Family Visa Services — New Zealand

Bringing family to New Zealand — find the right pathway for your situation.

Join a partner, parent, or child who is already a New Zealand citizen or resident.

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Build a life in New Zealand with your partner, bring your children so the family stays together, or have your parents close enough to watch the grandchildren grow up. Family Visas cover a wide range of situations — from short visits to long-term settlement — and the right one depends on your relationship and what you are hoping to do once you are here. We work with families across the full category, including cases where more than one application needs to fit together.

Family Visa services we provide

Family Visas cover a range of situations. The Partnership Residence Visa is the most common long-term pathway, but the right option depends on your relationship and goals.

Each linked product above has its own dedicated service page with detailed guidance on eligibility, evidence, and how we assist.

How to choose the right visa

The right Family Visa generally depends on your relationship type, your goals, and the status of your sponsoring family member. As a starting point:

  • If you are in a genuine and stable relationship with a New Zealand citizen or resident and intend to settle, a Partnership Residence Visa may be appropriate.
  • If you want to join your partner and work while here, a Partnership Work Visa may suit.
  • If you are a parent of a citizen or resident and wish to live in New Zealand, the Parent Residence Visa or Parent Retirement Residence Visa may apply.
  • If you want extended visits rather than settlement, the Parent Boost or Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa may be options.
  • If your child is studying in New Zealand and needs a guardian, the Guardian Visitor Visa applies.
  • If your child needs to study here based on your visa, the Dependent Child Student Visa may apply.

If you are unsure, we can help you identify the right pathway.

A note on terminology: “family visa” is sometimes used loosely to describe a visitor visa for visiting family members in New Zealand. If your goal is a short visit rather than joining family long-term, the Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa or a General Visitor Visa may be more appropriate. If you are unsure, we can help you identify the right pathway.

What does Immigration New Zealand consider (key requirements)

When assessing Family Visa applications, Immigration New Zealand generally looks at:

  • whether the qualifying relationship is genuine and meets the relevant definition
  • whether the sponsoring family member is eligible to support the application
  • the applicant’s health and character
  • the credibility and completeness of supporting evidence
  • whether the purpose and intended duration of stay align with the visa type

Specific criteria vary by product and individual circumstances.

What can affect a Family Visa application

Several factors can affect how a Family Visa application is assessed, including:

  • how clearly the relationship and shared life are documented
  • consistency between the information provided and supporting evidence
  • the sponsor’s immigration status, history, and any sponsorship limits
  • prior visa history, including previous refusals
  • gaps or ambiguities in living arrangements or timelines

These factors do not determine outcomes on their own, but they can influence how straightforward an application is.

When to seek professional help

Family Visa applications often involve subjective assessment and detailed evidence. Professional help can be valuable when:

  • you are unsure which Family Visa applies to your situation
  • your relationship is newer, long-distance, or harder to evidence
  • the sponsor has a complex immigration or sponsorship history
  • there are prior refusals, character, or health concerns
  • you are balancing multiple visas across a family unit

How we help

You’ll know which Family Visa actually fits your situation before you start gathering evidence, and — where more than one family member is involved — you’ll have a single consistent strategy across the applications rather than several disconnected ones.

We assist across every Family Visa type covered above, from initial eligibility assessment through to evidence preparation, lodgement, and follow-up if Immigration New Zealand requests further information.

Where a case involves a partner and dependent children, or a parent visa alongside an existing residence application, we coordinate the paperwork so the information presented across the family unit is consistent.

For the detailed scope of what we do on any specific visa product, see the relevant service page linked in the card grid above.

Not sure which Family Visa applies to you?

  • Family Visa pathways overlap, and the right option often depends on small details — whether your partner is a citizen or resident, whether children are travelling with you, whether you are hoping to visit or settle. If you are unsure where to start, this checker will help you identify the pathway that fits your situation.

  • You can use our quick assessment tool or contact us to discuss your options.

