F4.35 Sponsorship Requirements (24/02/2020)

1. Applicants must, from their first day as a resident in New Zealand, be sponsored by their:
   1. adult child (who meets the family relationship requirements outlined at F.30.1); or
   2. adult child and their partner
2. The supporting adult child and their partner (if joint income is considered) must sponsor the applicant or applicants for a sponsorship period aligned with the New Zealand Superannuation residency eligibility criteria (excluding the requirement that five of those years be while the parent is over 50 years of age), which is at present 10 years, regardless of whether the parent may meet the New Zealand Superannuation residency eligibility requirements in a shorter period of time.

F4.35.1 General Requirements

To act as a sponsor the adult child and the adult child’s partner (if joint income is considered) must:

1. meet the requirements to be an acceptable sponsor as set out at R4.5; and
2. agree to meet the undertakings set out at R4.10 for the required sponsorship period (see F4.35(b)); and
3. meet the minimum income requirement for sponsors outlined at F4.40.

F4.35.5 Joint sponsorship requirements

In addition to meeting the requirements outlined at F4.35.1 above, the income of a sponsoring adult child’s partner may only be considered if the partner:

1. has been living with the sponsoring adult child for a period of at least 12 months in a partnership that is genuine and stable (see F2.10.1), and they meet the requirements for the recognition of a partnership set out at F2.15; and
2. agrees to act as an additional sponsor to the application, including meeting the general requirements set out at F4.35.1 above.

Effective 24/02/2020