Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa

Visa details

This visa allows you to work in New Zealand if you have a partner who is a New Zealand citizen or resident.

Length of stay
Between

1- 2 years

Cost
From
NZD $860
Processing time
90% within
83 days
With this visa you can
  • Stay in New Zealand for 2 years if you’ve been living with your partner for more than 12 months. Or 1 year if you’ve been living with your partner for less than 12 months.
  • Come to New Zealand with your partner.
  • Work in New Zealand.
  • Study for up to 3 months.
Things to note
  • You can only have this visa for 2 years, but before it expires you can apply for residence based on your partnership.
  • You cannot include dependent children in your visa application, but they can apply for visas based on their relationship to you.
    Dependent children

Explore family visa options

Who can apply

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

View All Evidence

Identity

You must provide proof of your identity

  • 1 acceptable photo if you apply online, or 2 photos if you use a paper application form.
  • your passport or certificate of identity.

Acceptable photos

If you submit a paper application, provide your original passport or a certified copy.  We can usually process your application faster if you provide your original passport.

If you apply online, you must upload a copy of your passport when you apply. We will let you know if you need to send your passport after you've applied.

Sending your passport for online applications

Tips

  1. Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months after you plan to leave New Zealand.

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. Also provide a copy of your Identity card.

  5. Also provide your:

    • Hukou (household registration book)
    • Chinese identity card.

Character

You must be of good character

You may need to provide police certificates as proof of your good character.

If you are aged 17 or older and plan to stay in New Zealand for more than 24 months (including any time you have already spent in New Zealand), you must provide police certificates from:

  • any country you are a citizen of
  • any country you have spent more than 5 years in since you turned 17.

You do not need to provide police certificates if:

  • you have provided them to us with an earlier visa application, and
  • they were issued in the previous 24 months.

Good character

How to get a police certificate

Tips

  1. If you provide a police certificate that is not in English, you must provide an English translation.

    This includes police certificates that record no convictions.

Your partner’s immigration status

Your partner must be a New Zealand citizen or resident

Your partner must provide one of the following:

  • a New Zealand passport
  • a New Zealand birth certificate
  • a certificate of New Zealand citizenship
  • a New Zealand residence class visa.

If your partner is a New Zealand resident because of their citizenship or residence status in Australia, they may provide their Australian passport, permanent residence or resident return visa.

Your relationship with your partner

You and your partner must be living together in a genuine and stable relationship

You must provide evidence that you and your partner are living together in a genuine and stable relationship.

Your evidence should show:

  • how long you’ve been together
  • how long you’ve been living together
  • if you’re 16 or 17, that your parent or guardian supports your partnership
  • you spend time together, eg photos together, emails and social media conversations between you
  • you share finances and other responsibilities.

Partnership

Tips

  1. To be eligible for this visa, you have to be living together when you apply.

Funds or sponsorship

You must have enough money to live on while you are in New Zealand or have an acceptable sponsor.

You must provide evidence for 1 of the following:

  • a salary that supports  you for the length of your stay
  • that your employer can support you for the length of your stay
  • that you have enough funds to support you for the length of your stay
  • a Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry completed by an acceptable sponsor.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry (INZ 1025) PDF 414KB

Evidence can include:

  • cash
  • New Zealand bank accounts showing the current balance
  • travellers' cheques
  • bank drafts
  • recognised credit cards with sufficient credit available
  • for group visas, certification from a reputable travel agency.

If you are pregnant, there are additional requirements.

Funds for maternity services

Eligible NZ supporting partner

Your partner must support your visa application, and be eligible to support a partnership-based resident visa application within 12 months

To be eligible to support a partnership based resident visa application, your partner must not:

  • have supported a successful resident visa application for more than one previous partner
  • have supported a successful resident visa application for a previous partner within the last 5 years
  • have included a previous partner in their own successful residence application, within the last 5 years
  • have themselves been included as a partner in a successful residence application, within the last 5 years
  • be liable for deportation, or have their deportation liability suspended.

Your partner must complete a ‘Partnership support form for Residence/temporary entry’ as evidence of their support’.

Form for Partners Supporting Partnership-Based Temporary Entry Applications (INZ 1146) PDF 412KB

Tips

  1. New Zealand citizens and residents can support only 1 partner for residence in a 5 year period, and support only 2 partners for residence in total.

  2. If your partner can't support you for residence now, but will be able to within 12 months, they can still support your work or visitor visa now.

  3. You can read more about residence in the 'Self-Assessment Guide for Residence in New Zealand'.

    Self-Assessment Guide for Residence in New Zealand (INZ 1003) PDF 320KB

Your partner’s character

Your partner must be of good character

Your partner must meet our good character requirements or be granted a character waiver. We may ask your partner to provide a police certificate from any country they have spent 12 months or more in over the last 10 years. This applies whether the time was spent in one or more visits.

Your partner will not meet our character requirements if they have any convictions for domestic violence or sexual offences. If your partner does not meet our character requirements, we will consider whether they are eligible for a character waiver.

Who needs to provide police certificates

Your partner's character

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

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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

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.

Travel

After you arrive, you can travel in and out of New Zealand as many times as you like before your visa expires.

Work

You can work in any employment you like, as long as:

  • the work you do is legal
  • you do not provide commercial sexual services
  • you do not invest or operate in a business that provides commercial sexual services
  • you have any occupational registration that is needed to do that work in New Zealand.

Occupational registration

Study

You can study for up to 3 months.

Visa expiry

You must leave New Zealand before your visa expires.

Notes

  • If you want to stay longer, you can apply for residence as the partner of a New Zealand citizen or resident.