Community Sponsored Refugee Resident Visa
This was a pilot visa for refugees who were recognised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and nominated by community organisations. This visa is not available for new applicants.
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Age range
Between
18 to 45 years
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Length of stay
Indefinitely
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Cost
NZD $0
To apply you must have:
- been recognised by the UNHCR as a refugee
- been nominated by an approved community organisation sponsor or identified by the UNHCR as an eligible applicant
- completed an expression of interest and been invited to apply
- met the other requirements of this visa.
This visa lets you:
- live, work and study in New Zealand
- include your partner, and dependent children aged 24 and younger, in your visa application — if you met all the requirements.
Community-sponsored refugee applicants did not have to pay an immigration levy or visa application fee.
How long you can stay
A Community Sponsored Refugee Resident Visa lets you stay in New Zealand indefinitely.
Who can apply
Check if you are eligible to apply for this visa and what supporting documents and information you need to provide.
Identity
As proof of you identity, you must provide:
- your original or a certified copy of your passport or
(if available) - your original or a certified copy of your
(if available).
Note
You do not need to provide proof of your identity until you apply for residence.
You do not need to provide a photo with your expression of interest or application.
Health
You must be in good health.
We will ask you to complete a medical examination after you have submitted your application
Note
You do not have to pay for the medical examination.
Character
You must be of good character.
You must provide a police certificate from:
- each country in which you have lived for 12 months or more during the past 10 years.
You do not have to provide a police certificate from your home country if any of the following apply:
- you have a well-founded fear of approaching the authorities in your home country
- the authorities in your home country do not generally provide police certificates
- we determine it is unsafe for you to approach the authorities in your home country.
Anyone applying for a New Zealand visa must meet the character requirements. When you apply, you must tell us about any issues or activities, both current and in your past, that could affect our decision, including whether you have been: If there is an issue, we may: You can request a character waiver or special direction when you apply. If your request is approved, we can give you a visa if your application meets all other requirements. Visas are given by special direction only in rare circumstances. You may need to provide us with police certificates to show your good character. Whether you need to give these certificates depends on how long you plan to stay in New Zealand and the visa you are applying for.
Character requirements for New Zealand visas
To be given a New Zealand visa, you must be of good character. If you have a criminal history, have provided false or misleading information, or could be a risk to New Zealand, we can decline your application.
Being of good character
Providing police certificates
How to get a police certificate
Note
Police certificates must be less than 6 months old at the time you apply.
Age
You must be aged between 18 and 45.
We check your identity documents — for example, your passport — to confirm your age.
English language
You must speak and understand English.
You will need to complete an online English language assessment. INZ will advise you on how to complete this.
You will need to show you can read, understand and respond to basic questions in English.
Qualifications and experience
You must have 3 years’ work experience or a qualification that required 2 years of tertiary study.
You will need to show us that you have either work experience or tertiary qualifications that meet our requirements.
Work experience is acceptable if you have at least three years’ experience in the same occupation, or the same or related sector.
A tertiary qualification is acceptable if it requires at least two years’ study.
Note
We may ask you to make a signed declaration if you do not have sufficient documentation.
UNHCR status
You must be recognised by the UNHCR as a refugee.
You should provide a copy of your
Approved community organisation sponsorship
You can be nominated by an approved community organisation.
We will check our records to confirm that you are supported by an
Invitation to apply for residence
You must be invited to apply for residence.
If you are nominated by an approved community organisation or identified by the
If you express interest, we will consider your request and grant you an invitation to apply if we think you have a credible chance of meeting the requirements.
Not eligible under any other category
You must not be eligible for residence under any family category.
You must not be eligible to be sponsored for residence under any other family category or the Refugee Family Support Category.
Relationship with family
Your family must meet the requirements for a resident visa.
To include your partner and/or dependent children in your residence application, you must demonstrate:
- your relationship with your partner and children meet our requirements
- that your partner and children meet health and character requirements
- that there are no significant barriers to the ability of any of your family settling in New Zealand
- that your partner and children are not eligible to be sponsored for residence under any family visa category or the Refugee Family Support Category.
We define partnership as 2 people, who live together in a
You must be able to show us that you and your partner are living together in a
Living together means sharing the same home as your partner. This does not include: Evidence showing you are living together can include: 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 prior to the application being submitted. Make sure you check the category you are 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. Evidence of having a genuine and stable relationship needs to show that: Evidence can include: The way we want to receive this evidence depends on how you are applying. 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. If you apply online, we accept scanned images — so you do not need to send us originals or certified copies. You and your supporting partner must: 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. Character requirements for New Zealand visas See also the requirements for supporting partners in the 'Eligible NZ supporting partner' and 'Your partner's' sections for these visas: When we assess your visa application, we consider things like: We will also look at your living and financial arrangements, including: If you and your partner have spent time living apart, you should provide information about your separation, including: We will use the information you provide to assess whether you and your partner have genuine and compelling reasons to have stayed apart. Note If you and your partner are coming together through a culturally arranged marriage, the rules are different.
Partnership and how to prove it
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
Providing evidence of your partnership
Living together
Having a genuine and stable relationship
How to supply this evidence
Applying by paper
Applying online
Minimum requirements
Supporting partners
How we assess partnership
If you have not always lived together
There are 2 ways that dependent children can apply for a visa. Note The definition of dependent children depends on age and whether they are applying for a resident visa or a temporary visa. Your child is dependent if they are: If they are 18 or over they must not have children of their own. If they are aged 21 to 24 they must also rely on you or another adult for financial support (depending on which visa they have applied for). Your child is dependent if they: If they are 18 or 19 they must not have children of their own. If your children are 20 or older: If they want to join you in New Zealand they need to apply for their own visa. If your children are aged 20 to 24 they may still be dependent if: Your children must have applied for, or have been included in your application for one of the following residence visas:
Bringing children
How to apply for visas for dependent children.
How your children apply for a visa
Dependent children are not eligible for work visas.
How we define dependent children
Resident visas for dependent children
Temporary visas for dependent children
Primary or secondary student visas and visitor visas
Child of a New Zealander or Worker visitor visas
Eligible residence visas
How to pay and submit
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While you are in New Zealand
These are the conditions that you must meet once you have your visa.
Keep your visa in a valid passport
If you want to travel, your visa must be in a valid passport.
If your passport expires, you must apply to transfer your visa to a new passport before you can travel.
Transferring a visa to a new passport
Note
To transfer your visa, you must:
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- send us your old and new passports
- complete an ‘Application for Transfer or Confirmation of a Visa’
- pay a transfer fee.
Apply for a transfer or confirmation of a visa