NZ Family Visa Options: Partners, Children & Parents (2026)

New Zealand family visas in one sentence: there is no single “family visa” — partners, children and parents each have their own visa tracks, and which one you can use depends on the sponsor’s status (citizen/resident, work visa or student visa) and the sponsor’s income. This is the hub page: every option on one page, with depth left to the dedicated guides.

Visas for partners

Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa

The most complete visa in the family category: a resident visa with indefinite rights to live, work and study in New Zealand, the ability to include dependent children aged 24 or younger in the same application, and no income threshold.

The core requirement is the relationship itself:

• at the time you apply, you must have been living together with your New Zealand citizen or resident partner in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 12 months — INZ assesses the shared life, not the marriage certificate
• the sponsoring partner’s history must be clean: they must not have acted as a partner in a successful resident visa application within the past 5 years, or in more than 1 such application ever
• both partners meet health and character requirements
• special case: if your partner is a New Zealand citizen and you have lived together outside New Zealand for at least 5 years while they lived overseas, you may be granted a Permanent Resident Visa directly

After holding the resident visa for 2 years you can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa. For the full evidence list, conditions and process, see the deep dive: Partner Resident Visa guide.

Partner of a work visa holder: open work visa or visitor visa

When the principal applicant holds a work visa (mostly an AEWV), what the partner can get depends on the principal applicant’s skill level and hourly wage (rates from March 2026):

Principal applicant’s situation	Partner can apply for
Any job, paid ≥ $52.50/hour (1.5× median wage)	Partner work visa (open work rights)
ANZSCO level 1–3 job, paid ≥ $28.00/hour (80% of median)	Partner work visa (open work rights)
Green List job, paid ≥ $35.00/hour and meeting that role’s Green List requirements	Partner work visa (open work rights)
Care workforce / transport sector agreement level 4–5 job, paid ≥ $28.00/hour	Partner work visa (open work rights)
Below these thresholds	Partner visitor visa (no work rights)

The partner work visa carries open work rights: any employer, any job, self-employment and owning a business are all allowed — but you cannot employ other people. Note which visa holders cannot support a partner work visa: working holiday, RSE/SSE seasonal work, fishing crew, domestic staff of diplomats, SMC job search, lower-skilled AEWV/ESWV holders, and visas of 6 months or less.

The fallback below the wage thresholds is the Partner of a Worker Visitor Visa: normally granted for the same duration as the partner’s visa, no work rights, study limited to 3 months in any 12-month period, and you must show living costs (NZD $1,000 per month, or NZD $400 if accommodation is prepaid) or have an acceptable sponsor.

For the full threshold rules, the April 2026 changes and how they interact with children’s schooling, see Partner work visas and free schooling for children.

Partner of a student

Student households face strict limits: only students enrolled in an eligible level 7–8 qualification (on INZ’s approved list) or a level 9–10 qualification (master’s or PhD) can support a partner work visa. Partners of all other student visa holders can only apply for visitor visas.

Visas for children

Dependent Child Student Visa: the one that unlocks free schooling

Children of work visa holders who hold this visa are treated as domestic students at state primary and secondary schools — no tuition fees. The thresholds (AEWV families):

• parent income of at least NZD $58,240 a year (before tax); if both parents hold an AEWV, incomes can be combined
• child aged 19 or younger: 17 or younger is automatically treated as dependent; 18–19 must have no children of their own and may need to show evidence of dependence (allowance transfers, receipts for expenses)
• living-cost evidence of NZD $17,000 per year (waived when the parent’s income meets the threshold)
• the visa expires with the parent’s visa

Children of student visa holders qualify in only three situations: the parent is enrolled in a PhD, on a government-approved exchange scheme, or holds a Manaaki New Zealand Scholarship. This is the single most misread rule for families planning study in New Zealand.

Child of a Worker Visitor Visa: too young for school, or not eligible for the student visa

Children under 5 cannot attend school and receive visitor visas instead; so do children who do not qualify for the student visa. Coverage: aged 17 or younger; 18–19 with no children of their own; 20–24 only where a family residence application is in progress. School-aged children on this visitor visa may study for up to 3 months in any calendar year.

Dependent Child Resident Visa: children of citizens and residents

A parent who is a New Zealand citizen or resident and lives in New Zealand as their main place of residence can sponsor a child aged 24 or younger who is single and financially dependent (ages 21–24 must prove financial dependence). Two things to note: the child’s resident visa inherits any section 49 conditions on the parent’s visa (if the parent breaches their conditions, the child may also have to leave); and in most cases children are simply included in the parent’s own residence application — this standalone visa mainly covers children who could not be included at the time.

