Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa

If your partner is a New Zealand citizen or resident and the two of you are living together, this visa lets you join them here and work. It is a temporary visa built entirely around the relationship. There is no job offer to find first, no points to score and no salary threshold to meet. What Immigration New Zealand (INZ) wants instead is proof: proof that the relationship is genuine and stable, and proof that you actually share a home.

That sounds simple. In practice, partnership applications are evidence-heavy, and INZ looks at them closely. This guide covers who can apply, what “living together in a genuine and stable relationship” means in INZ’s terms, the documents that carry weight, how long the visa lasts, and how it can lead to residence. It sits alongside our other guides in the Visa and Immigration section.

Quick answer

• The Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa is for the partner of a New Zealand citizen or resident, where the couple are living together in a genuine and stable relationship.
• You do not need to be married. Legal marriage, civil union and de facto relationships all count, for couples of the same or opposite sex.
• There is no fixed minimum time you must have lived together, but it decides your visa length. Under 12 months together means a 1-year visa. Twelve months or more means a visa of up to 3 years.
• The visa carries open work rights. You can work in any job, for any employer, and be self-employed.
• Your partner must be eligible to support you, including being able to support a partnership-based residence application within 12 months.

Who this visa is for

The visa is for someone whose partner is a New Zealand citizen or a resident class visa holder, and who wants to live with that partner in New Zealand and work while here. Your partner supports your application. Without an eligible supporting partner, there is no application.

It suits couples at different stages. Some have lived together overseas for years and are moving here together. Others have been together a shorter time and use this visa to build up the 12 months of living together that residence later requires. You must both be planning to live in New Zealand for the same period of time, and INZ will ask about your partner’s plans when you apply.

One point catches people out: your partner must be eligible to support a partnership-based resident visa application within 12 months, even if residence is not your plan yet. If they cannot support you for residence now but will be able to within 12 months, they can still support your work visa now. The support rules are covered in detail below.

Who can apply: the eligibility rules

To apply, INZ says you must:

• have a New Zealand citizen or resident partner who is eligible to support your application
• both be at least 18 years old
• be living with your partner in a genuine and stable relationship
• be in good health
• be of good character
• have genuine reasons for coming to New Zealand
• have enough money to pay your living expenses, or have an acceptable sponsor.

Health. You must be in good health. INZ may ask for a chest X-ray, a medical examination or both, depending on how long you are staying and where you have lived. Stays under 6 months normally need no X-ray, and under 12 months normally no medical certificate. For a stay over 6 months, an X-ray is required if you are a citizen of a country that does not have a low incidence of tuberculosis, or you have spent more than 3 months in the last 5 years in one. Results must be less than 3 months old when INZ receives them.

Character. You must be of good character. Police certificates are needed if you are 17 or older and your total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or longer, counting any time already spent here on other visas. They must be less than 6 months old when you apply, and come from the countries you are a citizen of, plus any country you have spent more than 5 years in since turning 17.

Money. Show you can support yourself for the length of your stay: a salary that supports you, funds you hold (bank statements, bank drafts or traveller’s cheques), employer support, or a Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry from an acceptable sponsor. You or your sponsor must also be able to cover any health care you need here, and INZ recommends full medical insurance.

Living together in a genuine and stable relationship

This is the heart of the application, and the part INZ assesses most carefully. Immigration instructions define partnership as two people who live together in a genuine and stable relationship in a legal marriage, a civil union or a de facto relationship.

“Living together” means sharing the same home. INZ is explicit about what does not count: spending time at each other’s places while each of you keeps your own home, sharing accommodation on holiday, and living in the same house as flatmates. A marriage certificate on its own is not enough either: INZ states that marriage alone is not sufficient evidence, and proving the relationship is the applicant’s job.

An age rule also applies. Since 25 September 2026, both of you must be 18 or over when you apply, and INZ recognises partnership evidence only from when both of you were 18 or over. Earlier evidence will not be used.

Evidence of living together

INZ lists the kinds of documents that show a shared home:

• joint ownership of residential property, or a joint home loan
• a joint rental agreement or rental receipts
• joint utility accounts, such as power or phone bills
• joint or individual mail sent to your shared address.

Paperwork addressed to you individually still works, as long as it shows you both at the same address over the same period. INZ suggests providing items dated every few months, so the evidence covers the whole time you have lived together rather than one recent month.

