Visa
Four temporary routes move to the enhanced platform
Immigration New Zealand announced on 29 September that new applications for four family temporary visa categories can be submitted through enhanced Immigration Online from 16 November 2026. With three weeks remaining, this deadline follow-up explains preparation for the transition rather than reporting a new announcement. The categories are Child of a New Zealander Visitor Visa, Partner of a New Zealander Visitor Visa, Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa and Child of a New Zealander Student Visa.
The enhanced service will become the preferred system for these new applications. INZ describes forms that adapt to answers and passport scanning that can populate information automatically. Family residence applications are not moving in this phase. The announcement also discusses future changes to older submission arrangements without giving a universal closure date. Applicants should therefore follow the transition notice and their category's application link, rather than assume that every existing form becomes unusable on 16 November.
Choose a partner route according to the intended activity
The Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa page is the practical starting point for someone intending to work. Applicants need an eligible New Zealand citizen or resident partner, must be living together in a genuine and stable relationship, and must satisfy the remaining health and character requirements. Both partners must be at least 18. The published starting application cost is NZD 1,630; the amount applicable to an individual application should be checked through the official service.
Prepare evidence of living together, shared finances and responsibilities, and the relationship's history. The supporting partner completes form INZ 1146 and supplies evidence of New Zealand status. A marriage certificate alone does not explain whether the couple actually lives together. The work visa does not include dependent children in the same application: they need an appropriate application of their own. Organising that distinction before starting avoids treating the family as one identical permission request.
A visitor application carries different conditions
The Partner of a New Zealander Visitor Visa guidance provides the alternative for a visit. It requires support from an eligible citizen or resident partner, evidence of living together, adequate living funds or an acceptable sponsor, and plans to leave at the end of the stay. Its published starting cost is NZD 341. Dependent children can be included, and study is limited to three months. Applicants intending local employment should check the work route instead.
For partners who have lived together for less than 12 months, the visitor guidance describes an initial one-year visa, with further applications potentially allowing three years in total. Couples with at least 12 months together can receive up to three years. These are maximum possibilities, not promises of a particular decision. Use the visitor page to match the planned activity and relationship evidence before choosing an application category in the new system.
Check a child's relationship, dependency and study plans
The Child of a New Zealander Visitor Visa page explains evidence of the parent's citizenship or residence, the parent-child relationship and financial dependency. Birth or adoption records and relevant custody documents can be important. It currently describes visits of up to nine months and study of up to three months. Families should use the conditions displayed for their application rather than assume every family member receives the same stay or study period.
INZ's Bringing children guidance explains that dependency definitions vary by route and age. The ordinary temporary visitor or school-student definition covers single, financially dependent children aged 19 or younger, with additional conditions at ages 18 and 19. A limited exception for ages 20 to 24 on specified child visitor routes depends on an eligible residence application. It is not a general invitation for every adult child to accompany a parent.
Resolve consent and category questions before submission
Bringing children also sets out circumstances in which a child under 16 travelling without the other parent needs evidence of permission to leave the relevant country. Depending on the facts, this can involve a witnessed statement of consent or legal custody documents. Adoption cases require the separate recognition rules to be checked; an adoption record is not automatically sufficient in every international case.
Families should use the five official resources below for different tasks: the transition notice for timing, the two partner pages for activity and supporting evidence, the child visitor page for that category, and Bringing children for dependency and consent questions. A child requiring longer study should be assessed against the appropriate student instructions. The platform migration itself does not establish domestic student eligibility, residence entitlement or an approval date.
