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If you live in New Zealand and intend to adopt a child living in another country, there is no obstacle in your way. The New Zealand government has defined the Intercountry Adoption Resident Visa for these conditions. So you can complete the adoption process first in the child’s home country then apply for this visa. This way, your child can live and grow up in New Zealand.

What is the New Zealand Intercountry Adoption Resident Visa? What are its requirements? How to apply for it? How much does it cost? In the following, we try to focus on the answer to these questions and many other questions.

What is an Intercountry Adoption Resident Visa?

If you have adopted a child outside of New Zealand, you can bring him/her to New Zealand under an intercountry Adoption Resident Visa. This visa allows your child to become a New Zealand resident and live there permanently. If you want to get this visa for your child, you should consider the following:

What are the requirements for obtaining Intercountry Adoption Resident
  • The adopted child must be 24 years old or younger.
  • If the child is old enough, he/she can go to school and work.
  • The adoption process must be legally completed before applying for a visa.
  • If the adoption process is ongoing, you can bring your child to New Zealand on a visitor visa to complete the adoption process.
  • If your visa is subject to section 49 conditions, your child visa will be subject to the same conditions. If you can not comply with your visa conditions, your adopted child will have to leave the country.
  • The Intercountry Adoption Resident Visa must be entered in a valid passport. If the passport expires, you must transfer the visa to the renewed passport. Therefore you should:
    • Send an old and new passport to New Zealand Immigration.
    • Pay the visa transfer fee.
    • Complete the Application for Transfer or Confirmation of a Visa.

What are the requirements for obtaining this visa?

If you are planning to get the intercountry Adoption Resident Visa for your adopted child, you should consider the following:

  • The identity documents you must provide are:
    • two acceptable photographs,
    • a certified copy of the passport with its original, or a certificate of identity
    • a birth certificate.
  • If your intended child is 17 years old or older, you must provide a police certificate. This certificate is issued by the child’s country of citizenship. Note that children under this age will not need this certificate.
  • To prove the child’s good health, he/she should do a medical examination and chest x-ray. Children aged ten or younger do not need a chest x-ray.
  • The New Zealand Government must recognize the adoption process. Therefore, you must provide the following documents:
    • A certified copy of the adaptation documents
    • Customary adoption confirmation from the child’s biological parents
  • Adoption must be in accordance with the child’s home country law.
  • The child’s home country must agree so that you can remove the adopted child from the home country.
  • The child you are adopting must be dependent. The dependent child must:
    • Be 17 years old or younger.
    • Or 18 to 24 years old but has no children of his/her own

When you apply for residency, you will be asked to declare that your child is single. New Zealand Immigration checks a child’s age using identity documents.

  • As a parent, you need to be a citizen or resident of this country to obtain an Intercountry Adoption Resident Visa for your child. You must therefore submit the following documents to New Zealand Immigration:
    • New Zealand passport
    • Birth certificate or certificate of citizenship
    • New Zealand Resident Visa
  • You must prove that you live in New Zealand. For this purpose, you can provide the following documents:
    • Letters related to you, such as rates or utility bills
    • Employment documents
    • Payments from Work and Income
    • Tax payments from Inland Revenue
    • Rental agreements
    • Documents related to your belongings have been moved to New Zealand.
    • Any other documents that prove you live in New Zealand.

How to apply for this visa?

  1. You must first complete the Residence Application form. Note that children 18 years and older must sign this form.
  2. Then you have to pay for the immigration levy and visa application fee and send your documents along with the form. For a postal address and payment method, visit the New Zealand Immigration website to get up-to-date information based on the country you are applying to.
  3. New Zealand Immigration will review the documents and make the final decision on granting a visa. Be aware that you may need to provide more evidence.

How much does it cost to get this visa?

The answer to this question varies based on the country of the adopted child. So it’s best to go to the New Zealand Immigration website to get up-to-date information on what to pay.

Can the visa holder travel?

Your adopted child can travel in and out of New Zealand as long as the travel conditions are valid. When the travel conditions expire, you must apply for one of the following documents:

  • A permanent resident visa
  • A variation of conditions

Keep in mind that travel conditions expire two years after your first arrival in New Zealand. Your visa will be revoked when your travel conditions expire while you are out of New Zealand.

Let’s sum up…

In the previous paragraphs, we explained how you could bring your adopted child to New Zealand and live together under an Intercountry Adoption Resident visa. In other parts of the Visa Library website, you can get acquainted with other visas of this country and other countries’ visas.

If you have experience obtaining an Intercountry Adoption Resident visa, you can share it with other readers through the comments section. This way, they can make better decisions with fewer mistakes. You can also ask your questions through this section. We will respond as soon as possible.

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