Want to live with your partner in New Zealand?

New Zealand offers three different Partner of a New Zealander visa pathways. They all rest on the same core requirement, which is proving that you and your partner are living together in a genuine, stable relationship. What they give you is different.

Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa

• For people in a relationship with a New Zealand citizen or resident, who have lived together for at least 12 months.
• Gives you residence: the right to live, work, and study in New Zealand indefinitely.
• Application fee: $5,360.
• Pathway to Permanent Resident Visa (PRV) after holding residence for two years.

Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa

• For partners of NZ citizens, residents, or other eligible visa holders. No defined minimum length of time you need to have lived together, but you must have lived together.
• An open work visa. You can work for any employer, be self-employed, or run your own business.
• One restriction: if you’re self-employed, you can’t employ other people.
• Application fee: $1,630.
• Valid for up to 3 years if your partner is a NZ citizen or resident and you’ve lived together for at least 12 months. One year validity if you have lived together for less than 12 months.

Partner of a New Zealander Visitor Visa

• For partners who want to stay in New Zealand without working.
• Same eligibility as the Work Visa, but no work rights.
• Application fee: $341.
• Valid for up to 3 years on the same conditions as the Work Visa.

* The 3-year length for Work and Visitor Visas applies if you and your New Zealand partner have been living together for at least 12 months. In other situations, you’ll typically be issued a 12-month visa.
Fees current as of 4 June 2026. INZ updates fees periodically. Check immigration.govt.nz for the latest figures before lodging your application.
Processing times change regularly. For the current published timeframes, check the Immigration New Zealand fees and processing times tool.

It depends on your relationship history, your timing, and what you want to do once you’re here.

• If you and your partner have been living together for at least 12 months and your partner is a NZ citizen or resident, the Resident Visa is usually the most useful option. It gives you the right to stay indefinitely.
• If you have not yet lived together for 12 months, a Partnership Work Visa or Partnership Visitor Visa may be an option, depending on your circumstances. You can build up your relationship history while you’re here, then apply for the Resident Visa once you meet the 12-month requirement.
• If you’re offshore and you have never lived in a relationship with your New Zealand partner, consider applying for a General Visitor Visa. From there you can step up to a Work or Resident Visa once you’re together.

The questions below cover the most common things people want to know before they apply. Tap any question to jump to the answer.

What kind of relationship qualifies for a Partnership Visa in New Zealand?

Immigration New Zealand’s definition is fairly broad. You qualify if you and your partner are:

• Married
• In a civil union (a legal partnership that gives the same rights as marriage)
• In a de facto relationship (living together as a couple without being legally married or in a civil union)

Same-sex and opposite-sex relationships qualify equally. New Zealand recognises same-sex marriages, civil unions, and de facto relationships, and the Rainbow community is supported across the immigration system.

To apply, you also need to meet four minimum partnership eligibility requirements:

• You and your partner have met each other in person before applying.
• You and your partner are both 18 or older, or 16-17 with the consent of your parents or guardians.
• The relationship is exclusive, meaning neither of you is in a relationship with someone else.
• You and your partner are not close relatives (for example, parent and child, siblings, or first cousins).

If you’re in a culturally arranged marriage and you haven’t yet lived together, there’s a separate pathway. See our Culturally Arranged Marriage Visa Guide.

What does “living together in a genuine and stable relationship” mean, and what is INZ’s fourfold test?

Living together is one of the core requirements for every partnership-based visa. Immigration New Zealand assesses your relationship against four things:

1. Credibility. You and your partner give consistent, believable information about your relationship.
2. Living together. You are sharing a home and living together as a couple, not just dating or visiting each other.
3. Genuine. Your relationship is exclusive and entered into for the long term, not for the purpose of getting a visa.
4. Stable. Your relationship is likely to continue.

You’ll sometimes see this called the “fourfold test”, which is just the formal name immigration officers use for these four points.

Ankur’s view: “Immigration New Zealand’s approach is evidence-based. The quality, consistency, and overall credibility of the evidence provided are often more important than the volume of material submitted.”

