Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa

Use the supporting partner's status and the time living together:

• Partner is a New Zealand citizen/resident, but you have lived together for less than 12 months or want temporary work rights first: Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa.
• Partner is a New Zealand citizen/resident and you have lived together for at least 12 months: this resident visa may be available.
• Partner holds an eligible temporary work visa: Partner of a Worker Work Visa.

A temporary visa is not a mandatory first stage if the residence requirements are already met, and temporary approval does not guarantee residence.

You must show at least 12 months of living together in a genuine and stable partnership when applying. INZ looks for evidence of a shared home and life, not just the legal label of the relationship.

Provide a dated timeline with tenancy or property records, utility bills and official mail, shared finances and household expenses, travel and communication records, shared children or caregiving, and statements from people who recognise the relationship. Explain any periods apart and show why the shared household and commitment continued.

The New Zealand citizen or resident completes the Partnership Support Form for Residence (INZ 1178) and supplies status evidence. A partner whose New Zealand residence comes through Australian citizenship, Australian permanent residence or a resident return visa must also meet the applicable New Zealand residence requirement.

Support limits apply to previous successful partnership residence applications, and specified convictions can affect eligibility. The supporting partner must not be liable for deportation or have suspended deportation liability. Answer the INZ 1178 declarations completely and consistently with the applicant's relationship history.

Eligible dependent children can be included in the residence application. Provide identity, relationship and dependency evidence, plus custody or consent documents where required. Health and character rules apply based on age and circumstances.

Do not reuse temporary-route claims that children always need separate applications. Check the live resident-visa page for current age and dependency definitions before filing.

Apply online through Immigration New Zealand. The supporting partner completes and signs the official INZ 1178 Partnership Support Form for Residence; its declaration must be witnessed as directed on the form.

Upload identity documents, the partner's status evidence, at least 12 months of living-together records, medical and police evidence when required, translations, and documents for dependent children. INZ 1017 is for visitor visas, INZ 1015 is for student visas, INZ 1198/1146 are for temporary partnership visas, and INZ 1024 is not the partner-residence support form.

As of 17 August 2026, INZ lists the resident application from NZD $5,360 and reports 80% processed within 7 months. Verify the live fee and processing figure before filing.

A pending residence application does not itself grant work or travel rights. If you are in New Zealand, maintain a valid temporary visa. An Interim Visa may be granted where the legal requirements are met after a temporary visa application, but its conditions and travel effects must be checked individually; New Zealand does not use Canadian-style “implied status” or a generic bridging-visa label.

The resident visa lets you live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely while you are in the country. Travel conditions are time-limited, so check the eVisa before leaving New Zealand.

A Permanent Resident Visa is a later, separate status with indefinite travel conditions. Eligibility commonly requires holding residence for at least 2 years and showing commitment to New Zealand under one of INZ's accepted tests. It is not an automatic conversion and does not require the partner relationship to remain a special “conditional residence” category.