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Frequently asked questions

Family Visas cover partners, dependent children, parents, and — for some visitor visa products — grandparents. “Partner” is broader than marriage and generally includes de facto and civil union partners, provided the relationship meets Immigration New Zealand’s definition of genuine and stable. “Dependent child” has both an age and a dependency test, so a child who is financially independent or living separately may not qualify even if they are under the usual age threshold. The specific definitions and thresholds depend on the visa product and current policy settings.

Sponsorship rules vary by visa type, but generally the sponsor must be a New Zealand citizen or resident and meet specific eligibility requirements. Sponsorship is not just a name on a form — it usually involves formal undertakings, which can include financial commitments and a responsibility for the applicant’s accommodation and welfare for a defined period. Some visa categories also limit how often a person can sponsor, and the sponsor’s own immigration history can affect whether they are eligible. If you are unsure whether your sponsor qualifies, this is generally worth checking before lodging.

It depends on the visa type. Some Family Visas allow dependent children to be included on the same application, while others require children to hold their own visa — for example, a Dependent Child Student Visa for a child of school age, or a separate visitor visa. Whether children can be included also depends on whether the parent visa is temporary or residence. We can help identify which combination fits your family.

Newer or evidence-light relationships can still be assessed, but generally require more careful preparation. Immigration New Zealand looks for evidence that a couple shares their lives in practical ways — joint financial arrangements, shared accommodation history, communication records during periods apart, photographs spanning the length of the relationship, and statements from people who know the couple personally. The strength of an application often comes from how the evidence is organised and explained, not just how much there is. Where a relationship has unusual features (long distance, cultural arrangements, blended families), it is generally worth getting advice on how to present the situation clearly.

INZ may issue a request for further information during the assessment of any Family Visa application. The request will state what is needed and the timeframe for responding. Responding clearly, completely, and within the stated timeframe is important — a partial or late response can affect the outcome. Professional support can help structure the response, identify what INZ is actually concerned about, and address it directly rather than just supplying more documents.

Yes. Partnership-based visas — including the Partnership Work Visa and the Partnership Residence Visa — sit within the Family Visa category, because they are granted based on a genuine and stable relationship with an eligible partner. People often search for “spouse visa” or “marriage visa” specifically, but New Zealand’s framework uses “partnership,” which covers married, civil union, and de facto partners on the same basis.

Some Family Visas can be followed by a further visa of the same type, and some can lead toward a residence pathway — for example, a Partnership Work Visa held over time can support a later Partnership Residence application. Others, like certain visitor visa products, have limits on how long a person can remain on that visa type. Options vary by product and by current Immigration New Zealand policy settings, so it is generally worth reviewing your situation well before your current visa expires rather than at the last minute.

You are not required to use a lawyer to apply for a Family Visa — many people apply on their own. Whether professional help is worth it generally depends on the complexity of your situation. Straightforward partnership applications with strong evidence and a clean immigration history can often be managed without legal support. Cases involving newer relationships, prior visa refusals, character or health concerns, complex sponsor situations, or multiple family members applying together tend to benefit more from professional involvement, because the consequences of getting it wrong (refusal, delay, or having to start over) are higher.

A declined application is not always the end of the road, but the right next step depends on why it was declined. In some cases, a reconsideration request can be made within a defined timeframe. In others, an appeal to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal may be available — particularly for residence-class visas. Sometimes the better path is to address the issues that led to the decline and lodge a fresh application with stronger evidence. Each option has its own deadlines and requirements, so it is generally worth getting advice quickly after a decline rather than waiting.

Credentials

MyLaw is a New Zealand law firm with a focus on immigration law. Our team is led by Michael Yoon, a New Zealand lawyer and member of the New Zealand Law Society. We hold current practising certificates and work across a range of immigration matters, from visitor visa applications to complex cases involving prior refusals, character issues, and multi-visa strategies.

Get in touch

Family Visas cover everything from short visits to long-term settlement, and the right option often comes down to details about your relationship, your sponsor, and your plans once you arrive. If you would like to talk through where to start, get in touch for an initial discussion — we help across the full category and can point you toward the right specific service page once we understand your situation.

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