Child of a New Zealander Visitor Visa

Your child can stay with you in New Zealand for up to 9 months. They must leave before their visa expires.

To apply for this visa, you must:

• be the dependent child's parent
• be a New Zealand citizen or resident
• have enough money to support your child or have an acceptable sponsor.

Your child must:

• be aged 19 or younger with no children of their own, or be aged 20 to 24, and have applied for an eligible resident visa
• be in good health
• be of good character
• have genuine reasons for coming to New Zealand
• be on you
• show your child can leave New Zealand at the end of their stay.

Your immigration status

To apply for this visa on behalf of your child you must be a New Zealand citizen or resident.

You must provide your:

• New Zealand passport
• New Zealand birth certificate
• certificate of New Zealand citizenship, or
• New Zealand residence visa.

If you have New Zealand residence because you are an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident, you can provide your:

• Australian passport
• Australian Permanent Resident Visa, or
• Australian Resident Return Visa.

Your dependent child

Your child must be single and financially dependent on you.

We will consider your child to be dependent if they rely on you for financial support, and they are aged:

• 17 or younger
• 18 or 19 with no children of their own, or
• 20 to 24 with an eligible resident visa application.

If your child is 17 or younger, we will consider them as relying on you for financial support, and you will not need to provide any evidence of this.

If your child is 18 or 19 with no children of their own, we may ask you to provide supporting evidence, such as:

• documents showing they are enrolled at school or university
• receipts showing you are paying daily expenses, like a mobile phone, clothes or food
• bank account details showing you are paying your child an allowance
• receipts for big purchases and travel for your child.

Bringing children

Relationship with your child

You must provide evidence that confirms you are the dependent child's parent. This can include:

• their birth certificate
• adoption papers
• any other documents that confirm the relationship.

If your child is travelling alone or with 1 parent, we may ask for evidence they have the right to leave their country of residence, for example, custody or guardianship papers.

Enough money to support your child

You must have enough money to support your child while they are in New Zealand, or the child must have a sponsor.

If you are paying for your child

Your child must have at least NZD $1,000 a month, or NZD $400 a month if you have already paid for their accommodation.

To prove this, you can include:

• proof of accommodation pre-payment, like hotel pre-paid vouchers or receipts
• bank statements or credit card statements, or
• bank drafts or travellers’ cheques.

If your child has a sponsor

Your sponsor is responsible for your child while they are in New Zealand — they can be an organisation or an individual.

Who can sponsor a visa applicant

Your responsibilities as a sponsor

Your sponsor must complete a 'Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry'. Your sponsor can provide supporting documents including:

• recent bank statements
• pay slips
• an employment agreement, or
• ownership papers for your accommodation or receipts for rent payments.

Paying for health care

You or your sponsor will need to pay for any health care or medical assistance your child could need in New Zealand.

We recommend they have full medical insurance for their stay.

Your child must be in good health.

We may ask that your child has a chest X-ray and a medical examination as proof of their good health.

If your child is staying less than:

• 6 months, they do not normally need a chest X-ray
• 12 months, they do not normally need a medical certificate.

When you apply, you must answer questions about your child's health. This helps to decide if you need to provide evidence of a chest X-ray or medical examination. Even if your child does not need these when you apply, we may ask for them when we process your application.

Check the situations where we may ask your child to have a chest X-ray or medical examination.

Who needs an X-ray or medical examination

Why you may need to provide evidence you are in good health

How to get a chest X-ray or medical examination

If staying for more than 6 months

If your child will be staying in New Zealand for more than 6 months, they must have a chest X-ray if they:

• are a citizen of a country that does not have a low incidence of tuberculosis (TB), or
• have spent more than 3 months in the last 5 years in a country that does not have a low incidence of TB.

You must provide a new chest X-ray certificate, even if you have provided one to us previously, if your child:

• has spent 6 months in a row in a country that does not have a low incidence of TB since the date of their last X-ray certificate, and
• is now coming to New Zealand for more than 6 months — if they are in New Zealand this includes any time they have already spent here.

Countries with a low incidence of TB

Your child must be of good character. Check if you need to provide police certificates for your child as proof of their good character.

If they have a criminal conviction, or are a security risk to New Zealand, we might not give them a visa.

Character requirements for New Zealand visas

You must provide police certificates that are less than 6 months old when you apply, if:

• your child is aged 17 or older, and
• their total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or longer — this includes time they have spent in New Zealand in the past on other visas.

Police certificates must be from:

• countries they are a citizen of, and
• countries they have spent more than 5 years in since they turned 17.

You do not need to provide police certificates if you provided them with an earlier visa application and they were issued in the last 24 months.

