Everything you need to know about New Zealand’s Partner of a Worker work visa

New Zealand’s Partner of a Worker work visa allows you to work in the country if you have a partner who is a New Zealand citizen or resident.

With this visa you can stay in New Zealand for 2 years if you’ve been living with your partner for more than 12 months. Or 1 year if you’ve been living with your partner for less than 12 months.

This visa not only allows you to work in New Zealand, but also study in the country for up to 3 months.


Starting from May 31, partners of temporary migrant workers can apply for a work visa from outside New Zealand, but the visa will have additional conditions on the nature of employer and the pay rate for work that must be met by the visa holder.

Recently announced changes state that migrants wanting to join their partner in New Zealand can apply for a Partner of a Worker Work visa but that visa will be subject to the conditions that:

• The work for only employers who are accredited
• Only work in positions paid a medium wage of NZ$29.66 (unless they are in a role covered byan uncapped sector agreement that allows limited exceptions to median wage requirements)

To be eligible for this visa, your partner must provide one of the following:

• a New Zealand passport
• a New Zealand birth certificate
• a certificate of New Zealand citizenship
• a New Zealand residence class visa.

If your partner is a New Zealand resident because of their citizenship or residence status in Australia, they may provide their Australian passport, permanent residence or resident return visa.

To be eligible for this visa, you have to be living together when you apply.

You must provide evidence that you and your partner are living together in a genuine and stable relationship.Your evidence should show:

• how long you’ve been together
• how long you’ve been living together
• if you’re 16 or 17, that your parent or guardian supports your partnership
• you spend time together, eg photos together, emails and social media conversations between you
• you share finances and other responsibilities.

Funds to show
You must have enough money to live on while you are in New Zealand or have an acceptable sponsor. You can provide any one of these as supporting evidence

• a salary that supports you for the length of your stay
• that your employer can support you for the length of your stay
• that you have enough funds to support you for the length of your stay
• a Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry completed by an acceptable sponsor.

Your partner must support your visa application, and be eligible to support a partnership-based resident visa application within 12 months

To be eligible to support a partnership based resident visa application, your partner must not:

• have supported a successful resident visa application for more than one previous partner
• have supported a successful resident visa application for a previous partner within the last 5 years
• have included a previous partner in their own successful residence application, within the last 5 years
• have themselves been included as a partner in a successful residence application, within the last 5 years
• be liable for deportation, or have their deportation liability suspended.

Your partner must complete a ‘Partnership support form for Residence/temporary entry’ as evidence of their support’.

New Zealand citizens and residents can support only 1 partner for residence in a 5 year period, and support only 2 partners for residence in total.

If your partner can't support you for residence now, but will be able to within 12 months, they can still support your work or visitor visa now.

If you want to stay longer, you can apply for residence as the partner of a New Zealand citizen or resident.