing your shared address, dated every few months, to cover the full duration.
These items can be addressed to you both jointly — or individually — as long as we can see that you have both been at the same address for the same period of time.
Having a genuine and stable relationship
Evidence of having a genuine and stable relationship needs to show that:
others recognise your relationship
you make decisions and plans together
you spend leisure time together
you parent together, if you have children.
Evidence can include:
marriage or civil union certificates
birth certificates for any children you share
joint bank accounts being used frequently
joint ownership of any assets
joint credit cards or hire purchase agreements of things such as home appliances
any mutually agreed financial arrangements
cards, letters or emails sent to you and your partner
chat records and communication between you and your partner
social media posts or photos of you together
letters of support that recognise your partnership.
How to supply this evidence
The way we want to receive this evidence depends on how you are applying.
Applying by paper
If you apply by paper for a residence visa, we must receive originals or certified copies. You can send electronically issued documents as we regard those as originals.
Applying online
If you apply online, we accept scanned images — so you do not need to send us originals or certified copies.
Minimum requirements
You and your supporting partner must:
be aged 18 or older, or have the consent of your parents or guardians if you are aged 16 or 17
have met each other before applying for a visa based on your partnership
not be close relatives.
Supporting partners
When you apply for a visa based on your partnership with a New Zealand visa holder or New Zealand citizen, we call that person your supporting partner.
Good character for supporting partners
See also the requirements for supporting partners in the 'Eligible NZ supporting partner' and 'Your partner's' sections for these visas:
Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa
Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa
Partner of a New Zealander Visitor Visa
How we assess partnership
When we assess your visa application, we consider things like:
how long you have been together
how committed you are to a life together
any children you have together, including your arrangements for their care
whether other people recognise your relationship.
We will also look at your living and financial arrangements, including:
how long you have been living together as a couple
your living arrangements
whether you share common household tasks
whether you support each other financially
how you share financial responsibilities
whether you own property together or share your property.
If you have not always lived together
If you and your partner have spent time living apart, you should provide information about your separation, including:
the reasons you were living apart
how long you were living apart
how you kept in touch while you were not living together.
We will use the information you provide to assess whether you and your partner have genuine and compelling reasons to have stayed apart.
Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa
This visa allows you to get New Zealand residence if you have a partner who is a New Zealand citizen or resident.
With this visa you can
Live, work, and study in New Zealand.
Include dependent children, aged 24 and under, in your visa application.
Things to note
If your partner’s New Zealand residence is based on their Australian citizenship, Australian permanent residence or resident return visa, you can only apply for this visa if your partner lives in New Zealand.
If your partner is a New Zealand citizen and the two of you have been living together outside of New Zealand for 5 years or more, you may be granted a permanent resident visa. Your partner will need to be either overseas when you apply, or have been back in New Zealand for less than 3 months.
What you need to apply
Identity
You must provide proof of your identity
1 acceptable photo if you apply online, or 2 photos if you use a paper application.
Your passport or certificate of identity.
A copy of your full birth certificate if you apply online, or your original, full birth certificate or a certified copy if you use a paper application form.
ACCEPTABLE PHOTOS
If you apply online, you must upload a copy of your passport. After you’ve applied, we’ll tell you when to send us your passport.
If you use a paper application form, you may send us your passport, or a certified copy. If you provide a certified copy, we’ll tell you when to send us your passport.
Health
You must be in good health
You must have a chest x-ray and a medical examination as proof of your good health.
GETTING AN X-RAY OR MEDICAL EXAMINATION
Character
You must be of good character
You may need to provide police certificates as proof of your good character.
If you're aged 17 and over and will stay in New Zealand for more than 24 months, you must provide police certificates from:
your country(s) of citizenship
any other country where you’ve spent 12 months or more over the last 10 years, even if you didn’t spend that 12 months all in one visit
You don't need to provide police certificates if you have provided them to us with an earlier visa application, and they were issued in the previous 24 months.
GOOD CHARACTER
POLICE CERTIFICATES
Your partner’s immigration status
Your partner must be a New Zealand citizen or resident
Your partner must provide one of the following:
a New Zealand passport
a New Zealand birth certificate
a certificate of New Zealand citizenship
a New Zealand residence class visa.
If your partner is a New Zealand resident because of their citizenship or residence status in Australia, they may provide their Australian passport, permanent residence or resident return visa.
TIPS
If you apply online, you must upload a copy of this evidence with your application.
If you use a paper application form, you must send us either the original document, or a certified copy.