If we ask for a new police certificate when processing your application, you will need to send us a new one.

Police certificates

Genuine intentions

Your child must be a genuine visitor to New Zealand and intend to leave at the end of their visit.

When we decide if their intentions are genuine, we will consider all the information that:

• you provide to support your child's application
• we have about you and your child's personal circumstances
• you have previously given to us.

Genuine intentions to visit, study or work in New Zealand

Leaving New Zealand

Your child must have a ticket to leave New Zealand or be sponsored for the cost of their onward travel.

Evidence can include:

• their ticket for travel out of New Zealand at the end of their stay to a country they have the right to enter
• documents, such as bank or credit card statements, that show you have enough money to buy a ticket, or
• a 'Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry' completed by an acceptable sponsor.

Who can sponsor a visa applicant

Your responsibilities as a sponsor

Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry (INZ 1025)

When you apply

When you apply you need to provide:

• a copy of your child's passport or — if you apply on paper, you can provide a
• 1 acceptable photo of your child if you apply online, or 2 photos if you apply on paper
• evidence of a chest X-ray, if required
• evidence of a medical examination, if required
• police certificates, if required
• documents to show your relationship to your child and, if required, that they are financially dependent on you
• proof you have enough money to support your child while they are in New Zealand, or they have an acceptable sponsor
• proof your child can leave New Zealand at the end of their stay
• a copy of the completed Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry, if your child has a sponsor
• the sponsor's sharing ID, if required for an online application
• translated versions of all your documents if they are not in English.

Providing your passport for an online application

Acceptable photos for a visa or NZeTA

Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry (INZ 1025)

Your child's passport or certificate of identity must be valid for at least 3 months after the date they plan to leave New Zealand.

Citizens of China applying from China, Hong Kong or Macao

If your child is aged 17 or older, they must also provide a completed supplementary form giving more details of their background and intentions.

You must also provide a copy of:

• your child's Hukou (household registration book)
• your child's identity card.

Applicants from Hong Kong or Macao applying within China, Hong Kong or Macao

If your child is 17 or older and you are applying within China, Hong Kong or Macao, you must also provide a completed supplementary form for them if you are applying with a:

• passport from Hong Kong
• Hong Kong document of identity
• Hong Kong British National Overseas passport (HKBNO)
• passport from Macao.

You must also provide a copy of your child's identity card.

Applicants from Taiwan

We cannot accept a Taiwan compatriot passport as proof of citizenship.

When you arrive

When your child arrives, your child may need to have:

• a ticket to leave New Zealand at the end of their stay, proof you have enough money to buy one, or agreement that a sponsor will pay for one
• proof you have enough money for your child to live on for their stay in New Zealand, or they have an acceptable sponsor.

After you apply, we may contact you and ask for:

• results of a medical examination or chest X-ray for your child
• police certificates as proof of your child's good character.

Your child's visa is valid from:

• the date they enter New Zealand, if they are outside New Zealand when we approve your application, or
• the date they get their visa, if they are already in New Zealand.

They must leave New Zealand before their visa expires.

When your child arrives, we may ask for evidence of:

• a ticket to leave New Zealand at the end of their stay, proof you have enough money to buy one, or agreement that a sponsor will pay for one
• proof you have enough money for your child to live on for their stay in New Zealand, or they have an acceptable sponsor.

Entry requirements

As part of New Zealand’s entry requirements, everyone must complete a New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD). This form collects information about your travel, including customs, immigration, and biosecurity details.

When you can submit your NZTD depends on how you are travelling:

• By air: You can submit it from 24 hours before your journey begins.
• By sea: You can submit it from 24 hours before your ship leaves its last overseas port heading to New Zealand.

If you have a NZeTA, you can specify in your declaration that you are applying for a visa on arrival. 

A paper declaration form is available for travellers who cannot complete it online.

New Zealand Traveller Declaration

Caregivers can complete a declaration on behalf of children or babies they are travelling with.

Your child's visa conditions are recorded in their eVisa.

Travel

If your child is travelling in and out of New Zealand, their visa must have a valid so they can return to New Zealand.

Check or change your visitor visa conditions

Work

Check if your child can work part-time in New Zealand if they are included in your application for an eligible resident visa or have applied for their own eligible resident visa.

Working part-time if you are a dependent child waiting for a residence visa

While your child is in New Zealand, check if they are able to work remotely for an employer or client based outside New Zealand.

Working remotely in New Zealand on a visitor visa

Study

School-aged children can study for up to 3 months in any calendar year.

Older children can study at tertiary institutes for up to 3 months in any 12-month period.

If you want your child to study for more than 3 months, they will need to have a student visa.

Dependent Child Student Visa