Dependent Child Resident Visa

Visa details

If you are a New Zealand citizen or resident you can bring your children to live with you in New Zealand. Your children can live, study and work in New Zealand.

Length of stay

Indefinitely

Age range

24 and under

Cost
From
NZD $2750
Processing time
90% within
11 months
With this visa you can
  • Bring your dependent children to New Zealand to live with you. If they’re old enough they can study or work here too.
Things to note
  • If your children were eligible for New Zealand residence under the Family Quota, Refugee Family Support Category, Samoa Quota Scheme or Pacific Access Category but weren’t included in your residence application, they’re not eligible for this visa.
  • If your children were eligible for New Zealand residence under any other category but weren’t included in your residence application, we may ask you to explain the reason for this.
  • Some children of New Zealand citizens or residents are New Zealand citizens by birth or descent. If your child is a citizen, they do not need to apply for residence. Check the website below to see who is a New Zealand citizen.
    Department of Internal Affairs website

What you need to apply

Check if you are eligible to apply for this visa and what supporting documents and information you need to provide.

View All Evidence

Identity

You must provide proof of your children’s identity

  • 1 acceptable photo of your child if you apply online, or 2 photos if you use a paper application.
  • Your child’s passport or certificate of identity.
  • A copy of your child’s full birth certificate if you apply online, or their original, full birth certificate or a certified copy if you use a paper application form.

 

Acceptable photos

If you apply online, you must upload a copy of your child’s passport. After you’ve applied, we’ll tell you when to send us your child’s passport.

If you use a paper application form, you may provide us your child’s passport, or a certified copy. If you provide a certified copy, we’ll tell you when to send us your child’s passport.

Tips

Please also provide copies of your children’s Identity cards.

Please also provide your children’s Kartu Keluarga.

Please also provide a copy of your children’s livret de famille.

If you’re not a French national, please also provide a copy of your children’s’ carte d’assuré.

Please also provide a copy of:

  • your child’s Hukou (household registration book)
  • your child’s identity cards.

Character

Your children must be of good character

If your children are 17 or older, they must provide a police certificate from:

  • their country of citizenship
  • any other country where they have spent 12 months or more over the last 10 years.

Good character

How to get a police certificate

Tips

Police Certificates must be less than 6 months old when you apply.  You don’t need to provide Police Certificates for children under 17.

Health

Your children must be in good health

Your children must have a medical examination as proof of good health. Any children 11 years and over must have a chest x-ray too.

Getting an x-ray or medical examination

Tips

Children under 11 and pregnant women don’t need to have a chest x-ray unless a special report is needed.

Dependent children

Your children must be single and depend on you for financial support

For us to consider your children to be dependent, they must be:

  • 17 or under
  • 18-24 with no children of their own.

We’ll ask your children to sign a declaration that they’re single when they complete their residence application.

We’ll use the documents you provide as proof of your children’s identity to confirm their age.

Dependent children

Tips

Children living with a partner are not considered to be single, even if they’ve been living with their partner for less than a year.

Partnership

Children aged 21-24 are only considered dependent if they rely on an adult for financial support.

Dependent children aged 21 - 24

Children aged 21-24 must rely on an adult for financial support

When we assess if your children need financial support, we’ll look at whether they:

  • are working, if the work full-time or part-time, and how long they’ve been working
  • are able to support themselves
  • live with a family member and how much support is provided 
  • are studying and if they study full-time or part-time.

We may ask for evidence that your children are financially dependent.

Tips

Children aged 21-24 are only considered dependent if they rely on an adult for financial support.

Your relationship with your children

You must be the parent of your dependent children

You must provide evidence that confirms your relationship to your child, which  may include:

  • full birth certificates 
  • adoption papers, or if the adoption was customary, a written declaration stating you’ve adopted the children and the date and country the adoption took place
  • any other documents that confirm your relationship to each other.
Tips

If you’re a New Zealand resident and your dependent children were eligible to be included in your residence application, but weren’t included, we may ask you to explain the reason for this.

If your children joined your family through customary adoption, we may seek confirmation of the adoption from the children’s biological parents.

You can provide household registration documents if these confirm your relationship to your child.

