Refugee Family Support Resident Visa

Visa details

If you came to New Zealand as a refugee or protected person you may be able to sponsor a family member to get New Zealand residence.

Length of stay

Indefinitely

Number of visas

600

Cost

NZD $0

Processing time
Within
4 weeks
With this visa you can
  • Live, work and study in New Zealand.
  • Include your partner, and dependent children aged 24 and under, in your residence application – if they were first included in your sponsor's registration.
Things to note
  • We are currently only accepting tier 1 sponsor registrations.
  • If you’re invited to apply for residence, you’ll have 12 months to send us your application.

Changes help more refugee families unite 

Who can apply

The criteria and evidence below will provide you with the information you need to meet the requirements of this visa.

View All Evidence

Eligible sponsor

You must have an eligible sponsor

Your sponsor must be a New Zealand citizen or resident who was granted residence on the basis of being a refugee or protected person, or as an Afghan interpreter.

Your sponsor must also meet other tier one or tier two requirements.

Refugee Family Support Category Sponsorship Requirements

Tips

  1. If your sponsor doesn’t meet the requirements, they won’t be able to sponsor your residence application.

Sponsor registration

Your sponsor must register as a tier one or tier two sponsor

Your sponsor must complete a ‘Refugee Family Support Category Sponsor Registration Form’ and provide evidence of their immigration status, which can include any of the following:

  • a New Zealand resident visa
  • a New Zealand permanent resident visa
  • a valid New Zealand passport
  • a Certificate of New Zealand Citizenship
  • a recent official statement of citizenship from the Department of Internal Affairs

If your sponsor has changed their name, they’ll need to provide a statutory declaration certificate of their name change too.

Refugee Family Support Category Tier One Sponsor Registration Form (INZ1094) PDF 642KB

Refugee Family Support Category Tier Two Sponsor Registration Form (INZ1192) PDF 506KB

Your sponsor should also attach photocopies of birth certificates for all family members they want to sponsor, if they are available.

Tips

  1. Only tier 1 sponsor registration is currently available. Tier 2 sponsor registrations will be returned.

  2. If birth certificates aren’t available, your sponsor can include identity cards instead.

  3. For you to include your partner and dependent children in a later residence application, they must be included in your sponsor’s registration.

Sponsorship obligations

Your sponsor must arrange suitable accommodation for when you arrive

Your sponsor must also continue to make sure that your accommodation needs are met for your first 2 years in New Zealand. Settlement service providers available to help with accommodation plans for families:

Provider: Safer Ashburton/Mid-Canterbury
Location: Ashburton
safermidcanterbury.org.nz

Provider: Kāhui Tū Kaha
Locations: Blenheim, Dunedin, Invercargill, Levin, Masterton, Nelson, Palmerston North, Wellington
redcross.org.nz

Provider: Purapura Whetu
Location: Christchurch
pw.maori.nz

Provider: Hamilton Multicultural Services (HMS) Trust
Location: Hamilton
hmstrust.org.nz

Provider: Presbyterian Support South Canterbury
Location: Timaru
pssc.org.nz

Invitation to apply for residence

You must be invited to apply for residence

If your sponsor’s registration is selected from one of the Refugee Family Support Category queues, we may invite you to apply for residence.

If we invite you to apply for residence, we’ll send you a letter detailing all the information you’ll need to provide.

Tips

  1. If you’re invited to apply for residence, you’ll have 12 months to send us your application.

Health

You must be in good health

You don’t need to provide any evidence of your good health, unless we ask you to.

Character

You must be of good character

If you are 17 or over, you must provide a police certificate from:

  • your country of citizenship
  • any other country where you have spent 12 months or more over the last 10 years, even if you did not spend that 12 months all in one visit.

Good character

How to get a police certificate

Tips

  1. Police Certificates must be less than 6 months old when you apply.

  2. You don’t need to provide any Police Certificates until you’re invited to apply for residence.

Partner and dependent children

For your partner and dependent children to be included in your residence application, they must have been included in your sponsor’s registration

To include your partner and dependent children in your residence application, you must provide evidence:

  • of your relationship with your partner and dependent children, like birth and marriage certificates
  • that your partner and dependent children meet the identity, health and character requirements for this visa.

