Bringing family if you have an Essential Skills Work Visa (ESWV)
If you have an Essential Skills Work Visa (ESWV), you may be able to support visas for your partner and dependent children, depending on how much you earn.
Visas you can support for your family
If you have an Essential Skills Work Visa (ESWV), you can support a visitor visa for your partner.
Partner of a Worker Visitor Visa
You may be able to support a:
- work visa for your partner
- visitor visas for your children
- student visas for your children.
Supporting your partner's work visa
If you earn at least NZD $26.85 an hour (80% of the
If your partner was given a Partner of a Worker Work Visa with work conditions before 2 December 2024
We may have given your partner a Partner of a Worker Work Visa with work conditions before 2 December, if:
- you earned less than NZD $59.32 an hour, or
- your job was not on the Green List, or you did not meet the job's requirements.
A work visa with conditions means your partner needs to meet some employment rules.
They must:
- work for an
- be paid at least the wage rate in place for their job, unless they are in a job covered by an uncapped sector agreement.
Your partner can apply to remove the work conditions from their visa if you earn at least NZD $26.85 an hour. Removing the work conditions means your partner can work for any employer.
Supporting visas for your dependent children
If you earn at least NZD $55,844 a year you can support a:
- Child of a Worker Visitor Visa for your child
- Dependent Child Student Visa for your child.
Child of a Worker Visitor Visa
If you earn at least NZD $43,322.76 a year, you can support a Dependent Child Student Visa or a Child of Worker Visitor Visa for your child if, on or before 9 March 2025:
- your dependent child had been approved for a visa, or had applied for a visa based on their relationship to you, and
- you had an ESWV or had applied for an ESWV that was later approved.
If you get a pay rise
If you could not support visas for your family because your pay was lower than the required amount, but your pay has increased since getting your visa, you may be able to support your family if you earn at least:
- NZD $26.85 an hour, you can support a Partner of a Worker Work Visa for your partner
- NZD $55,844 a year, you can support a visitor or student visa for your dependent children.