Immigration New Zealand Application Fees for Partners of New Zealanders and their Dependent Children (Updated)

If you are a New Zealand citizen or resident visa holder (“New Zealander”) looking to bring their partner to New Zealand, it’s likely you’ll need to factor Immigration New Zealand’s visa application fees into their relocation cost planning. If your partner has any dependent children who are not your biological children and who they wish to bring, there might also be additional visa application fees payable for bringing them to New Zealand. 

Note that references in this article to “partner” are where a person is “living together in a genuine and stable relationship” with a New Zealander, so if you’re not living with your partner or haven’t lived together for sufficient duration to meet Immigration New Zealand’s (“INZ”) partnership category requirements, a general visitor visa application may potentially be an option (and I’d recommend reading my previous article about navigating long distance relationship. 

INZ application fees are comprised of two components: an application fee and a levy. Most visa applicants are required to pay both the application fee and a levy. In some circumstances, people from some countries may not have to pay the fee and/or levy. For simplicity, the references below to “application fee” include both the INZ application fee and levy. 

The amount of any visa application fee your partner will be required to pay will vary depending on different factors, including their country of citizenship, their location at the date of applying (i.e. whether they’re applying from “onshore” or “offshore” from New Zealand) and the type of visa being applied for. For this reason (and because application fees are subject to change), it’s important to always check the ‘fee finder’ page on the INZ website for the latest fee information relevant to your particular situation.

If your partner is a citizen of a country with which New Zealand has a bilateral fee waiver agreement in place, there may be a reduced fee or no fee to pay, depending on the type of visa being applied for and your partner’s location at the date of their application. For example, citizens of Japan currently do not pay any immigration fees for offshore partnership-based work or residence visa applications but must pay normal fees for onshore applications, while citizens of Iceland do not currently pay any immigration application fee for either onshore or offshore applications. Samoan citizens pay a reduced visa application fee for both onshore and offshore partnership residence visa applications but must pay normal fees for partnership-based work visa applications. These potential variations by country underscore the importance of checking the INZ website for the latest fee information applicable to your situation.

Partner of New Zealander visa application fees

Currently, and with the potential exceptions mentioned above in respect of citizens of certain countries who might pay either a reduced fee or no fee, the usual INZ application fees (stated in NZ dollars) for partnership-based applications are as follows:

• Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa (onshore and offshore):  $1,630 from 1 October 2024

• Partner of a New Zealander Visitor Visa (onshore and offshore):  $341 from 1 October 2024

• Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa (onshore and offshore): $5,360 from 1 October 2024

Dependent Children of Partners of New Zealanders

The fees for a Dependent Child Student Visa application is $750 for both onshore and offshore applications from 1st October 2024. There is no additional fee for the inclusion of a Dependent Child in the parent’s Partnership-Based Residence Visa application, but the INZ fee for a ‘standalone’ dependent child resident visa application (e.g. if submitted later, once the parent has already been granted NZ residence) is $3,230 for both onshore and offshore application from 1st October 2024.

Inclusion as a “secondary applicant” in your partner’s New Zealand residence visa application

If you are applying for a New Zealand Residence Visa and wish to include your partner and any dependent children in your visa application (as “secondary applicants”), there is no additional application fee payable in respect of your partner and any children (i.e. your residence visa application fee includes your partner and any dependent children as secondary applicants).