Custody of children 15 and under

You must have the legal right to remove dependent children from their home country

If you’re separated or divorced, you must provide legal documents that show that one of the following applies:

  • you have the sole right to decide where your children live
  • you have the right to remove your children from their home country
  • you have custody of the children and your children’s other parent agrees they can move to New Zealand if their application is approved.

If your children’s other parent has died, you must provide their death certificate.

Tips

If you have a statutory right to the custody of your children and it’s not possible to get legal documents to confirm this right, we will assess your right to remove the children on a case-by-case basis.

If you apply online, you must upload a copy of this evidence with your application.

If you use a paper application form, you must send us either the original document, or a certified copy.

Your immigration status

You must be a New Zealand citizen or resident

You must provide an original or certified copy of your:

  • New Zealand passport, birth certificate or certificate of citizenship, or
  • New Zealand Resident Visa, or
  • Australian passport.

Your place of residence

New Zealand must be your primary place of residence

You must provide evidence that you live in New Zealand, which may include:

  • letters addressed to you, including rates or utility bills
  • employment records
  • records of benefit payments from Work and Income, or tax payments from Inland Revenue
  • mortgage or rental agreements
  • documents showing your belongings have been moved to New Zealand
  • any other documents that show you live in New Zealand.

English language

Your dependent children aged 16 and over may need to meet English language requirements

Children aged 16 and over must meet an English language requirement, if they were eligible to be included in your residence application under one of the following:

  • the General Skills Category
  • the Skilled Migrant Category
  • the Business Immigration Instructions
  • the Business Investor Category.

You must provide evidence that children aged 16 and over who were eligible to be included in a General Skills or Skilled Migrant Category residence application speak English. This may include:

  • an acceptable English language test result
  • evidence they have an English speaking background
  • evidence they can speak English for other reasons.

You must provide evidence that children aged 16 and over who were eligible to be included in a residence application under the Business Immigration Instructions or Business Investor Category speak English. This may include:

  • an acceptable English language test result
  • evidence they have an English speaking background
  • evidence can speak English for other reasons.

English language test results for a Dependent Child Resident Visa

Tips

Dependent children aged 16 and over that who are required to meet English language requirements can learn English in New Zealand. You’ll have to pay us for their English language classes before we can grant them a visa.

Children who aren’t eligible or are 15 or under, don’t have to meet English language requirements.

Process and costs

The information below will help you understand the process, timeframes and costs involved in applying for this visa, so you can plan ahead and have the best chance of submitting a complete application.

Notes

We cannot display any process or costs information until you have provided your country details. Enter your country details in the panel above to view information relevant to your situation.

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How to submit

Payment methods and receiving centre details if applicable.

Notes

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Conditions

These are the conditions that you must meet once you have your visa.

Entry permission

Your child must apply for entry permission when they arrive in New Zealand. They can do this by completing an arrival card, which they’ll be given on the way to New Zealand.

Notes

The children can be refused entry permission if:

  • they don’t meet our character requirements
  • their circumstances have changed since they were granted a visa
  • they refuse to let us take a photo or provide us with their fingerprints or an iris scan, if asked for them.

Travelling to and arriving in New Zealand

Section 49 conditions

If your resident visa is subject to section 49 conditions, your child’s visa will be subject to those same conditions.

Notes

If you don’t comply with the conditions of your visa, you and your dependent children may have to leave New Zealand.

Travel

Your children can travel in and out of New Zealand until their travel conditions expire.

To travel after that, they’ll need to apply for either:

  • a permanent resident visa
  • a variation of conditions.

Application from a Resident Holder or Former Resident Visa Holder (INZ 1175)

Notes

Your children’s travel conditions will expire 2 years from the date they first arrive in New Zealand as a resident.

If they’re outside of New Zealand when their travel conditions expire, their visas will expire as well.

Keep your visa in a valid passport

If you want the child to travel, their visa must be in a valid passport.

If their passport expires, they must apply to transfer the visa to a new passport before they can travel.

Notes

To transfer your visa, you must:

  • send us your old and new passports
  • complete an ‘Application for Transfer or Confirmation of a Visa’
  • pay a transfer fee.

Application for transfer or confirmation of a visa

Application for Transfer or Confirmation of a Visa (INZ 1023) PDF 381KB

Fees, decision times and where to apply

Study

Your children can study in New Zealand.

Work

If they’re old enough, your children can work in New Zealand.