Proof of Relationship: A Guide to Share with Your Letter Writers

Someone close to you is applying for a New Zealand Partnership Visa. They have asked you to write a letter, or to provide some evidence about their relationship. Thank you for helping them.

You may not know what to say. That is normal. Most people who write these letters have never been asked to do something like this before.

This guide explains what is helpful to include, and why.

Immigration New Zealand needs to be sure the relationship is real.

Many people apply for partnership visas every year. A small number of those relationships are not genuine. Immigration New Zealand looks carefully at all the evidence to tell the difference.

They are checking four things about the relationship:

• It is real, not arranged just to get a visa.
• The couple lives together.
• They are committed to each other.
• The relationship is likely to last.

Your letter helps Immigration New Zealand understand what the relationship looks like to someone who knows the couple. You see things they cannot see from documents alone.

Your letter must be in your own words. It must come from your own understanding of the couple’s relationship.

The guide below explains what kinds of details are helpful. Please do not copy any phrasing from this page. Immigration New Zealand reads many letters every day. They can tell when letters are written from a template, and that hurts the application.

The most useful letter is the one that sounds like it has been written by the applicant’s family member or their friend.

A useful letter has a few key things. You do not need to cover every point. Include what you can speak to honestly.

Who you are

Your full name, what you do for work, and where you live. If you have a position that is relevant (a teacher, a religious leader, a manager, a doctor), mention it.

How you know the couple

Are you a family member? A friend? Their employer? Their neighbour? Did you meet them at the gym, at church, at work, through someone else? Be clear about this.

When you met them as a couple

Try to be specific. A date, a month, an event, a year. If you cannot remember the exact date, an approximate time is fine. For example: “around late 2022”, or “at her sister’s wedding in 2023”.

How often you see them, and where you meet them

Once a week? Once a month? Every few months? Only at family events? Online and in person? Just say what is true, and provide details of the context in which you have met them.

What you have observed

This is the heart of the letter. Real, specific things you have seen. Not “they are very much in love”. That tells Immigration New Zealand nothing useful.

Instead, think of small specific memories:

• The time they helped you move house together.
• The trip you went on with them.
• The way they talk about their future plans when you have dinner together.
• The way they argued about something small and worked it out.
• Anything you have seen that tells you this is a real relationship.

These small specific things are far more useful than long emotional descriptions.

What you believe about the relationship

A short honest sentence at the end is enough. Something like: “I believe their relationship is genuine and I expect them to stay together for the long term.”

That is all that is needed. You do not have to write a long letter. One page is usually enough. Two pages if you have a lot to say.

• Long flowery descriptions of how in love the couple is. Immigration New Zealand finds these unconvincing.
• Phrases that sound like wedding speeches.
• Saying what visa they should get. That is not your job.
• Saying you have known them for years without explaining how.
• Copying or borrowing phrases from other letters or this guide. Every letter should be unique.

You may have known the applicant or their partner since they were a child. You see things friends do not see. You see how the partner is welcomed into the family, how the couple behave at family gatherings, what kind of role they have in your family life now.

Helpful things to mention:

• When you first heard about the partner.
• When you first met them as a couple.
• Family events the couple has attended (weddings, funerals, birthdays, holidays).
• How the couple are with each other at family events.
• How the partner is treated by the family, and how they treat the family.
• Any practical involvement (helping with family decisions, supporting older relatives, joining family traditions).

You see the everyday side of the relationship. You see how they spend their weekends, how they treat each other in casual settings, what their shared life actually looks like.

Helpful things to mention:

• When and where you first met the couple together.
• How often you see them.
• Things you have done together (dinners, trips, hobbies, weekends away).
• How they are with each other in ordinary situations.
• Conversations you have had with them about their plans.
• Practical evidence of them being part of each other’s lives (being introduced to your friend group, attending each other’s milestones).

A letter from outside the personal circle carries a different kind of weight. You can speak to how the couple is recognised in a more formal setting, and to the character of the applicant or their partner.

