Skip to content
NZMigration Help
Call +64 22 112 1112

Partner and family

Partner and family visas

These applications are decided on evidence of a shared life. Genuine couples get declined for how they documented their relationship, not for whether it was real.

The short answer

What does Immigration New Zealand accept as proof of a relationship?

Immigration New Zealand assesses three separate things: whether your relationship is genuine, whether it is stable and likely to continue, and whether you live together. Ordinary documents showing a shared life across a continuous period carry far more weight than photographs.

  • Tenancy agreements, joint bank accounts, utility bills and insurance in both names are the strongest evidence, particularly when they cover the whole period rather than a snapshot.
  • Coverage matters more than volume. A joint account with small regular transactions over two years is worth more than one large shared purchase.
  • A marriage or civil union certificate is evidence that a relationship exists, not that it is genuine and stable, and it does not remove the requirement to have lived together.
  • Periods apart are normal and are not disqualifying. Concealing one damages the whole application, because Immigration New Zealand often already holds the record.
  • Arranged marriages are recognised. A culturally arranged marriage runs under different rules, through the Culturally Arranged Marriage Visitor Visa, because the ordinary partnership requirements assume you have already lived together.

What is actually being assessed

Three things, and they are separate tests. Immigration New Zealand is asking whether your relationship is genuine, whether it is stable and likely to continue, and whether you live together. A relationship can be plainly real and still fail the third test.

That distinction explains most of the declines that feel unfair. The question is never whether you love each other. It is whether the file in front of the officer shows two people living one life, over a continuous period, in a way a stranger can verify.

Documents beat photographs

The most common mistake is sending sixty photographs and four documents. Photographs show that you spent time together. What carries weight is the ordinary paperwork of a shared life: the tenancy in both names, the joint account statements running month after month, the power bill, the insurance policy, the letter from the bank.

Aim for evidence that is continuous rather than impressive. A joint account with small regular transactions across two years is worth more than a single large shared purchase. Coverage of the whole period is the thing officers look for and the thing applicants most often miss.

Gaps are normal. Concealing them is not.

Real relationships include time apart for work, family illness, study or visa reasons. None of that is disqualifying. What damages an application is a gap that the file does not mention and the officer finds anyway, because it puts everything else you said in doubt.

The same applies to previous relationships and previous applications. Immigration New Zealand frequently holds the record already. Explain it plainly and move on.

Different visa, different rules

"Partnership visa" covers a resident visa, a work visa and a visitor visa, and they do not share requirements. The resident visa asks the most. The visitor visa asks least and permits no work at all, which catches people out while they wait for something longer to be decided.

There is also a hard fork depending on who your partner is. If they are a New Zealand citizen or resident, you are on these routes. If they hold a temporary visa, you are on the bringing family rules instead, which depend on their visa rather than yours.

Which visa

Partner and family routes

These are not interchangeable. Which one fits depends on what your partner holds and on what you need to be able to do while you are here.

What goes wrong

Five things that undermine a genuine application

Every one of these happens to couples whose relationship is real. That is what makes them worth knowing about in advance.

  • Sending a large number of photographs and very few documents. Photographs show that you know each other. Documents show that you live a shared life, and that is what is being assessed.

  • Hiding a period apart, or a previous relationship. Immigration New Zealand often already has the record. An explained gap is normal; a concealed one damages your credibility across the whole application.

  • Assuming marriage settles it. A marriage certificate is evidence of a relationship existing, not of it being genuine and stable, and it does not remove the requirement to have lived together.

  • Applying on a visitor visa and working while you wait. Working without the right to do so puts the application you are waiting on at risk.

  • Both partners telling the story differently. Interviews happen. Two honest accounts of the same relationship rarely conflict; two rehearsed ones often do.

Questions

Common questions

How long do we have to have lived together?

Immigration New Zealand sets a minimum period of living together in a genuine and stable relationship, and it differs between the work, visitor and resident visas. The requirement is on the Immigration New Zealand page for each visa, linked in the sources below. What matters as much as the length is that you can evidence the whole period, not just the start and the end of it.

We are in a long-distance relationship. Can we apply?

Partnership visas are built around living together, so a relationship conducted entirely at a distance is difficult on these routes even when it is completely genuine. That is a limitation of the visa category rather than a judgement about you, and it is worth getting advice before spending money on an application that the category does not fit.

Does being married guarantee the visa?

No. Immigration New Zealand assesses whether the relationship is genuine and stable and whether you live together. A marriage or civil union certificate is one piece of evidence towards that, and on its own it does not answer the question being asked. Arranged marriages are recognised. A culturally arranged marriage is handled under different rules, because the couple has usually not lived together yet, and it runs through the Culturally Arranged Marriage Visitor Visa rather than the ordinary partnership requirements.

What if my partner is not a New Zealand citizen or resident?

Then this is a different set of rules. What you can apply for depends on the visa your partner holds, and for work visas it can also depend on the skill level and pay of their role. The Immigration New Zealand page on bringing family is the right starting point.

What happens to my visa if we separate?

A visa granted on the basis of a relationship is affected when that relationship ends, and you are generally required to tell Immigration New Zealand. There are specific provisions where a relationship has ended because of family violence. This is a situation where getting licensed advice quickly matters, because the options narrow with time.

Where this comes from

Immigration New Zealand publishes the rules and can change them without notice. These are the pages this one is based on. If something here and something there disagree, Immigration New Zealand is right.

Licensed advice

Unsure whether your evidence covers the whole period?

This site explains how the rules work. It cannot tell you what will happen in your case, because that depends on facts only an adviser who has seen your file can weigh up.

In New Zealand it is a criminal offence to give immigration advice without a licence or an exemption. ProVisas holds IAA licence 201301110.

Talk to a licensed adviser +64 22 112 1112