What counts as evidence? Things like a joint tenancy agreement or mortgage, bills addressed to both of you (individually or jointly) at the same address, photos together over time, records of travel together, joint bank accounts, and letters from people who know you both as a couple.

We discuss the different categories of relationship evidence commonly considered by Immigration New Zealand in our Proof of Relationship Guide. For a document checklist, see our Partnership Visa Checklist.

What’s the difference between the Partnership Resident Visa and the Partnership Work Visa?

This is one of the most common points of confusion, so let’s clear it up.

• The Partnership Resident Visa gives you residence, which means the right to live, work, and study in New Zealand indefinitely. To apply, you need to have lived together with your partner for at least 12 months and have the evidence to prove it. The application fee is $5,360.
• The Partnership Work Visa (officially the Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa) is a temporary visa that lets you live and work in New Zealand for up to three years. There’s no minimum length of time you need to have lived together to apply. The application fee is $1,630.Many people apply for the Work Visa first, build up their relationship history while living in New Zealand together, then apply for the Resident Visa once they meet the 12-month requirement.

Important detail about the 12-month rule:

For a Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa, you need to show that you have lived together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 12 months before the application is submitted.

Periods of separation are not counted towards the 12-month living together requirement.

If you have spent significant periods apart during your relationship, Immigration New Zealand may look closely at how those periods affect the living together requirement and whether the relationship remained genuine and stable. INZ will also consider whether there were genuine and compelling reasons for why you and your partner lived apart.

If your circumstances are not straightforward, seek advice before applying.

Who can be your supporting partner for a Partnership Visa?

Your supporting partner needs to meet conditions of their own for your application to succeed. The rules depend on their visa or citizenship status.

Basic eligibility (applies to all supporting partners):

• Be 18 or older (or 16-17 with parental consent).
• Have met you in person before the application.
• Not be a close relative (for example, parent, child, sibling, or first cousin).
• Meet Immigration New Zealand’s character requirements.

Visa or citizenship status:

• If your partner is a New Zealand citizen or resident, they can support you for any of the three partnership visas.
• If your partner is on an Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV), what they can support you for may depend on their hourly pay rate, occupation, and other immigration settings in place at the time you apply. Immigration rules in this area change regularly, so it is important to check the latest requirements before applying.
• If your partner is on a Student Visa, the type of visa they can support you for depends on the qualification they are studying and other immigration requirements in place at the time you apply.If your partner does not meet the study requirements to support you for a work visa, you may only be eligible for a Partner of a Student Visitor Visa, which requires showing you have enough funds to support yourself (at least $1,000 per month, or $400 per month if your accommodation is already paid for). These financial requirements may change over time, so check the current requirements before applying.

Funds thresholds are reviewed by INZ periodically. Confirm the current minimum at immigration.govt.nz before applying.

Previous partnership support limits:

Immigration New Zealand limits how many partners someone can support for residence over their lifetime, and how often.

• A supporting New Zealand partner can support no more than two partners in their lifetime for successful resident visa applications. If they have already supported one previous partner who was approved residence, they can support you as the second. They cannot support a third.
• If your New Zealand supporting partner was included in a previous partner’s resident visa application, or if they included their previous partner in their own resident visa application, they are considered to have acted as a partner already – they can only support one more partner (you) for residence.
• A supporting New Zealand partner cannot have supported any partner for residence in the five years immediately before your application.

Partnership visa applications get declined for the same reasons over and over. Most of them are avoidable with proper preparation.

Based on the cases we see most often, three issues come up again and again:

1. Lack of evidence of living together

This is the single most common decline reason. Couples can often prove they’re in a real relationship, but they struggle to prove they’re actually sharing a home, especially if they haven’t owned or rented their own property together. If your living arrangements are not well documented, this can create difficulties when INZ assesses whether you have been living together as a couple.

2. Lack of evidence of a genuine relationship overall

Beyond living together, INZ needs to be satisfied that your relationship is genuine, exclusive, and likely to continue. Thin evidence of public recognition, shared finances, or shared life decisions can leave doubts. Marriage certificates and photos alone aren’t enough.