Helpful things to mention:

• Your role and how long you have known the applicant or their partner in that role.
• Whether you have met both of them, and on what occasions.
• Specific events where you have seen them together (workplace functions, religious events, community gatherings).
• The couple’s character and how they are regarded in your workplace or community.
• Where appropriate, use your work or organisation letterhead and include your job title.

• Sign the letter. Wet ink is best, but a digital signature is also fine.
• Date the letter.
• Include your full name, your phone number, and your email address. Immigration New Zealand may contact you to verify the letter.
• Write the letter in your own words. Do not let anyone else write it for you.
• Keep it honest. Only include things you remember and believe to be true.

A statutory declaration is a more formal version of a written statement. It is signed in front of a Justice of the Peace, a lawyer, or another approved witness.

Making a false statement in a statutory declaration is a criminal offence. That is why Immigration New Zealand sometimes treats statutory declarations as stronger evidence than a regular support letter.

You might be asked to make one if:

• You need to formally confirm something that is hard to prove with documents (for example, that you have seen the couple living together at a particular address).
• The applicant needs to explain a circumstance in their case, and your account adds important context.
• Specific facts about the relationship need to be confirmed under oath.

A statutory declaration is not always needed. A regular letter is usually enough. The applicant will tell you if a statutory declaration is required.

Where to get it witnessed in New Zealand:

• A Justice of the Peace. Free. You can find one near you by searching for “Justice of the Peace near me”.
• A lawyer or notary public. Usually charges a fee. They can also certify other documents at the same time.
• A court registrar.

If you are outside New Zealand, most countries have equivalent officials. Immigration New Zealand generally accepts declarations made under the relevant local laws.

These sections are for the applicant preparing their wider proof of relationship evidence.

Photos are one of the categories of evidence Immigration New Zealand will look at. You are the one who selects which photos to include.

Photos may include:

• The two of you together over time.
• Photos with each other’s family and friends.
• Photos from significant events or milestones (engagement, marriage, birthdays, holidays).
• Photos from everyday life (at home, on holiday, doing ordinary things together).

A small, varied selection is usually more useful than a large pile. Immigration New Zealand will look at photos in the context of all the other evidence you have provided.

Most relationships involve some time apart, whether for work, study, family obligations, or visa reasons. Immigration New Zealand does not automatically treat periods of separation as a negative factor.

This is particularly important for Partnership Resident Visa applications, where the 12-month minimum living together requirement excludes periods of separation.

Be prepared to explain any significant periods of separation and provide evidence relating to those periods.

Some partnership applications involve circumstances that are less common or more complex than usual. These do not automatically prevent approval. Immigration New Zealand will assess each application based on its individual circumstances and the overall evidence provided.

Cultural or religious reasons for limited public recognition

Some couples keep their relationship private for cultural, religious, or family reasons. This is more common than many people realise. Immigration New Zealand will assess the relationship based on the overall evidence available and the circumstances of the case.

Culturally arranged marriages

If your marriage was culturally arranged and you have already lived together for several months, you generally apply under the standard Partnership Work Visa or Visitor Visa category and are assessed against the same requirements as other couples.

If your marriage is culturally arranged but you have not yet lived together with your New Zealand partner, a separate visa pathway may be available. See our Culturally Arranged Marriage Visa Guide.

Recent relationships

If your relationship is relatively new and you have not yet lived together for 12 months, you will not meet the requirements for a Partnership Resident Visa. Depending on your circumstances, a Partnership Work Visa or Partnership Visitor Visa may still be available.

Immigration New Zealand will assess recent relationships based on the overall evidence available and the circumstances of the case.

Same-sex relationships where family do not yet know

Some same-sex couples choose not to disclose their relationship to family members because of cultural, religious, personal, or safety considerations. This does not automatically prevent a successful Partnership Visa application.

New Zealand recognises same-sex relationships on the same basis as opposite-sex relationships. Immigration New Zealand understands that family disclosure may not always be possible or appropriate in every case.

Applications involving limited family recognition will be assessed based on the overall evidence available and the circumstances of the case.