Partnership pathways.
Build a clear picture of your partnership and the visa that fits your plans. The right option depends on your partner's status, your shared living history and whether you want to visit, work or settle.
What is a partnership-based visa?
A partnership-based application relies on your relationship with an eligible supporting partner. Different visas apply where that person is a New Zealand citizen, resident, work visa holder or student visa holder. Start by identifying the supporting partner's exact status and the outcome you need. A temporary visitor visa, a work visa and a resident visa provide different permissions and have different requirements.
What does a partnership mean to INZ?
Immigration New Zealand assesses both the relationship and your life together. A recognised partnership can be a marriage, civil union or de facto relationship.
Being married does not remove the need to demonstrate that you live together in a genuine and stable relationship. Living together means sharing a home as partners. Visits, holidays together or sharing accommodation only as flatmates do not establish the same thing.
Useful evidence can include shared tenancy records, correspondence addressed to each of you at the same home, financial arrangements and recognition of the relationship by family and friends.
Organise that evidence across time. A short timeline can help explain when you met, when you started sharing a home and any periods apart. Explain gaps directly rather than leaving the assessor to guess what happened.
Can a work visa be available sooner?
A Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa may be available where the partnership requirements are met but you have not yet completed 12 months of living together. You still need evidence of actual shared living and a genuine and stable relationship.
Under the current rules, applicants with less than 12 months of living together can generally receive a one-year visa. Those with at least 12 months may qualify for up to three years. Further temporary applications have their own limits and requirements.
A visitor visa may suit a different purpose, but it does not provide the same employment rights. Choose the category around what you intend to do while in New Zealand.
When can you apply for partnership residence?
For a Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa, you need an eligible New Zealand citizen or resident partner. Both partners must be at least 18, and you must have lived together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 12 months after both turning 18 when you apply.
The applicant must also meet health and character requirements. Eligible dependent children may be included, subject to the residence rules for their age and circumstances.
The application should demonstrate the qualifying living-together period, as well as the continuing relationship. A long relationship with only a short period of shared residence needs careful assessment.
My partner holds a work or student visa?
Their visa type and circumstances determine whether they can support you and which visa you may obtain. Do not assume every work or student visa allows a partner to work.
For some work visa holders, occupation and pay affect family eligibility. Check the supporting partner's position before relying on a proposed job or planning both partners' employment.
What else should you check?
The supporting partner's immigration and partnership support history matters. Previous sponsorships, residence obtained through an earlier partnership and character issues can affect eligibility.
Prepare each family member's application deliberately. For example, children cannot simply be added to a Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa application; they need appropriate separate applications.
Keep your relationship timeline, address evidence and previous visa declarations consistent. If you have spent time apart, explain the reasons and how the relationship continued during that period.
Notes on this guide…
This guide explains the category in general terms. Immigration instructions can change; eligibility depends on the rules and circumstances applicable to your application.
Check your Green List options
Try our online assessment form, which will give us all the information we need to determine the most suitable option for your circumstances.