3. Inconsistencies in the information you provide

Conflicting dates, different versions of the same story, addresses that don’t match across documents, or one partner saying something different to the other in a visa interview. INZ immigration officers are trained to spot inconsistencies, and even relatively minor discrepancies can raise questions about the credibility of an application that might otherwise appear strong.

Cases that can’t be straightforwardly approved

Some partnership applications face structural barriers that go beyond evidence and consistency. Two specific situations to be aware of:

• Serious medical conditions previously not declared. If you have a serious medical condition and were eligible to be included in your NZ-resident partner’s original residence application but were not declared, were not included, or were withdrawn from that application, a future Partnership Resident Visa application may be declined. Medical waiver options may also be unavailable.
• Serious character issues. If you’ve been sentenced to imprisonment of 12 months or more in the past 10 years, or you’ve been deported from another country, a standard partnership application can’t be approved. These cases require a special direction, which is granted at the absolute discretion of the Associate Minister of Immigration. These cases are complex and need specialist advice.

If either of these applies to you, don’t lodge a standard application without specialist advice. The wrong approach can close doors that might otherwise have been open.

From the cases that come across Ankur’s desk, two patterns repeat:

• Focusing on quantity instead of quality. Couples submit huge folders of evidence and hope volume will compensate for gaps. It doesn’t. A small, carefully chosen, well-presented set of strong evidence beats a large pile of weak material every time. Five clear pieces of joint financial evidence are worth more than 200 pages of text messages.
• Inconsistent information across the application. Different addresses on different documents. Slightly different versions of when you met. A travel date that doesn’t quite match the dates in a chat log. These inconsistencies are not always intentional and are often the result of simple human error. However, Immigration New Zealand may view inconsistencies as affecting the credibility of the information provided.

Being declined is not the end of the road. There are several pathways forward, and the right one depends on which visa you applied for, where you applied from, and the reasons for the decline.

The four main pathways are:

• Reconsideration. If you applied for a temporary visa (Work or Visitor) and you were in New Zealand holding a valid visa at the time your application was declined, you can ask INZ to reconsider the decision. You have 14 days from the date of the decline to lodge a reconsideration request. If you applied from offshore, you can’t request a reconsideration, but you can lodge a fresh application.
• Appeal to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal (IPT). If your residence application is declined, you can appeal to the IPT within 42 days. The IPT is an independent body that can overturn INZ decisions. See our [IPT Appeals Guide] for more information.
• Section 61 request. If you’ve become unlawful in New Zealand (your visa has expired), a Section 61 request asks Immigration New Zealand to grant you a visa as a matter of absolute discretion. It is used in situations where you do not hold a valid visa while in New Zealand.
• Ministerial special direction. For cases where you are not eligible for a visa (for example, serious character issues), the Minister of Immigration (or INZ on the Minister’s behalf) can make a special direction to grant you a visa. These are uncommon and granted at absolute discretion. See our [Ministerial Special Direction Guide] for context.

Every declined case is different, and the best pathway forward depends on the specific reasons for the decline, your current visa status, and where you are located. The wrong choice of pathway can waste months, cost significant money, and close off better options. Knowing the rules is not the same as presenting a successful application. That often requires expert judgement.

For the full breakdown of options after a decline, including timeframes, evidence requirements for appeals, and the differences between each pathway, see our Partnership Visa Declined Guide.

Relationships end. When they do, what happens to your visa depends on which visa you hold and where you are in the process. The short version: your obligations and options are different for temporary visas vs residence, and different again for residence granted onshore vs offshore.

