New Zealand immigration treats partners and dependent children as part of the primary applicant's family unit across most visa categories. Understanding which family members qualify as dependants, what rights they get, and how to include them correctly is essential to planning an immigration pathway that keeps your family together.
This page covers the overall framework. For more detailed guidance on specific situations, see bringing your partner to NZ and dependent children visas.
Who Qualifies as a Dependant
New Zealand immigration recognises two categories of dependants: partners and dependent children.
Partners are spouses, civil union partners, or de facto (unmarried) partners in a genuine and stable relationship. De facto couples need to demonstrate at least 12 months of living together before the relationship qualifies for residence-based applications. Married couples have no minimum duration requirement but still need to show the relationship is genuine.
Dependent children are children under 24 who are single, financially dependent on the parent, and do not have children of their own. This includes biological children, legally adopted children, and stepchildren where the parental relationship can be documented.
What does not qualify: parents, siblings, grandparents, extended family. These relationships do not make someone a dependant under New Zealand's immigration framework. If you want to bring a parent to New Zealand, there is a separate (and much more restricted) parent resident visa category — it is not a dependant pathway.
How Dependants Are Included
With the Primary Application
The most common approach is including dependants in your primary visa application from the outset. When you apply for an AEWV, a residence visa, or a student visa, you list your partner and dependent children as secondary applicants. They go through the same application process, pay their own fees, and are assessed on health and character in parallel with you.
This is usually the preferred approach when everyone's documentation is ready and you want to arrive in New Zealand together. A decline for the principal applicant typically also declines the secondary applicants.
Joining You Later
If your dependants weren't included in your original application — or if your family situation changes after you arrive — your partner and children can apply to join you separately. Your partner would typically apply for a Partner of a Worker visa (if you're on a work visa) or a Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa (if you've obtained residence). Children apply through the dependent child pathway.
Applying to join you later is also the usual approach when family situations are complex — different nationalities, pending documentation, or uncertainty about whether a child will be included.
Rights Dependants Receive
The rights a dependant receives depend on the primary applicant's visa type:
On a work visa (AEWV): Your partner can apply for an open work visa, giving them the right to work for any employer. This applies when your AEWV wage meets or exceeds the median wage. Dependent children receive visas allowing them to study in New Zealand and attend state schools. Children on work visa-linked dependent visas attend school as domestic students, so state school tuition is free.
On a student visa: Partner rights depend on your study level. Partners of postgraduate students (Level 8 or above) at universities can typically get open work rights. Partners of undergraduate students have more limited options. Children attend school at domestic fees.
On a residence visa: Partners and children included in a successful residence application receive residence themselves — not just dependent status, but full residence with all the associated rights, including open work rights, domestic tertiary fees, and access to public services.
Health and Character for Each Dependant
Every dependant is individually assessed for health and character — there are no exemptions based on being included in a family application.
Partners need police certificates from each country where they've lived for 12 months or more since turning 17, and a medical examination for residence applications. Children over 11 need a chest X-ray. Young children have fewer requirements but still need basic health disclosure.
A health or character concern with a dependant can affect the entire family application, not just that individual. If one family member doesn't meet the health standard, the whole family application may be at risk unless a waiver is obtained for that person.
Each Person Pays Their Own Fee
When you include dependants in your application, each person pays their own application fee. For a family of four applying for residence together, you're paying four separate application fees. The fees for dependent children are typically lower than adult fees, but the total cost for a family application can be substantial.
Relationship Changes
If your relationship ends while you or your partner are in New Zealand on dependent-linked visas, the immigration implications need to be addressed promptly. A partner whose visa was granted as a dependant of a worker may lose the basis for that visa if the relationship ends. Children remain as dependants of whichever parent holds or obtains the appropriate visa.
For someone who has been in an abusive relationship, INZ has specific provisions to consider. A partner escaping domestic violence may be able to pursue their own independent visa pathway rather than being tied to the relationship-based visa. If this situation applies, get advice promptly.
Practical Timing Considerations
If you're planning to include dependants, coordinate their documentation alongside yours. Police certificates take time to obtain, medicals need to be scheduled with approved panel physicians, and children need birth certificates and passport photos that meet specific requirements. If one family member's documentation is delayed, it can delay the whole application.
For families where the primary applicant needs to start work quickly but the family documentation will take time, it's possible to have the primary applicant's application proceed first and then have dependants apply to join once the primary applicant's visa is sorted. This is less convenient but sometimes necessary when timelines don't align.
Frequently Asked Questions
My parents want to join me in New Zealand — can I include them as dependants?
No. Parents are not dependants under the standard visa framework. The Parent Resident Visa category exists but is very limited — it requires you to have been a New Zealand resident or citizen for at least three years and for your parent to have no other children living elsewhere. See the parent visa page for details.
My partner has a criminal record — does that affect my own visa?
Your partner's criminal history is assessed separately as part of their own application. It doesn't affect your personal eligibility, but it can affect whether your partner is approved as a dependant. A serious conviction may prevent your partner from being included, or may require a character waiver.
Can I add my partner to my visa after I've arrived?
You can't modify your existing visa to add a dependant, but your partner can apply for their own visa to join you — the Partner of a Worker visa if you're on a work visa, or similar depending on your status. They apply separately, not as an addition to your visa.
If my partner is included in my residence application and it's approved, are they also a resident?
Yes. Dependants included in an approved residence application receive their own residence status — not a dependent permit, but full residency with all the associated rights.
Planning to bring your family to New Zealand? Find a licensed immigration adviser who can help you include your partner and children correctly from the start.