Visas for parents and grandparents

Three main pathways with completely different thresholds and outcomes:

Dimension	Parent Resident Visa	Parent Boost Visitor Visa	Parent Retirement Resident Visa
Status	Resident visa	Visitor visa (5-year multiple entry)	Resident visa
Mechanism	EOI ballot, 2,500 places a year	No ballot	No ballot
Whose finances are tested	Child’s income	One of three (child’s income / parents’ income / parents’ funds)	Parents’ assets
Public healthcare	Yes	No (qualifying insurance mandatory)	Yes

Parent Resident Visa: submit an EOI into the ballot (EOIs stay in the pool for 2 years; selections run every 3 months), then lodge the full application within 4 months if selected. The sponsoring child must have been a citizen or resident for at least 3 years, and must have spent 184 or more days in New Zealand in each of the 3 years before the application. The income threshold is indexed to the median wage (annualised $72,800 from 30 April 2026): 1.5× ($109,200) for a single sponsor sponsoring 1 parent, 2× ($145,600) for joint sponsors, plus 0.5× per additional parent — met in any two 12-month periods within the 3 years before the EOI was selected. Sponsorship obligations last 10 years, and a Permanent Resident Visa only becomes available after holding the visa for 10 years.

Parent Boost Visitor Visa (from September 2025): a 5-year multiple-entry visitor visa costing NZD $3,000 ($2,450 Pacific fee band) plus the NZD $100 International Visitor Levy; INZ estimates most applications are processed within 4 months. Parents must apply from outside New Zealand, and must leave New Zealand in the third year for a further medical assessment (staying offshore until their health is reconfirmed). Three ways to meet the financial requirement: sponsor income ($72,800 a year for one sponsor, one parent), the parents’ own income ($33,663.24 a year, or $51,182.56 for a couple), or the parents’ funds ($170,000, or $260,000 for a couple) — overseas income and funds count. Insurance: the insurer needs a credit rating of at least A, with emergency medical cover of at least NZD $250,000 a year. The visa can be granted at most twice (10 years in total), and it is not residence.

Parent Retirement Resident Visa: no ballot and no test of the child’s income — the parents’ own finances are assessed instead: NZD $1 million invested in acceptable investments for 4 years, plus NZD $500,000 in settlement funds, plus NZD $60,000 in annual income. After 4 compliant years they can apply for a Permanent Resident Visa.

For shorter visits there is also the Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa: 3-year multiple entry, up to 6 months per visit and no more than 18 months in total across the 3 years. For income modelling, combination strategies (Parent Boost first, EOI in the ballot meanwhile) and fund-transfer specifics for applicants from China, see Parent reunion options compared.

How to choose: sponsor status × family member

Sponsor’s status ↓ / family member →	Partner	Children	Parents
Citizen / resident	Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa (12 months’ cohabitation, no income test)	Dependent Child Resident Visa (aged ≤24)	Parent Resident (ballot) / Parent Boost / Parent Retirement
Work visa (AEWV etc.)	Partner work visa ($28/$35/$52.50 thresholds) or partner visitor visa	Dependent Child Student Visa (income ≥$58,240) or Child of a Worker Visitor Visa	Not supported — residence first
Student visa	Partner work visa only for eligible level 7–8 or level 9–10 study; otherwise visitor visa	Free state schooling only for PhD/exchange/Manaaki children; otherwise visitor visa	Not supported

The table in one line: while you are on a work or student visa, your family’s status is temporary and conditional; parent reunion is a project for after you hold residence.

Common misconceptions

1. “A marriage certificate is enough to sponsor my partner for residence.” It is not. Partner residence requires 12 months of genuine and stable cohabitation — a certificate neither substitutes for living together nor shortens the timeline. The usual approach before reaching 12 months is a partner work visa or visitor visa first, then residence once the clock runs out.
2. “Children of international students can attend school for free.” Only children of PhD students, government-approved exchange students and Manaaki scholars qualify. Children of taught master’s and bachelor’s students get visitor visas and may study for at most 3 months per calendar year — the costliest misread in study-pathway planning.
3. “The income threshold is a one-off check at application.” It is not. The AEWV minimum income for supporting children’s visas ($58,240 a year) is an ongoing requirement: INZ states explicitly that if you stop earning the minimum income, you and your children may have to leave New Zealand. Before accepting a pay cut or between jobs, assess the knock-on effect on the whole family’s visas.
4. “There is no limit on sponsoring partners.” There is. A person who acted as a partner in a successful resident visa application within the past 5 years, or in more than 1 such application ever, cannot support a new partner for residence.
5. “I’ll put one parent in the EOI and add my partner later.” The Parent Resident Visa EOI must include the partner — a partner left out cannot later apply for residence on that relationship. Sponsorship counts are also cumulative for life (having sponsored 2 parents before, sponsoring 2 more means meeting the income bar for 4).
6. “Parent Boost leads to staying permanently after 10 years.” It is a visitor visa, not a residence pathway: no public healthcare, qualifying insurance throughout, and after 10 years the holder must switch to another visa or leave. Long-term settlement still runs through the Parent Resident ballot or the retirement route.

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Not sure which track your family member should take? The pathway finder gives suggestions based on your visa status and family composition, and the salary calculator can check whether a sponsoring income clears the threshold. Once you have a direction, read the matching deep dive: partner residence, partner work visas and children’s schooling, parent reunion options.

Thresholds are indexed to the median wage and adjust each year — check the current INZ figures before applying.