Sponsoring family members if you are a refugee

Sponsors under the Refugee Family Support Category must register as either a tier one or tier two sponsor before their family members can be invited to apply for a New Zealand resident visa.

Sponsorship

Queue system for sponsor registrations

Refugee Family Support Category sponsor registrations are managed by a two tier queue system. Each year, a quota of 600 places is available for family members of tier one and tier two sponsors.

Tier one sponsors, who have no other family in New Zealand, are given first access to available places.

Registrations are selected from the tier one queue in the order they are entered. If there are remaining places after all tier one registrations have been selected, registrations from the tier two queue are selected.

Note

We are currently only accepting tier 1 sponsor registrations.

Refugee Family Support Category sponsorship criteria

To be a sponsor under the Refugee Family Support Category, you must :

have been granted New Zealand residence on the basis of being a refugee or protected person, or as an Afghan interpreter, or Afghan evacuee (under the Afghan Emergency resettlement category) or the partner or dependent child of an Afghan interpreter or Afghan evacuee
not have previously sponsored someone who has been granted a resident visa under the Refugee Family Support Category (or the Refugee Family Quota)
be in New Zealand
be aged 18 or over
meet specific tier one or tier two criteria.

Sponsors must also:

be a New Zealand citizen, or hold a New Zealand resident or permanent resident visa
live in New Zealand for the term of the sponsorship (unless an exception applies)
not be sponsoring for a financial reward or fee
never have been convicted of an offence under immigration law
not have an outstanding debt to the Crown or other third parties as a result of another sponsorship arrangement
not have previously breached sponsorship obligations
not have entered into insolvency procedures or be bankrupt
not be liable for deportation
not be serving a custodial sentence (e.g. prison) or be waiting to be sentenced after being convicted of a crime that carries a custodial sentence.

Tier 1 sponsors

To be a tier 1 sponsor you must meet the sponsorship criteria and:

have no immediate family in New Zealand (unless you are the sole carer of a dependent relative)
have no other family members who are eligible for residence in New Zealand under any other category.

Note

Immediate family includes your partner, parents, or children (excluding any dependent children).

How we define partnership

Being the sole carer of a dependent relative means that you have the primary responsibility for the day-to-day care of a dependent relative or relatives in New Zealand on an ongoing basis.

As a tier 1 sponsor, you can sponsor either your parent, grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, adult sibling or adult child, and that person’s partner and/or dependent children.

Check if you can sponsor family members as a refugee

Tier 2 sponsors

To be a tier 2 sponsor you must meet the sponsorship criteria and:

have immediate family in New Zealand
have no other family members who are eligible for residence under any other category
have been a New Zealand citizen and/or holder of a residence class visa for at least three years immediately preceding the date their registration under the Refugee Family Support Category is lodged, and in each of those three 12-month portions have spent a total of 184 days or more in New Zealand.

As a tier 2 sponsor, you can sponsor either your parent, adult sibling, adult child, or grandparent (if that grandparent is the sponsor’ legal guardian), and that person’s partner and/or dependent children.

Note

We are currently only accepting tier 1 sponsor registrations.

Check if you can sponsor family members as a refugee

Use this interactive tool to find out if you are eligible to sponsor visa applications for family members, under the Refugee Family Support Resident Visa.

The sponsorship process - sponsoring family members as a refugee

The process for sponsoring family members for residence visas if you are a refugee.

Refugee Family Support Category settlement providers

Community-based providers can help Refugee Family Support Category (RFSC) visa holders settle comfortably into their new lives in Aotearoa New Zealand.