If you are the Partner of a New Zealand citizen or resident then you may apply for Residence through the Partnership category. The following sheet sets out the minimum requirements for lodging an application for Residence and gives you some suggestions for putting your application together.

Lodgement Requirements

• A completed application form
• 2 passport photos of all applicants
• Application fee
• Passports for all applicants (if you are travelling within the next one to two months you may wish to submit certified copies of your passport, although plain photocopies are not acceptable. The original passports will need to be provided before we can issue your visas) 
• Birth certificates (full length unabridged for everyone on the application)
• Police certificates for all your countries of citizenship (even if you have never lived there or are not living there at present) and any country you have lived in for 12 months or more in the past 10 years 
• Medical certificates, completed by a panel doctor 
• A completed sponsorship form (completed by the NZ sponsor with the declaration signed and witnessed by a Justice of the Peace, solicitor or notary public).
• Evidence of the New Zealand citizenship or residence status of the New Zealand sponsor
• Police certificates from any country your New Zealand citizen/resident partner has resided in for 12 months or more in the past 7 years (except New Zealand)
• Evidence demonstrating that you are in a partnership with a NZ citizen/resident

If you do not provide all of the above then your application may be returned to you unactioned.

Partnership Evidence

Under partnership policy a couple must provide evidence that their relationship is genuine and stable, whether they are married or not. Applicants must have been living together in a genuine and stable relationship for 12 months or more before an application can be approved.

You should provide the following evidence for the preceding 12 month period or over the course of your relationship. If you do not have joint documents, please provide individual documents which link the two of you to the same address.

• Joint Tenancy agreement/Mortgage statement
• Joint utility bills
• Joint bank statements
• Any other evidence to demonstrate that you are sharing an address
• Letter from NZ Sponsor supporting the application
• Marriage certificate if applicable
• Full birth certificates for any children you have had together
• Other evidence of public recognition of your relationship

Suggestions for your Application

When submitting certified copies of documents you should ensure that the certification has been performed by a lawyer, solicitor, Justice of the Peace, notary public or magistrate.

If you have any existing medical conditions please include a recent letter from your doctor explaining the history and prognosis of the condition. Please note that you should allow additional processing time if you have a medical condition which needs to be assessed.

Please ensure that your passport is valid for at least two years, to allow for your Residence visa to be granted.

Timeframes

If the application meets all lodgement requirements then the application will be lodged and should be allocated to an immigration officer immediately if you are the partner of an expatriate New Zealander (a New Zealander who has been out of the country for at least 2 years apart from short holidays)  or within a month of lodgement if your partner is not an expatriate New Zealander.

General processing times for partnership applications lodged in London are between 1-3 months from the date that it is allocated to a visa officer. This does not allow for delays caused by health or character problems or missing relationship evidence.

If your application is approved an initial Resident Visa is granted which allows you to enter New Zealand within 12 months of the date of issue, which means that you will have up to one year to enter New Zealand as a Resident for the first time.  If you do not enter New Zealand within that period your Resident Visa will expire. Immigration Officers do not have the power to extend the validity of Resident Visas once they are issued.

Successful applicants for residence are also required to pay a Migrant Levy.   The Migrant Levy is used to fund services that help new residents settle successfully in New Zealand.