Sponsorship for the Parent Resident Visa
You can be sponsored by your adult New Zealand resident child or citizen, or jointly by them and their partner or another adult child, if they earn enough.
Who can sponsor you
You can be sponsored for the Parent Resident Visa by:
- your adult New Zealand citizen or resident child
- jointly by your adult child and their partner, or
- jointly by your adult child and another adult child of a parent included in the application.
Your sponsors need to be New Zealand citizens or residents who have been resident here for at least 3 years.
If you are being sponsored by a child and their partner, they must have been living together for at least 12 months.
Your sponsors must earn enough
They must have earned at least the minimum income we require for 2 years in the 3-year period before your expression of interest was selected.
The minimum income they need changes depending on if you have single or joint sponsors.
To calculate your sponsor or sponsor's minimum income
You need to know:
- if you have 1 or 2 sponsors
- how many parents are being sponsored — this includes any parents they are also currently sponsoring
- which two 12-month periods your sponsor will use to have their income assessed on
- what the New Zealand median income was on the last day of each 12-month period that your sponsor’s income will be assessed on.
You can use the minimum income tables to check the New Zealand median wage for the past 3 years and how much your sponsors need to have earned.
Minimum income table: for 1 sponsor
This starts at 1.5 times the New Zealand median wage for 1 parent, and increases by half the median wage amount for each additional parent.
| Effective date | Median wage | 1 parent | 2 parents | 3 parents | 4 parents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
From 28 February 2024 |
NZD$65,748.80 |
NZD$98,623.20 |
NZD$131,497.60 |
NZD$164,732 |
NZD$197,246.40 |
|
May 2023 to 27 February 2024 |
NZD$61,692.80 |
NZD$92,539.20 |
NZD$123,385.60 |
NZD$154,232 |
NZD$185,078.40 |
|
January 2022 to April 2023 |
NZD$57,740 |
NZD$86,611.20 |
NZD$115,481.60 |
NZD$144,352 |
NZD$173,222.40 |
|
January 2021 to December 2021 |
NZD$56,160 |
NZD$84,240 |
NZD$112,320 |
NZD$140,400 |
NZD$168,480 |
|
January 2020 to December 2020 |
NZD$53,040 |
NZD$79,560 |
NZD$106,080 |
NZD$132,600 |
NZD$159,120 |
Minimum income table: for 2 sponsors
This starts at 2 times the median wage for 1 parent, and increases by half the median wage amount for each additional parent.
| Effective date | Median wage | 1 parent | 2 parents | 3 parents | 4 parents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
From 28 February 2024 |
NZD$65,748.80 |
NZD$131,497.60 |
NZD$164,732 |
NZD$197,246.40 |
NZD$230,120.80 |
|
May 2023 to 27 February 2024 |
NZD $61,692.80 |
NZD $123,385.60 |
NZD $154,232 |
NZD $185,078.40 |
NZD $215,924.80 |
|
January 2022 to April 2023 |
NZD $57,740.80 |
NZD $115,481.60 |
NZD $144,352 |
NZD $173,222.40 |
NZD $202,092.80 |
|
January 2021 to December 2021 |
NZD $56,160 |
NZD $112,320 |
NZD $140,400 |
NZD $168,480 |
NZD $196,560 |
|
January 2020 to December 2020 |
NZD $53,040 |
NZD $106,080 |
NZD $132,600 |
NZD $159,120 |
NZD $185,640 |
Ann and Brian want to move to Auckland to be close to their children Claire and Diana who both live there. Claire and Diana have agreed to jointly sponsor them.
Ann and Brian have their expression of interest selected on the 24 November 2022 and are invited to apply for residence on the same day. This means the 3-year period where we can assess Claire and Diana's income goes from 25 November 2019 to 24 November 2022.
Claire and Diana must choose two 12-month periods in the 3-year period where they show they can meet the income threshold. As they are joint sponsors, they must use the same 12-month periods.
Diana was on parental leave from June 2019 to June 2020 so her income was lower during that 12 months. The sisters decide to use these two 12-month periods to show they meet the income threshold:
- August 2020 to July 2021
- August 2021 to July 2022.
Claire and Diana check the minimum income tables for 2 sponsors and look at the column for 2 parents, since that is how many people each of them are sponsoring, then check the amount needed in each year.
The first period ends in 2021, so they need to show that the total of both their income over that time was NZD $140,400.
The second period ends in 2022, so they need to show that the total of both their incomes over that time was NZD $144,352.
How the minimum sponsor income is calculated
The amount a sponsor needs to earn to sponsor one parent is:
- 1.5 times the current New Zealand median wage for a single sponsor
- 2 times the current New Zealand median wage for joint sponsors.
The minimum income increases by half the New Zealand median wage for each additional parent, up to a maximum of 6 parents.
We update the New Zealand median wage each year, so the amount they need to earn will change depending on which years they include with your application.
Wage rate requirements for visas
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 or Final Tax Summary.
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 previously sponsored 2 parents 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 in an application made before 2017 they are not considered a previous sponsor.