Sponsoring Visas for Parent NZ

Eligibility Requirement for Applicants

As an applicant for the Parent Resident Visa, you must meet the following requirements:

• You must be invited by Immigration New Zealand to apply for the Parent Resident Visa.
• You must be the parent, grandparent, or legal guardian of the child sponsoring you.
• You must be able to speak the English language. Otherwise, you must agree to pay for English lessons if your application is approved.
• You must be in good health.
• You must be of good character.
• You must not have dependent children.

Note that you will be able to include your partner in your residence application as long as they meet these requirements as well.

If you are applying as a legal guardian of a New Zealander, you will only be considered as their parent if:

• Both parents of the sponsor died before they turned 18, and
• You had custody of the sponsor and the right to control their upbringing before they turned 18.

Furthermore, if you are the adult child’s grandparent, you will only be considered as a parent if both of their parents are dead.

Eligibility Requirement for Sponsors

To apply for the Parent Resident Visa, you can be sponsored:

• Alone by your adult New Zealand citizen or resident child
• Jointly by your adult child and their partner, or
• Jointly by two of your adult children or your adult child and your partner’s adult child.

Your sponsors must be New Zealand citizens or residents who have been residing in the country for at least 3 years. If you are being sponsored by your child and their partner, they must have been living together for at least 12 months.

Your sponsor(s) must also meet other requirements, including:

• They must be 18 or over
• They must have spent 184 or more days in New Zealand in each of the 3 years before you apply for residence.
• They must have sufficient financial resources to meet your living costs for the first 10 years of your residence if you’re unable to.
• They must agree to cover the costs of sending you home, if necessary.
• They must be willing to provide Inland Revenue tax statements as proof of their income.

Minimum Income Requirement for Sponsors

Your sponsor(s) will be required to earn an income based on the New Zealand median income to enable you to qualify for the visa. They must have earned this income for 2 years in the 3-year period before your expression of interest was selected.

The minimum income threshold changes depending on your circumstances. To calculate the minimum income, you should consider:

• If you have 1 or 2 sponsors.
• How many parents are being sponsored. This includes any parents they may have sponsored before.
• Which two 12-month periods (two years) your sponsor will use to have their income assessed on.
• The New Zealand median income on the last day of each 12-month period that your sponsor’s income will be assessed on.

Generally, if you have a single sponsor, they must earn 1.5 times the current New Zealand median wage. But if you have a joint sponsor, they must earn 2 times the current New Zealand median wage to sponsor you.

However, if they have sponsored or will be sponsoring another parent, the minimum income requirement increases by half the median wage. This half increase will apply for each additional parent being sponsored, up to a maximum of 6 parents.

Note that the median income is updated each year, so the specific amount your sponsor will need to earn may change. From February 28, 2024, the income requirement for single and joint sponsors are indicated in the table below:

Completing the Form

Before you can apply for the Parent Resident Visa, you must first complete an Expression of Interest Form (INZ 1202) or submit an ​​Expression of Interest online at Immigration New Zealand’s website.

You will be required to tell INZ about:

• Your family
• Your partner, if you have one
• Your identity, character, and health
• Your English-speaking ability
• Your sponsor or sponsors, including their income.

When completing the EOI form, ensure to fill out all the sections of the form. If a question is not relevant to you, please indicate ‘N/A’ or ‘not applicable’ in the corresponding box to ensure that INZ is aware that the question has been intentionally skipped.

Ensure you provide correct and complete information. If it is found that you provided false information, you may not get an invitation to apply for the visa.

You do not need to provide any supporting documents along with your EOI. You’ll only be required to pay the fee along with the application form.

The Expression of Interest Pool

Your Expression of Interest will be entered into an Expression of Interest ballot pool, which will be selected from every three months, typically in February, May, August, and November.

If you want to be considered for a particular month’s ballot, ensure to submit your expression of interest before the first day of that month. For example, to be considered for the February pool, submit your EOI on or before 31 January.

Note that your EOI will remain in the pool for 2 years before it expires.

If yours is selected from the pool, it will be verified by the immigration officers to check whether you are eligible to apply for residence. If you are, you will receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA), and you may make a residence application.