Evidence the relationship is genuine and stable

On top of the address evidence, INZ wants to see that the relationship itself is real and lasting: that other people recognise it, that you make decisions and plans together, that you spend leisure time together, and that you parent together if you have children. Evidence can include:

• marriage or civil union certificates
• birth certificates for any children you share
• joint bank accounts that are actually used, not just opened
• joint ownership of assets, joint credit cards or hire purchase agreements
• other mutually agreed financial arrangements
• cards, letters or emails sent to you as a couple
• chat records and communication between you
• social media posts and photos of you together
• letters of support from people who recognise your partnership.

When INZ assesses an application it weighs how long you have been together, your commitment to a life together, any children you have and their care arrangements, and whether others recognise the relationship, along with the practical side: shared household tasks, financial support, and how you split responsibilities. Officers can ask for more documents, verify what you have provided, interview you or your partner, or even visit.

If you have spent time living apart, do not leave a gap in the story. INZ asks for the reasons, how long it lasted and how you kept in touch, and it assesses whether you had genuine and compelling reasons for the separation.

How long it lasts, and your work rights

How long you have already lived together sets the length of the visa:

• Less than 12 months living together: a visa for 1 year. You can apply for further visas to stay up to 3 years in total.
• 12 months or more living together: a visa for up to 3 years.

The work rights are open. Since 20 April 2026, INZ has applied an “any work” employment condition to this visa, which means you can work for an employer, work as a sole trader, or own and operate a business. You can also study for up to 3 months, as with other work visas. Studying longer means applying for a variation of conditions or a student visa, depending on whether study becomes your main reason for being here.

The visa lasts only while its basis lasts. You must keep living with your partner in New Zealand for the same period of time, and the conditions on your visa apply throughout.

Fees and processing times

The fee depends on your nationality and where you apply from. For an application lodged online from outside New Zealand, INZ’s fees tool currently shows NZD $1,630, which includes the immigration levy (checked October 2026). If you are applying from somewhere else, confirm your figure in INZ’s official “Fees, decision times and where to apply” tool before you apply, and use the same tool to confirm where your application is lodged.

INZ currently completes 80% of these applications within 8 weeks. Partnership applications can take longer where INZ needs more evidence or wants an interview. Apply well before you need to travel, with complete evidence, rather than against a deadline.

How to apply, step by step

1. Check your partner can support you. Confirm their status as a citizen or resident, and work through the support history limits described below.
2. Gather the relationship evidence. Address evidence spread across the time you have lived together, plus financial and social evidence of the relationship. Start early; old tenancy agreements and bank statements take time to retrieve.
3. Sort the standard documents. A copy of your passport or certificate of identity (valid for at least 3 months after the date you plan to leave New Zealand), an acceptable photo (one if you apply online, two on paper), and any chest X-ray, medical or police certificates your circumstances require.
4. Your partner completes their form. Your partner fills in the Form for Partners Supporting Partnership-Based Temporary Entry Applications, and provides evidence of their status, such as their New Zealand passport, birth certificate, citizenship certificate or residence visa.
5. Apply online and upload your documents. Most applicants apply through Immigration Online and upload scanned copies.
6. Wait for INZ to assess. INZ may contact you for more information, verify documents or arrange an interview. Tell INZ straight away if your circumstances change while you wait, including any change in your relationship.

Your supporting partner’s obligations

Supporting a partner is not a casual signature. Your partner must complete the supporting partner form, provide evidence of their New Zealand citizenship or residence, and meet INZ’s good character requirements for supporting partners. INZ may ask them for police certificates, although it obtains the New Zealand one directly. Certain convictions mean a supporting partner will not meet those requirements, in which case INZ considers a character waiver.

The bigger trap is history. To support you, your partner must be eligible to support a partnership-based resident visa application within 12 months. That means they must not:

• have acted as a partner in more than 1 successful resident visa application
• have acted as a partner in a successful resident visa application within the last 5 years
• be liable for deportation, or have their deportation liability suspended.

“Acted as a partner” covers more than sponsoring someone: supporting a partner’s successful residence application, being the principal applicant in one a partner supported, or including, or being included as, a partner in a successful residence application all count, with some exceptions for Permanent Resident Visas and Second or Subsequent Resident Visas. The headline limits are simpler: a New Zealander can support only 1 partner for residence in a 5-year period, and only 2 partners for residence in total.

If the relationship ends

Because this visa exists only because of the relationship, the end of the relationship has direct immigration consequences, and INZ sets them out clearly.

If you hold a partnership-based work visa and you separate or divorce, you will need to apply for a visitor or work visa in your own right, or leave New Zealand within a reasonable time. Staying here on a partnership-based visa after the relationship has ended can make you liable for deportation. If you have an application still being decided and your circumstances change, you must let INZ know immediately.

