Partnership and family visas at a glance
- Living together before residence
- 12 months
- Parent Resident Visas a year
- 2,500
- Residence appeal deadline
- 42 days
- Live together12 months before residence
The couple must have lived together for 12 months or more, in a partnership INZ accepts as genuine and stable, at the time the residence application is lodged.
- Evidence across the whole periodDated every few months
Joint tenancy or ownership, joint utility accounts, bank accounts actually used jointly, and correspondence to the same address.
- Residence application
Officers must be satisfied on four elements: credibility, living together, genuineness and stability.
- PPI letterIf INZ doubts the relationship
The concern is put to you before a decision, in a PPI letter.
- Appeal to the tribunalWithin 42 days of being notified of a decline
A declined residence application carries the 42-day appeal to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal.
- Live together
- Evidence across the whole period
- Residence applicationIf INZ doubts the relationshipA PPI letter before any decision
- Appeal to the tribunalOnly if the application is declined
Proving a genuine and stable partnership
“To be granted a residence class visa under Partnership Category applicants must provide sufficient evidence to satisfy an immigration officer that they have been living together for 12 months or more in a partnership that is genuine and stable with a New Zealand citizen or resident.”
The instructions define the test in two limbs: a partnership is genuine because it was entered into with the intention of being maintained long-term and exclusively, and stable because it is likely to endure. Officers must be satisfied on four elements:
| Element | What it means |
|---|---|
| Credibility | Both partners, separately and together, are credible in what they say and the evidence they give |
| Living together | The couple live together, absent genuine and compelling reasons for any separation |
| Genuine partnership | Entered into with the intention of being maintained long-term and exclusively |
| Stable partnership | Likely to endure |
The evidence factors behind those elements include the relationship's duration, common residence, financial interdependence, jointly owned property, commitment to a shared life, children, shared household duties and how public the relationship is.
The instructions say expressly that no single document is determinative. For residence, evidence of a shared address should be dated every few months across the whole 12 months: joint tenancy or ownership, joint utility accounts, bank accounts actually used jointly, and correspondence to the same address.
| Visa | Living together needed |
|---|---|
| Partnership residence | 12 months or more at the time the application is lodged |
| Partner work visa | No 12-month prerequisite, but under 12 months of living together the first visa is capped at 12 months |
| Culturally arranged marriage visitor visa | A route of its own for couples married through a recognised cultural tradition |
| Appeal type | Succeeded | Dismissed or declined | Decided appeals | Success share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Partnership residence appeals | 729 | 613 | 1,342 | 54% |
| Parent residence appeals | 300 | 481 | 781 | 38% |
| Dependent child residence appeals | 246 | 182 | 428 | 57% |
| Sibling and adult child residence appeals | 219 | 257 | 476 | 46% |
Computed by this site from the published decisions of the Immigration and Protection Tribunal and its predecessor boards. A success means the appeal was allowed, the decision was cancelled and the application returned to Immigration New Zealand, or residence was granted after a referral to the Minister; withdrawn appeals and procedural rulings are left out. The appeal success rates guide explains the method. Figures as at 29 October 2026, the date of the most recent decision file in the data.
In the tribunal's published decisions, 54% of 1,342 decided partnership residence appeals succeeded, and the recurring theme in the declines is gaps in living-together evidence. If INZ doubts the relationship, the concern arrives as a PPI letter; a residence decline carries the 42-day appeal.
The supporting partner's own eligibility
The New Zealand partner has rules of their own:
- They cannot have successfully supported more than one previous partnership application
- None of those can have been within the last five years
- A supporting partner convicted of any offence involving family violence or any offence of a sexual nature does not qualify unless a character waiver is granted
Sponsors for other family categories must generally have held citizenship or residence for at least three years, spending at least 184 days in New Zealand in each of those years.
Bringing parents and the April 2026 thresholds
| Route | What it is | Thresholds from 30 April 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Parent Resident Visa | Residence through expressions of interest drawn from two pools: a queued pool for EOIs lodged on or before 11 October 2022, and a random ballot for everything since, with selections every three months and 2,500 visas a year | A single sponsor needs $109,200 of income to sponsor one parent, joint sponsors $145,600, proved over two 12-month periods, with a ten-year sponsorship undertaking |
| Parent Boost Visitor Visa | Open since 29 September 2025, the faster route: a five-year multiple-entry stay, renewable once for ten years in total | Sponsor income thresholds, or self-funding: $170,000 in personal funds for a single parent or $260,000 for a couple, or ongoing income of about $33,663 (single) or $51,183 (couple) |
| Parent Retirement Resident Visa | Residence for parents able to invest | $1 million invested for four years, $500,000 of settlement funds and $60,000 of annual income |
Health insurance is compulsory throughout, covering at least $250,000 a year of emergency care and $100,000 of cancer treatment, and parents must complete an offshore medical during the third year.
Dependent children of residents qualify under age brackets:
- 17 and under
- 18 to 20 if single with no children
- 21 to 24 if also financially reliant on an adult
When your visa depends on a partner who is violent
Women's Refuge runs a free 24/7 crisisline on 0800 733 843, and Shine's national helpline is 0508 744 633. None of these calls affect your immigration status.
Two dedicated visas exist for people whose partnership ended because of family violence:
| Visa | Who it is for | Length and cost |
|---|---|---|
| Victims of Family Violence Work Visa | People in New Zealand after a partnership with a New Zealand citizen or resident, or since 2023 a partnership-based visa linked to a temporary migrant, ended due to family violence | Six months, or nine if you have applied for residence; free |
| Victims of Family Violence Resident Visa | People who intended to get residence through a partnership with a citizen or resident that ended through family violence, and who cannot return home because they would have no means of support or would face stigma or exclusion | Residence; free |
Dependent children aged 24 or under can be included.
Family violence can be evidenced four ways:
- A final protection order
- A relevant conviction
- A Police-investigated complaint where Police are satisfied family violence occurred
- Where none of those exist, your own statutory declaration plus declarations from two unrelated professionals such as registered doctors, nurses, psychologists, counsellors, social workers or approved refuge staff
The tribunal's published decisions include declines for insufficient evidence of the violence itself, which is exactly what the declaration route exists to solve. This is a situation where getting help from a professional or a refuge advocate early makes a decisive difference.
Check your understanding
These questions check what this guide says. They say nothing about your own case.
For educational and illustrative purposes only. This is not immigration advice, and no warranty is given as to its appropriateness or accuracy. If in doubt, talk to an immigration adviser or an immigration lawyer about your specific circumstances.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- INZ operational manual F2.5 (partnership category, 12-month rule)
- INZ operational manual F2.20 to F2.30 (partnership evidence and elements)
- INZ: partnership and how to prove it
- INZ: Parent Resident Visa
- INZ operational manual F4.35 (parent sponsorship income, 30 April 2026)
- INZ: Parent Boost Visitor Visa FAQs
- INZ: income threshold increases (30 April 2026)
- INZ: victims of family violence visas
- INZ: evidence of family violence
- IPT Guide 1: residence appeals (42 days)
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