Partnership
Dependent children

Tips

  1. You don’t need to provide any evidence until you’re invited to apply for residence.

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.

Stage 1

1
Your sponsor registers with us

Your sponsor will need to complete a Refugee Family Support Category Sponsor Registration Form and send it to us with their registration fee and supporting documents.

Note: We are currently only accepting tier 1 sponsor registrations.

Refugee Family Support Category - Tier One Sponsor Registration Form (INZ 1094) for residence in New Zealand PDF 642KB
 Refugee Family Support Category — Tier Two Sponsor Registration Form (INZ 1192) for residence in New Zealand PDF 506KB
 

2
We select your sponsor's registration and invite you to apply for residence

When we receive your sponsor's registration, we enter it into a Refugee Family Support Category queue for selection.

If we select your sponsor's registration, we check they are an eligible sponsor before contacting them about their selection.

After this, we invite you to apply for residence — You will have 12 months to send us your application.

Residence is not guaranteed — as well as having a sponsor, you have to meet the other requirements for this visa.

Timeframes - Registration processing
Within 4 weeks

Registrations are processed within 4 weeks.

Stage 2

1
We make a decision about your application

If there is anything else you need to do, we will be in touch.

Immigration costs
 

2
You apply for residence

You can fill out a Residence application yourself or ask someone to help you. Because there are rules about giving immigration advice, it is important the person you ask is allowed to help you.

You will need to send us your application together with your supporting documents and application fee.

Self Assess Guide for Residence in New Zealand (INZ 1003) PDF 320KB
 Residence Guide (INZ 1002) PDF 500KB
 Residence Application (INZ 1000) PDF 1MB
Timeframes - Processing
90% within 44 months

90% of applications are currently completed within this time.

Timeframes - Average processing
Time is 28 months

Timeframes are in weekdays. We use the median value to find the average.

How to submit

Payment methods and receiving centre details if applicable.

Stage

1

Sponsor's Registration

Postal address

Immigration New Zealand
PO Box 76895
Manukau City
Auckland 2241
New Zealand

Courier address

Immigration New Zealand
DX Box: EP71514
20 Fairfax Avenue
Penrose
Auckland 1061
New Zealand

Other notes

You must be in New Zealand to register as a sponsor under the Refugee Family Support Category.

Stage

2

Resident visa application

Postal address

Immigration New Zealand
PO Box 76895
Manukau City
Auckland 2241
New Zealand

Courier address

Immigration NZ
DX Box: EP71514
20 Fairfax Avenue
Penrose
Auckland 1061
New Zealand

Conditions

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

Entry permission

You must apply for entry permission when you arrive in New Zealand. You can do this by completing an arrival card, which you are given on the way to New Zealand.

Arriving in New Zealand

Notes

  • You can be refused entry permission if:

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

Arriving in New Zealand

When we grant your visa, if you are outside New Zealand you and your family will have 12 months to come to New Zealand.

If you and your family are unable to come to New Zealand in this time, your visa will expire and you’ll have to apply for a new visa.

Notes

  • Your family must have been included in your resident visa application for them to come to New Zealand.

Keep your visa in a valid passport

If you want to travel, your visa must be in a valid passport.

If your passport expires, you must apply to transfer your visa to a new passport before you can travel.

Transferring my visa to a new passport

Notes

Travel

You can travel in and out of New Zealand as often as you like until your travel conditions expire.

To travel after that, you will need to apply for and be granted either:

  • a Permanent Resident Visa
  • a variation of your travel conditions, which would allow you to return to New Zealand at a later date. 
Notes

  • Your travel conditions will expire 2 years from the date you first arrive in New Zealand as a resident.

    If you’re outside of New Zealand when your travel conditions expire, your visa will expire as well.

Sponsorship

Your sponsor is responsible for making sure you have somewhere reasonable to live when you arrive in New Zealand. They must also continue to support you with your accommodation needs for your first 2 years in New Zealand.