One reassurance for later stages: if a resident visa has already been granted based on the relationship, your residence status is unchanged if the relationship ends afterwards.

The path to residence

The residence counterpart is the Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa. Its central requirement is stricter than the work visa’s: you must be living with your partner in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 12 months when you apply, and that 12 months only counts from after you both turned 18. Your partner supports that application with a Partnership Support Form for Residence, and the same support history limits apply.

Many couples use the work visa first, live together in New Zealand, and apply for residence once they can evidence the full 12 months. Residence is a separate application with its own criteria and fee, so work from the detail on INZ’s resident visa page when you get there.

Where applications run into trouble

Most problems are predictable, and most are visible in INZ’s own guidance:

• Thin or recent evidence. A handful of documents from the last few weeks does not show a stable shared life. INZ wants evidence spread across the time you have lived together.
• Relying on a marriage certificate. INZ says marriage alone is not sufficient. The certificate helps, but it has to sit alongside address, financial and social evidence.
• Evidence from before you both turned 18. It will not be assessed at all under the current rules, which can quietly shorten a couple’s usable history.
• Unexplained time apart. Periods of living apart need reasons, dates and proof of contact. Silence invites doubt.
• Not checking the partner’s support history. A previous successful partnership residence application inside 5 years can make your partner ineligible to support you, however genuine the relationship is.
• Saying nothing when things change. If your circumstances change after applying, INZ requires you to tell them. Withholding a change can damage this application and future ones.

Frequently asked questions

Do we have to be married?
No. INZ recognises legal marriages, civil unions and de facto relationships, for couples of the opposite or same sex. You do have to be living together, and you do have to prove it.

Is there a minimum time we must have lived together?
Not for this visa. There is no set minimum, but the time together decides the visa you get: 1 year if it is under 12 months, up to 3 years if it is 12 months or more. The 12-month requirement bites at the residence stage.

Can I work for any employer?
Yes. The visa carries an “any work” condition: any employer, self-employment as a sole trader, and owning and operating a business are all covered. No job offer is needed to apply.

Can I study on this visa?
For up to 3 months, yes, as with other work visas. Longer study needs a variation of conditions or a student visa.

What does it cost, and how long will a decision take?
For an online application from outside New Zealand, the fee is currently NZD $1,630 including the immigration levy, and INZ completes 80% of applications within 8 weeks (INZ fees tool, checked October 2026). The fee depends on your nationality and where you apply, and both fees and processing times change, so confirm yours in INZ’s “Fees, decision times and where to apply” tool.

My partner supported a previous partner years ago. Can they support me?
Possibly, but the limits are strict: no more than 1 partner supported for residence in a 5-year period, and no more than 2 in total. Your partner must also be able to support a residence application within 12 months of your work visa application, so check their history before lodging anything.

What happens if we break up after the visa is granted?
Your right to stay was based on the relationship, so you would need a visa in your own right or need to leave within a reasonable time. Get advice quickly: remaining on a partnership visa after the relationship ends can lead to deportation liability.

Sources

All facts in this guide were checked against Immigration New Zealand:

• Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/visas/partner-of-a-new-zealander-work-visa/
• Partnership and how to prove it: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/process-to-apply/once-you-have-a-visa/bringing-family-to-new-zealand/partnership-and-how-to-prove-it/
• Partnership visas (INZ news centre): https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/news-centre/partnership-visas/
• New age and evidence requirements for some partnership-based visas (25 September 2026): https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/news-centre/new-age-and-evidence-requirements-for-some-partnership-based-visas/
• Changes to employment conditions for open work visa holders: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/news-centre/upcoming-changes-to-employment-conditions-for-open-work-visa-holders/
• If your relationship ends: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/process-to-apply/once-you-have-a-visa/bringing-family-to-new-zealand/if-your-relationship-ends/
• Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/visas/partner-of-a-new-zealander-resident-visa/
• Fees, decision times and where to apply: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa/tools-and-information/tools/office-and-fees-finder
• Check or change your work visa conditions: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/work/check-or-change-your-work-visa-conditions/

Disclaimer

This article is general information about how the Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa works, based on Immigration New Zealand guidance at the time of writing. It is not immigration advice for your situation. In New Zealand, immigration advice can only be provided by a licensed immigration adviser or a lawyer. Visa rules, fees and processing times change, so confirm the current requirements on the Immigration New Zealand website before you apply, and consider professional advice if your circumstances are not straightforward.