5
(1)

There are several ways you can get a New Zealand residence visa. In this section, we are going to concentrate on the Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa. Holders of this visa can work, live, and study permanently in New Zealand. If your partner lives in New Zealand and meets certain requirements, you can apply for this visa.

Therefore, we cover the application process of partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa, requirements, documents, costs, processing time, and all you need to know.

What is a Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa?

If your partner is a New Zealand resident or citizen, you can apply for a Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa. With this visa, you can work and live indefinitely in New Zealand. Besides, you can include your family members in applying for this visa. If you want to apply for the Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa, note the following:

How to Apply for New Zealander Resident Visa?
  • If your partner’s residence is based on their Australian citizenship, Australian permanent residence, or resident return visa, you can only apply for this visa if your partner lives in New Zealand.
  • Note that the visa must be entered in a valid passport. If your passport expires, the visa must be transferred to the new passport. For this purpose, you must:
  • Submit your old and new visa to New Zealand Immigration.
  • Complete the Application for Transfer or Confirmation of a Visa
  • Pay the visa transfer fee.
  • If your partner is a New Zealand citizen and you have been living together outside of the country for five years or more, you may be given a permanent resident visa. Your partner must be overseas when you apply or have been back in New Zealand for less than three months.
  • You can also study in New Zealand under this visa.
  • As a visa holder, you can work in any occupation with any employer.
  • You will not have a travel restriction as long as your visa is in a valid passport.

What are the requirements for this Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa?

To be qualified for this permission, you must be able to meet the following requirements:

  • Applicants for all New Zealand visas, including this visa, must provide a valid photo and passport. If you submit your documents online, you must submit one photo, and if you use a paper application, you must submit two photos. If you intend to apply via a paper application, your photo’s dimensions should be 35 by 45 mm. If you’re going to send your photo online, you should get the following:
  • Image size must be between 500 KB and 3 MB (between 900 x 1200 pixels and 2250 x 3000 pixels)
  • The photo file must be JPG or JPEG.
  • To prove your good health, you should have a medical examination and chest x-ray.
  • Your partner will also need to provide a police certificate. You must go to your country (s) of citizenship to present a police certificate. Also, the country where you have been for at least 12 months in the last 10 years can issue this certificate to you. Note that you do not need to spend all 12 months on one visit. For detailed information on how to obtain this certificate, you can visit the New Zealand Immigration website.

You can not meet the good character if you have a history of conviction for domestic violence or sexual offenses. If your partner can not meet this requirement, then the New Zealand government considers if he/she can be eligible for a character waiver.

  • To prove your good health, you should have a medical examination and chest x-ray.
  • You will also need to provide a police certificate. You must go to your country (s) of citizenship to present a police certificate. Also, the country where you have been for at least 12 months in the last 10 years can issue this certificate to you. Remember that you do not have to spend all 12 months on one visit. For detailed information on how to obtain this certificate, you can visit the New Zealand Immigration website.
  • As mentioned, 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
  • The partner who resides in New Zealand due to an Australian passport, permanent residence, and resident return visa must live in New Zealand. In this case, your partner must provide the following:
  • Employment records
  • Letters or bills related to them
  • Tax records and payments from work and income
  • Any evidence that they live in New Zealand
  • You can include your family members, including your dependent children and partner in your visa application. Your child must be under 24 and single. Children between the ages of 21 and 24 who are financially relied on their parents are considered dependent. If your child is 15 years old or younger, you must be legally allowed to leave him/her the country. A dependent child must be:
  • 17 years old or younger
  • 18 to 24 years old but have no children

When you sign the residency application form, you will be asked to declare that your child is single. New Zealand Immigration also uses identity documents to determine your child’s age.

  • As mentioned, children between the ages of 21 and 24 are considered dependent if they financially rely on an adult. New Zealand immigration considers the following factors in this regard:
  • Do children work? Full-time or part-time? How long have they been working?
  • Can they support themselves?
  • Do they live with family members?
  • Do they study? Part-time or full time?
  • You must show that you are the legal guardian or parent of your dependent child. The documents you can provide are:
  • Birth certificate
  • Documents related to the adoption, if the adoption is customary, you must provide a written statement indicating that you have adopted the child, as well as the date and country where the adoption took place.
  • Any document that shows your relationship with each other
  • You must have legal permission to remove your child from the home country (for children 15 years and under). You must also provide a death certificate if your child’s other parent has died. If you apply for this visa online, you must send a copy of the documents along with your application. If you use the paper submission, it is mandatory to provide the original documents. If you have the legal right to custody of your child but are unable to provide legal documentation, New Zealand Immigration will assess the matter based on your circumstances.
  • You and your partner should have a stable and genuine relationship for at least 12 months. You also have to show that you live together. The documents you provide must show that:
  • How long have you been together and how long have you been living together?
  • Do you share finances and other responsibilities?
  • How much time you spend together, your photos and conversations on social media and emails
  • People who recognize your connection
  • Your partner must be able to support your visa application. He/she must also complete the Partnership support form for Residence / temporary entry ’as evidence of their support.

How to apply for this visa?

If you want to use the paper submission, you have to go through the following steps:

  1. Your partner must first complete and sign the Partnership Support Form for Residence. You should also prepare your other documents.
  2. You must also complete the Residence Application form and pay the visa application fee. You can consider one of the following items to pay for your visa:
  • Credit Card
  • Debit Card
  • Bank check/draft
  • Personal check

You must send the documents to the following address:

Immigration New Zealand

PO Box 76895

Manukau City

Auckland 2241

New Zealand

  1. The New Zealand Immigration Service will review your application and decide on your visa.
  2. If all goes well and you have been granted a visa, check what documents you need to bring with you before traveling to New Zealand.

If you need to submit your documents online, you still have to prepare the forms and documents mentioned. You can then upload the documents and check your application’s status regularly through the account you create on the New Zealand Immigration website.

How much does it cost to apply for a Partner of a New Zealand Resident visa?

The application fee for the Partner of a New Zealand Resident visa is NZ $ 2250. Note that this fee is non-refundable. In other words, even if you are not issued a visa, this fee will not be refunded.

How long does it take to assess the submitted documents and issue the visa?

90% of applications submitted will be processed within 12 months.

Let’s sum up…

In the previous sections, we tried to address the common questions that most of our readers ask about the Partner of a New Zealand Resident visa. In Visa Library website, you can also read about other New Zealand visas as well as visas from other countries.

If you have experience receiving this visa or other New Zealand visas, you can share it with other readers through the comments section. Conveying your experiences can be very helpful to others. Also, if you have any questions, you can put them in this section so that we can answer them as soon as possible.

How useful was this article?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 5 / 5. Vote count: 1

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this article.