Announcement
Family of New Zealanders temporary visa applications moving to enhanced Immigration Online
Published
29 September 2026
From 16 November 2026, family of New Zealand citizens or residents who are applying for temporary entry visas can submit new applications in enhanced Immigration Online. If you are applying for one of these visas, there are some important things you need to know.
Immigration New Zealand's ambition is to provide a trusted and effective immigration service. This is another step towards building a customer-centric, modern immigration system that makes it easier for people to use our services.
First introduced in 2021, we have been progressively moving visa applications onto our enhanced Immigration Online system, which now supports our most applied-for visa categories.
From 16 November 2026, family of New Zealand citizens or residents who are applying for temporary entry visas can submit new applications in enhanced Immigration Online. The following visas are included in this transition.
Visitor visas:
- Child of a New Zealander Visitor Visa
- Partner of a New Zealander Visitor Visa
Work visas:
- Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa
Student visas:
- Child of a New Zealander Student Visa
After this date, enhanced Immigration Online will be our preferred system for receiving these visa applications. Using the new system will help support a smoother experience for you.
We are also looking at changes to paper-based applications and applications received through our old Immigration Online system. We will confirm any changes as soon as we can.
For the time being, we are not making any changes to applications for family of New Zealand citizens or residents who are applying for residence visas.
New application form and system
We are aiming to deliver a simpler and more user-friendly visa application process, with reduced waiting times, clear communication on application status, and increased self-service capabilities so everyone feels more informed and better supported.
We have engaged with a range of immigration professionals to redesign the end-to-end application process. Their insights helped ensure the new design reflects the experience of applying for these visas.
Our approach to designing the new application process focuses on improving the customer experience. We are ensuring the process is easy to understand and that people know what is expected of them. Some of the ways we are doing this include:
- Customers will find it easier to identify the visa that best matches their circumstances through clearer information and guidance before and throughout the application process.
- The new dynamic application form will ask questions based on each customer's situation and provide clear guidance on the information and supporting evidence needed, helping customers submit more complete applications from the start.
- Customers will be able to upload a digital scan of their passport, allowing relevant passport information to be automatically populated within the new application form. This will reduce manual data entry, improve the accuracy of information captured, and lower the risk of travel impacts caused by passport information being entered incorrectly.
Immigration instruction updates
As part of preparing for this move to enhanced Immigration Online, we are taking the opportunity to update the immigration instructions for these visas. We are making these updates to improve clarity, ensure the instructions remain fit for purpose and better reflect the original policy intent.
Along with a range of minor updates to improve consistency throughout the immigration instructions, the changes include:
- allowing children who are eligible for domestic student status to apply for a Child of New Zealander Student Visa
- clarifying health instructions for requesting and assessing medical certificates
- extending the maximum visitor visa duration from 9 to 12 months for children of New Zealand residents or citizens
- clarifying the duration of partnership visas for couples who have lived together for less than 12 months
- allowing some residence applications to be deferred where the outcome of court proceedings could affect a supporting partner's eligibility.
These updates will be published in the coming weeks and effective from 16 November 2026.
More information
We will provide further information closer to the transition date by updating this news item and other relevant webpages.
We have paused some aspects of the Our Future Services programme while we reassess the next steps. Once this move to enhanced Immigration Online is complete, we will pause further visa transitions while the reassessment is underway.
For more information on the Our Future Services programme, see our page or the MBIE website.
Our Future Services — Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
To learn more about these visas or to start an online application, visit the visa pages.
Child of a New Zealander Visitor Visa