Here are the main scenarios:

• If your application is still being processed: you must inform Immigration NZ that the relationship has ended. Not telling them is treated as a character issue, which can affect current and future applications. Once INZ learns the relationship has ended, the application will be declined.
• If you hold a temporary Partnership Visa (Work or Visitor) and the relationship ends: your visa was granted on the basis of that relationship. If the relationship ends, you should seek advice about your options. Depending on your circumstances, you may need to apply for another visa or leave New Zealand. A change in circumstances can affect your immigration status and your ability to remain in New Zealand, and could lead to deportation proceedings.
• If you were granted residence while you were living in New Zealand: your resident visa is generally not affected if the relationship ends after the visa was granted. As long as the relationship was genuine at the time of approval, you can continue to live in New Zealand legally.
• If you were granted residence offshore and haven’t entered New Zealand yet: this is different. You’re required to inform INZ before coming to New Zealand. Once they learn the relationship has ended, INZ can cancel your resident visa while you’re still offshore. This is a specific risk most other guides don’t cover.

There is also a dedicated pathway for partners whose relationships end due to family violence. The Victims of Family Violence Resident Visa is for people whose relationship with a New Zealand citizen or resident has ended because of family violence and who will face significant difficulties returning to their home country. The criteria are specific and the evidence requirements are different from a standard partnership application.

For the full set of scenarios, options for visas after a partnership ends, and how to navigate the Victims of Family Violence pathway, see our Partnership Visa Break-up Guide.

A practical checklist drawn from the cases we see go wrong most often:

• Don’t lodge before you’re ready. Before lodging any partnership application, ensure the information provided is accurate, the evidence is organised, and the requirements for the visa category have been met.
• Choose evidence quality over quantity. A small number of documents proving financial interdependence, living together and public recognition of your relationship will often carry more weight than hundreds of pages of chat records. Focus on evidence that is clear, credible, and demonstrates multiple aspects of your life together.
• Review your application carefully before lodgement. The information you provide should be accurate, consistent, and supported by the evidence submitted. Inconsistencies can lead to delays, requests for further information, or concerns about the credibility of the application.
• Account for any periods of separation. If you’ve spent significant time apart during your relationship, be prepared to explain the circumstances and provide evidence to support your explanation. Periods of separation do not automatically prevent approval, but they can result in additional scrutiny.
• Confirm your supporting partner’s eligibility before you start. Different partnership visa categories have different requirements depending on the immigration status of the supporting partner.
• Tell INZ about any changes during processing. Address changes, relationship changes, criminal or driving-related charges/convictions, employment changes, or anything else that may affect your application should be disclosed. Failing to disclose relevant information can be treated as a character issue by INZ and may complicate your case, increase costs, delay processing, or affect the outcome of your application.
• Use the new ADEPT system. Based on the information received from INZ, from June 2026, family applications submitted through INZ’s enhanced Immigration Online system may receive processing priority.
• Get a second opinion before you lodge a complex case. If your situation involves any of the complications covered in this guide (declined applications, character or health issues, non-standard evidence, periods apart, family violence), getting advice from a licensed adviser before you lodge is far cheaper than fixing a decline afterward.

Quick answers to the most common shorter questions:

Can my partner support my visa application for New Zealand?

Yes, if they meet Immigration New Zealand’s supporting partner requirements. These depend on the immigration status of the supporting partner and other eligibility criteria. See Q4 above for further details.

Can I apply for a Partnership Visa while I’m on a Visitor Visa?

Yes. You can apply for a Partnership Work or Resident Visa while you’re in New Zealand on another visa, including a Visitor Visa. Make sure you continue to hold a valid visa while your application is being processed.

What’s the difference between a Resident Visa and a Permanent Resident Visa?

A Resident Visa gives you the right to live, work, and study in New Zealand indefinitely, but it usually comes with travel conditions that expire after two years. A Permanent Resident Visa (PRV) removes those travel conditions and allows you to travel in and out of New Zealand indefinitely. You typically become eligible to apply for a PRV after holding a Resident Visa for at least two years and meeting INZ’s requirements.

Do same-sex couples qualify for a Partnership Visa?

Yes. New Zealand recognises same-sex marriages, civil unions, and de facto relationships equally with opposite-sex relationships. The criteria and evidence requirements are the same.

Do I need to be married to apply for a Partnership Visa?

No. Marriage is one of three qualifying relationship types, along with civil union and de facto. As long as you’re living together in a genuine and stable relationship, you can apply regardless of marital status.