Evidence whether your partner is a New Zealand citizen or resident can include the original and certified copies of:

• a residence class visa or residence permit in their passport or travel document
• a current returning resident’s visa in their passport or travel document
• their valid New Zealand or Australian passport
• their New Zealand birth certificate
• a recent official statement confirming their citizenship from the Department of Internal Affairs
• their certificate of New Zealand citizenship.

If your partner

• holds a valid Australian passport but does not hold a current New Zealand residence permit or residence class visa or a current New Zealand returning resident’s visa, or
• holds a New Zealand residence permit or returning resident’s visa which was issued on the basis that they were a holder of an Australian Permanent Residence Visa or an Australian Resident Return Visa,

they must provide evidence that New Zealand is their primary place of established residence at the time your application is made and assessed.

Examples of evidence that New Zealand is primary place of residence can include original or certified copies of:

• correspondence addressed to your partner
• employment records
• records of benefit payments from the Ministry of Social Development (Department of Work and Income)
• banking records
• rates demands
• Inland Revenue Department records
• mortgage documents
• tenancy and utility supply documents
• documents showing that your partner’s household effects have been moved to New Zealand
• New Zealand citizenship endorsement in a foreign passport.