Child of a Worker Visitor Visa

Visa details

If you have a work visa your dependent children can visit you in New Zealand with this visa and study for up to 3 months. They must be 19 years old and under.

Length of stay
Same duration

As your work visa

Age range

19 and under

Cost
From
NZD $211
Processing time
90% within
64 weekdays
With this visa you can
  • Have your children join you in New Zealand.
  • Send your children to school in New Zealand for up to 3 months.
  • Allow your children to explore New Zealand as visitors.
Things to note
  • Some work visa holders are not eligible to support applications for this visa.
  • You can apply for visas for your children at the same time you apply for your work visa. Your children will only be granted visas after your own application is approved.
  • If you want your children to study for more than 3 months, they'll need student visas.

Bringing family if you have a work visa

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

 

Acceptable photos

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

If you use a paper application form, you may send us your child’s passport, or a certified copy. If you provide a certified copy, we may ask for your child’s passport before we complete the application.

Tips

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

We can’t accept a Taiwan compatriot passport as proof of your citizenship.

If you are a citizen of China and you submit a paper application form in China, you must also complete a supplementary form.

Supplementary form for Chinese citizens (INZ 1027) PDF 338KB

If you are submitting a paper application form, you must provide a supplementary form for Hong Kong and Macao visitors, workers and students.

Supplementary form for Hong Kong and Macao visitors, workers and students (INZ 1220) PDF 240KB

Please also provide a copy of:

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

Health

Your children must be in good health

The children may need to have a chest x-ray and/or a medical examination as proof of good health.

Who needs an x-ray or medical examination

Tips

Children under 11 don’t need to have an x-ray unless a special report is needed.

You must provide a chest x-ray completed in the last 3 months, even if you have provided one to us previously, if:

  • your children have spent 6 consecutive months in China since the last x-ray certificate was issued, and
  • your children are now coming to NZ for more than 6 months.

Character

Your children must be of good character

You may need to provide Police Certificates as proof of the children’s good character.

Good character

Who needs to provide police certificates

Tips

You don’t need to provide Police Certificates for children under 17.

Genuine intentions

You must genuinely intend for your children to meet the conditions of their visas

When we decide if your intentions are genuine, we consider all the information:

  • you provide to support your application
  • we have about your personal circumstances, and
  • you provided in any previous applications.

Genuine intentions to visit, study or work in NZ

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 either:

  • 17 or under
  • 18-19 with no children of their own.

We may ask for evidence that children 18 – 19 are financially dependent on you, for example:

  • documents showing they’re enrolled at school or university
  • receipts for their daily expenses, like phone, clothes, food
  • bank accounts showing you pay then an allowance
  • receipts for big purchases, like travel.

Dependent children

Tips

We may ask for evidence that children 18 – 19 are dependent on you.

Your relationship with your children

You must be the parent of your dependent children

You must provide evidence that you are the parent of your dependent children, which may include:

Dependent children

Tips

If your children are travelling alone or with one parent, we may ask for evidence they have the right to leave their country of residence, eg custody or guardianship papers.

Your work visa

You must hold an appropriate work visa

We’ll check our records for evidence you hold an appropriate work visa.

Your children won’t be eligible for this visa, if your work visa is any of the following:

  • a Working Holiday Visa 
  • a Skilled Migrant Category Job Search Work Visa
  • a Silver Fern Job Search Work Visa
  • a Recognised Seasonal Employer Limited Visa
  • a Supplementary Seasonal Employment Work Visa
  • a Foreign Crew on Fishing Vessels Work Visa
  • a Domestic Staff of Diplomatic, Consular and Official Staff Work Visa.
  • an Essential Skills Work Visa and you are undertaking lower-skilled work.

Find out if your are eligible to support your child's visa

Minimum income (Essential Skills Work Visa)

You must earn enough money to support your dependent children while they’re in New Zealand

If you hold an Essential Skills Work Visa and are eligible to support visas for your children, you must provide evidence that you, or you and your partner who also has an Essential Skills Work Visa, earn at least NZ $43,322.76 a year before tax. Evidence of income should include an employment agreement.

Tips

If you don’t earn the minimum income amount, your children won’t be able to come to New Zealand.

If you stop earning the minimum income amount while your children are in New Zealand, you and your children may have to leave New Zealand.

Minimum income (Religious Worker Work Visa)

You must have enough money to support your dependent children while they’re in New Zealand

You must provide either:

  • evidence that you, or you and your partner earn at least NZ $43,322.76 a year before tax. Evidence of income should include an employment agreement
  • a completed 'Sponsorship Form for Religious Workers' form that shows that the religious organisation that is supporting you will also support your children.

Sponsorship Form for Religious Workers (INZ 1190) PDF 300KB

Tips

If you don’t have sponsorship for your children and you don’t earn the minimum income amount, your children won’t be able to come to New Zealand.

If you don’t have sponsorship for your children and you stop earning the minimum income amount while your children are in New Zealand, you and your children may have to leave New Zealand.

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

We cannot display any receiving centre or payment method 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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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

Travel

If the children want to travel in and out of New Zealand, they must have valid multiple entry travel conditions to return to New Zealand.

Notes

If you want multiple entry travel conditions for the children, you must apply for them. To be eligible, the children must not have been in New Zealand for more than 9 months in the last 18 months.

If the children are outside New Zealand when their travel conditions expire, their visa will expire as well.

Travel

If your children have multiple entry visas they can travel to and from New Zealand as many times as they like before their visas expire.

If they have single entry visas their visas will expire when they leave New Zealand.

Check your child’s visa label or their evisa letter for their travel conditions.

Notes

If your children do not have multiple entry visas you can apply to have the conditions of their visas varied to allow them to travel.

Minimum income (Religious Workers Visa)

If you hold a Religious Workers Visa:

  • you must continue to earn the minimum income amount while your children are in New Zealand, or
  • your children must be sponsored by the religious organisation that is supporting you.
Notes

If you don’t continue to earn the minimum income amount, or your children don’t continue to be sponsored, you and your children may have to leave New Zealand.

Minimum income (Essential Skills Work Visa)

If you hold an Essentials Skills Work Visa, you must continue to earn the minimum income amount while your children are in New Zealand.

Notes

If you don’t continue to earn the minimum income amount, you and your children may have to leave New Zealand.

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.

Notes

Your children will need student visas if they want to study for more than 3 months.

If your children will be studying for more than 2 weeks, their school must be a signatory to the ‘Code of Pastoral Care for International Students’.

Code of Pastoral Care for International Students

Work

Your children cannot work in New Zealand.

Visa expiry

The children must leave New Zealand before their visas expire.

Notes

Visa expiry dates are printed on a visa label or included in a visa letter.