If you came to New Zealand as a refugee or protected person you may be able to sponsor a family member to get New Zealand residence.
Indefinitely
600
NZD $0
Provide your details to make the experience more relevant to you.
Check if you are eligible to apply for this visa and what supporting documents and information you need to provide.
Your sponsor must be a New Zealand citizen or resident who was granted residence on the basis of being a refugee or protected person, or as an Afghan interpreter, or evacuee who supported the New Zealand Defence Force or other New Zealand agencies in Afghanistan.
Your sponsor must also meet other tier one or tier two requirements.
If your sponsor doesn’t meet the requirements, they won’t be able to sponsor your residence application.
Your sponsor must complete a ‘Refugee Family Support Category Sponsor Registration Form’ and provide evidence of their immigration status, which can include any of the following:
If your sponsor has changed their name, they’ll need to provide a statutory declaration certificate of their name change too.
Refugee Family Support Category Tier One Sponsor Registration Form (INZ1094) PDF 966KB
Refugee Family Support Category Tier Two Sponsor Registration Form (INZ1192)
Your sponsor should also attach photocopies of birth certificates for all family members they want to sponsor, if they are available.
Only tier 1 sponsor registration is currently available. Tier 2 sponsor registrations will be returned.
If birth certificates aren’t available, your sponsor can include identity cards instead.
Your sponsor must also continue to make sure that your accommodation needs are met for your first 2 years in New Zealand. Settlement service providers available to help with accommodation plans for families:
Provider: Safer Ashburton/Mid-Canterbury
Location: Ashburton
safermidcanterbury.org.nz
Provider: Kāhui Tū Kaha
Locations: Blenheim, Dunedin, Invercargill, Levin, Masterton, Nelson, Palmerston North, Wellington
redcross.org.nz
Provider: Purapura Whetu
Location: Christchurch
pw.maori.nz
Provider: Hamilton Multicultural Services (HMS) Trust
Location: Hamilton
hmstrust.org.nz
Provider: Presbyterian Support South Canterbury
Location: Timaru
pssc.org.nz
If your sponsor’s registration is selected from one of the Refugee Family Support Category queues, we may invite you to apply for residence.
If we invite you to apply for residence, we’ll send you a letter detailing all the information you’ll need to provide.
If you do not have access to your passport or certificate of identity, provide your original birth certificate or certified copy.
You don’t need to provide any evidence of your good health, unless we ask you to.
If you, or anyone else included in your application, are aged 17 or older you must provide a police certificate from:
Police certificates must be less than 6 months old at the time you apply.
You don’t need to provide any Police Certificates until you’re invited to apply for residence.
To include your partner and dependent children in your residence application, you must provide evidence:
You don’t need to provide any evidence until you’re invited to apply for residence.
The information below will help you understand the process, timeframes and costs involved in applying for this visa, so you can plan ahead and have the best chance of submitting a complete application.
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Enter country detailsThese are the conditions that you must meet once you have your visa.
You must apply for entry permission when you arrive in New Zealand. You can do this by completing a New Zealand traveller declaration (NZTD).
New Zealand Customs and Biosecurity also check that you meet their entry requirements.
You can be refused entry permission if:
When we grant your visa, if you are outside New Zealand you and your family will have 12 months to come to New Zealand.
If you and your family are unable to come to New Zealand in this time, your visa will expire and you’ll have to apply for a new visa.
Your family must have been included in your resident visa application for them to come to New Zealand.
If you want to travel, your visa must be in a valid passport.
If your passport expires, you must apply to transfer your visa to a new passport before you can travel.
To transfer your visa, you must:
Application for transfer or confirmation of a visa
Application for Transfer or Confirmation of a Visa (INZ 1023) PDF 375KB
You can travel in and out of New Zealand as often as you like until your travel conditions expire — normally 2 years from the date you first arrive in New Zealand as a resident.
If you are outside New Zealand when your travel conditions expire, your visa will expire as well.
To travel in and out of New Zealand after your travel conditions expire, you need to apply for:
Your travel conditions will expire 2 years from the date you first arrive in New Zealand as a resident.
If you are outside of New Zealand when your travel conditions expire, your visa will expire as well.
Your sponsor is responsible for making sure you have somewhere reasonable to live when you arrive in New Zealand. They must also continue to support you with your accommodation needs for your first 2 years in New Zealand.