Your partner’s place of residence
Partners who have New Zealand residence because they have an Australian passport, permanent residence or resident return visa, must live in New Zealand
If this applies, your partner must provide evidence that they live in New Zealand, this could include:
letters or bills addressed to them
employment records
records of benefit payments from Work and Income, or tax records from Inland Revenue
mortgage, tenancy or utility supply agreements
documents showing their household effects have been moved to New Zealand
any other documents you think prove they live in New Zealand.
Your partner’s character
Your partner must be of good character
Your partner must provide a police certificate from any country they have spent 12 months or more in over the last 10 years. This applies whether the time was spent in one or more visits.
Your partner will not meet our character requirements if they have any convictions for domestic violence or sexual offences. If your partner does not meet our character requirements, we will consider whether they are eligible for a character waiver.
HOW TO GET A POLICE CERTIFICATE
YOUR PARTNER'S CHARACTER
TIPS
Your partner doesn’t need to provide a New Zealand police certificate – we can arrange this on their behalf.
Eligible NZ supporting partner
Your partner must be eligible to support your application
To be eligible to support your resident visa application your partner must not:
have supported a successful residence application for more than one previous partner
have supported a successful residence application for a previous partner in the last 5 years
have included a previous partner in a successful residence application in the last 5 years
have been included as a partner in a successful residence application in the last 5 years
be liable for deportation, or have their deportation liability suspended.
Your partner must complete a ‘Partnership support form for Residence/temporary entry’ as evidence of their support’.
Partnership Support Form for Residence (INZ 1178)PDF 281KB
TIPS
You can read more about residence in the 'Self-Assessment Guide for Residence in New Zealand'.
Self-Assessment Guide for Residence in New Zealand (INZ 1003)
Your relationship with your partner
You and your partner must have been living together in a genuine and stable relationship for 12 months or more
You must provide evidence that you and your partner are living together in a genuine and stable relationship.
Your evidence should show:
how long you’ve been together
how long you’ve been living together
that you share finances and other responsibilities
that you spend time together, eg photos together, emails and social media conversations between you
that other people recognise your relationship
anything else you think shows you and your partner are living together in a genuine and stable relationship.
PARTNERSHIP
Relationship with family
Your dependent children must meet the requirements for a resident visa
To include dependent children in your residence application:
they must meet the identity, health and character requirements for this visa
they must be single and 24 or under
they must rely on an adult for financial support
you must be their parent or legal guardian
you must have the legal right to remove them from their home country (if aged 15 or under).
DEPENDENT CHILDREN
Dependent children
Your children must be single and 24 or under
For us to consider your children dependent, they must be single and either:
17 or under
18-24 with no children of their own.
We’ll ask you to sign a declaration that your children are single when you complete your residence application.
We’ll use the documents you provide as proof of your children’s identity to confirm their age.
DEPENDENT CHILDREN
TIPS
Children living with a partner are not considered to be single, even if they’ve been living with their partner for less than a year.
PARTNERSHIP
Children aged 21-24 are only considered dependent if they rely on an adult for financial support.
Dependent children aged 21 - 24
Children aged 21-24 must rely on an adult for financial support
When we assess if your children need financial support, we’ll look at whether they:
are working, if the work full-time or part-time, and how long they’ve been working
are able to support themselves
live with a family member and how much support is provided
are studying and if they study full-time or part-time.
We may ask for evidence that your children are financially dependent.
TIPS
Children aged 21-24 are only considered dependent if they rely on an adult for financial support.
Your relationship with your children
You must be the parent or legal guardian of your dependent children
You must provide evidence that confirms your relationship to your children, which may include:
full birth certificates
adoption papers, or if the adoption was customary, a written declaration stating you’ve adopted the children and the date and country the adoption took place
any other documents that confirm your relationship to each other.
TIPS
If you’re a New Zealand resident and your dependent children were eligible to be included in your residence application, but weren’t included, we may ask you to explain the reason for this.
If your children joined your family through customary adoption, we may seek confirmation of the adoption from the children’s biological parents.
Custody of children 15 and under
You must have the legal right to remove dependent children from their home country
If you’re separated or divorced, you must provide legal documents that show that one of the following applies:
you have the sole right to decide where your children live
you have the right to remove your children from their home country
you have custody of the children and your children’s other parent agrees they can move to New Zealand if their application is approved.
If your children’s other parent has died, you must provide their death certificate.
TIPS
If you apply online, you must upload a copy of this evidence with your application.
If you use a paper application form, you must send us either the original document, or a certified copy.
If you have a statutory right to the custody of your children and it’s not possible to get legal documents to confirm this right, we will assess your right to remove the children on a case-by-case basis.
Process and costs
The information below will help you understand the process, timeframes and costs involved in applying for this visa, so you can plan ahead and have the best chance of submitting a complete application.
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