Family Visa
Bringing family to New Zealand.
A family visa is any visa issued to a partner, child, parent or grandparent under Immigration New Zealand’s family categories. It covers residence, and it covers temporary visas — visitor, work and student.
You may have a route if you are the partner or dependent child of a New Zealand citizen or resident, the partner or dependent child of someone holding certain work or student visas, or the parent or grandparent of a New Zealand citizen or resident.
Which route is open to you, and whether residence or a visitor visa is the better question to be asking, depends on the relationship, the sponsor, and the timing. We work that out before anything is filed.
The categories
What the family categories cover.
Partners
- Partnership residence visa
- Partnership work visa
- Partnership visitor visa
- Culturally arranged marriage visitor visa
Children
- Dependent child resident visa, for the child of a New Zealand citizen or resident
- Dependent child resident visa, where the parent is applying for residence
- Dependent child student or visitor visa
- Children included in a parent’s own residence application
Parents and grandparents
- Parent category residence visa
- Parent retirement category residence visa
- Parent and grandparent visitor visa
- Parent Boost visitor visa
Family of temporary visa holders
- Partners of people holding certain work or student visas
- Dependent children of people holding certain work or student visas
- Inter-country adoption
Where it goes wrong
Rarely as simple as it looks.
Every category has its own requirements, and every family is its own set of facts. Three things catch people out more than anything else.
- Being married is not, by itself, a partnership visa. The certificate is evidence of one thing. The category asks whether you are living together in a relationship that is genuine and stable, and that is proved separately.
- “Dependent” is a defined term, not an ordinary one. A child’s age is part of it. So are study, work, and who actually supports them. A child can be young and not dependent, or older and still dependent.
- If the child’s other parent is separated or divorced from you, consent requirements are strict. This is the single most common reason a child’s application stalls, and it is far easier to deal with before filing than after.
The sponsor
Sponsorship is a commitment, not a signature.
Sponsoring family is an undertaking to Immigration New Zealand that you will support them. It carries obligations that outlast the application.
Your own status comes first
Whether you are a citizen or a resident, and how long you have held that status, can decide whether you are able to sponsor at all.
It is usually tested on income
Most sponsorship requires income at or above a set level, evidenced over a period rather than at a moment. Where there is more than one sponsor, how the income is counted matters.
It binds you afterwards
A sponsorship undertaking runs for a set period after the visa is granted. It is worth understanding what you are agreeing to before you agree to it, not after.
How we can help
We can assist with the following.
- Which category fits: residence or a temporary visa, now or later, and which family member should apply first.
- Whether you can sponsor: your status, how long you have held it, and the income you can evidence.
- Relationship and dependency evidence: birth, marriage and adoption records, and what has to be shown where a child’s dependence is in question.
- Consent from a separated or divorced parent: what is required, and what to do when it is difficult to obtain.
- Health and character: for everyone included, and the waivers available where someone does not meet them.
- Preparing and filing, and responding to requests for further information.
If it has already gone wrong
Declined, or hearing from Immigration New Zealand.
If Immigration New Zealand has written raising concerns, declined an application, or you are in New Zealand unlawfully, get advice quickly. Several of these routes have short deadlines.
Potentially prejudicial information letters
Your chance to answer before a decision is made. What you say here carries real weight.
Character and medical waivers
Where someone included in the application does not meet the character or health requirement.
Reconsideration
For a temporary visa application declined while you are in New Zealand.
Section 61 and special direction requests
For people in New Zealand unlawfully, or who are not eligible to apply for a visa.
Appeals to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal
Where a residence application has been declined, or a person has become liable for deportation.
Current settings
The numbers move, and this category moves most.
Sponsor income thresholds, how parent residence applications are selected and queued, age limits, and the length of the visitor visas for parents and grandparents are all set by immigration instructions. The parent categories in particular have been opened, closed, replaced and reopened more than once.
We work from the instructions in force for your application, and we will tell you plainly if the category you are hoping for is not currently open to you.
Questions
Frequently asked questions.
Who counts as family?
Partners, dependent children, and parents and grandparents. Each has its own category, and the categories cover both residence and temporary visas — visitor, work and student.
We are married. Does that qualify us?
Not on its own. A marriage certificate evidences a marriage; the category asks whether you are living together in a relationship that is genuine and stable. That is a separate thing, and it is proved with documents.
My child is over 18. Are they still dependent?
Possibly. Dependence is a defined term rather than an ordinary one. Age is part of it, but so are study, employment and who actually supports them. A child can be young and not dependent, or older and still dependent.
I am separated from my child’s other parent. Does that matter?
Yes, and it is the most common reason a child’s application stalls. Where parents are separated or divorced, the consent requirements are strict.
Raise it with us at the outset. It is far easier to deal with before filing than after a request for information arrives.
Can I sponsor my brother, sister or adult child?
The sibling and adult child categories have not been generally open for some years. If that is the relationship you are asking about, ask us before you plan around it — there may be another route, and there may not be.
Should my parents apply for residence, or visit?
Often the better first question. Alongside the parent residence categories there are visitor visas built for parents and grandparents, including Parent Boost, which can achieve much of what a family wants without the wait or the thresholds residence carries.
We will set out both rather than assume residence is the goal.
Do I have to earn a certain amount to sponsor someone?
Usually, and it is evidenced over a period rather than at a single moment. The figure is set by immigration instructions and changes, so we confirm the one that applies to your application rather than quoting a general rate.
My partner is here on a work or student visa. Can I join them?
Possibly. Partners and dependent children of people holding certain work and student visas have their own routes, and what is available usually tracks the visa your partner holds.
Someone in the family has a health condition. Does that end it?
Not necessarily. Where a person does not meet the health requirement, a medical waiver may be available depending on the circumstances. Worth advice before the application rather than after a decline.
Our application was declined. What now?
Depending on the circumstances there may be a reconsideration, a section 61 request, a special direction request, or an appeal to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal. Deadlines are short, so move quickly.
Next step
Tell us who you want to bring.
If the category is not open to you, we will say so.
Request a consultation