Exciting news for partners of Kiwis

The government has extended the validity of temporary visas for partners of New Zealand citizens or residents.

From 1 October 2024, the partner of a New Zealand citizen or resident may qualify for a three-year work or visitor visa (up from two years) if they have lived with their "Kiwi" in a genuine and stable relationship for 12 months or more.  

Partners who have lived in a relationship for less than 12 months may still be eligible for a 12-month work or visitor visa. Once the relationship has been met the 12-month living together milestone a further visa application can be lodged requesting a maximum continuous stay of three years.

This will take a lot of pressure off partners who, before this change, had to apply for up to three or more temporary visas when applying for residence based on partnership. To qualify for residence a couple must have lived together in a genuine and stable relationship for 12 months or more when the residence application is lodged (time sitting in a residence queue to reach 12 months does not count). With the temporary visa now having a longer validity period it reduces the likelihood of having to apply for another temporary visa while the residence application is being processed.

It is now more important than ever before to get the visa application right the first time. The government fee for a partner work visa is NZ$1,630 and a residence application is NZ$5,360. Immigration NZ (INZ) will not process incomplete applications. If documents are missing from an application INZ will only grant a short window of time for missing documents to be presented. If the documents do not satisfy an Immigration Officer there is the risk the application may be declined.

Avoid the risk of failure and let a trusted expert take away the stress and reduce the risk. Get in touch today.