Calculating your sponsor's income for the Parent Resident Visa
You can be sponsored by your adult New Zealand citizen or resident child, or jointly by them and their partner, if they earn enough.
What your sponsor or sponsors need to earn
Your sponsors need to have earned the correct income, based on the New Zealand median income, for 2 out of the 3 years before you applied for residence.
We update the New Zealand median income each year, so the amount they need to earn may change depending on which years they include in their application.
How we define the 3 year period
The 3 year period where we can assess your sponsor's income starts from the end of the month before you were invited to apply, and ends 36 months before that.
The median income for each year is the median income that was in effect on the last day of each 12 month period.
To calculate your sponsor or sponsor's income
You need to know:
- if you have 1 or 2 sponsors
- how many parents are being sponsored — this includes any parents they may have sponsored before
- the date of the last day of the month before you were invited to apply, and
- what the New Zealand median income was on the last day of each year that your sponsor’s income will be assessed on.
Deepak and Ann want to come to Auckland and live with their daughter Shirley and her partner Andrew, who have agreed to jointly sponsor them.
They are invited to apply for residence on 28 May 2020, so the 3 year period where we can assess Shirley and Andrew’s income starts on 30 April 2020.
- Year 1 is from 1 May 2019 to 30 April 2020.
- Year 2 is from 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2019.
- Year 3 is from 1 May 2017 to 30 April 2018.
For year 1, the last day of the year is 30 April 2020, and on this day the New Zealand median income is NZD $53,040.
Joint sponsors of 2 parents need to earn 4 times the median income, so the amount Shirley and Andrew need to earn for year 1 is NZD $212,160.
For year 2 it is NZD $52,000 x 4 = NZD $208,000.
For year 3 it is NZD $50,523 x 4 = NZD $202,092.
You can use the tables on this page to see the New Zealand median income for the last 3 years, and how much your sponsor or sponsors need to earn.
Minimum income for 1 sponsor
This starts at twice the median income for 1 parent, and increases by the median income amount for each additional parent.
| Effective date | NZ median income | 1 parent | 2 parents | 3 parents | 4 parents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
From 24 February 2020 |
NZD $53,040 |
NZD $106,080 |
NZD $159,120 |
NZD $212,160 |
NZD $265,200 |
|
From 26 November 2018 to 23 February 2020 |
NZD $52,000 |
NZD $104,000 |
NZD $156,000 |
NZD $208,000 |
NZD $260,000 |
|
Before 26 November 2018 |
NZD $50,523 |
NZD $101,046 |
NZD $151,569 |
NZD $202,092 |
NZD $252,615 |
Minimum income for 2 sponsors
This starts at 3 times the median income for 1 parent, and increases by the median income amount for each additional parent.
| Effective date | NZ median income | 1 parent | 2 parents | 3 parents | 4 parents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
From 24 February 2020 |
NZD $53,040 |
NZD $159,120 |
NZD $212,160 |
NZD $265,200 |
NZD $318,240 |
|
From 26 November 2018 to 23 February 2020 |
NZD $52,000 |
NZD $156,000 |
NZD $208,000 |
NZD $260,000 |
NZD $312,000 |
|
Before 26 November 2018 |
NZD $50,523 |
NZD $151,569 |
NZD $202,092 |
NZD $252,615 |
NZD $303,138 |
We only consider taxable income
For us to count your sponsor's income it must be taxable and appear on their Inland Revenue summary of income.
Request a summary of income | Inland Revenue
If your sponsor has already sponsored a parent
If your sponsor has already sponsored 1 parent or more, we include that parent in their minimum income calculation.
For example, if your adult child sponsored 2 parents before the visa closed, then they and their partner sponsored 2 more parents after it reopens, they will need to meet the income requirements to sponsor 4 parents.
If your sponsor's income helped to sponsor their partner's parents before the visa closed, they are not considered a previous sponsor.