The volume of partnership residence applications steadily increased between mid-2023 and August 2024. This happened as more partnership work visa holders and partners of 2021 Resident Visa holders became eligible for partnership residence. There was also a significant surge in applications in September 2024 before fees and levies increased on 1 October.

The growth in applications has increased processing times for most partnership residence applications to around 7 months and is forecast to grow.

We are making changes to slow the expected increase in processing times. These include allocating more staff to process applications and following up by phone when we need more information to make a decision.

We are working hard to improve processing times as we know how important this is to our customers.

Incomplete applications can significantly impact processing times. To help with faster processing, it is key that INZ receives applications that contain all the required information and documents we need to make a decision.

Partner of a New Zealand Resident Visa