Partnership Category

Partners of New Zealand citizens or residents can apply for a work visa, student visa, visitor visa and residence visa. You can download the relevant forms and guides from the Immigration New Zealand website or obtain relevant information on the above visas from INZ website > Immigration Instructions.

Lodging Your Application

1. Relevant Visa Application Form fully completed in English and signed.
2. Photograph :  Two recent passport sized photograph
3. Application Fee in Korean won (for temporary application lodged in Korea) must be paid by cash; cashier’s cheque or Korean voucher issued by the Korean Post Office, or application fee in the currency and acceptable mode of payment for the Immigration New Zealand branch designated to process temporary or residence visa applications for your application. Please note that fees are subject to change without prior notice.Passport Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond the date you intend to depart New Zealand.
4. Passport: : Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months beyond the date you intend to depart New Zealand. 
5. For non-Korean nationals, original and copy of evidence of residence status in the country where you are currently residing (work, student, dependant or long-term visit pass, permanent residence, etc) AND
   • Certificate of the Facts of Alien Registration (외국인 등록 사실 증명서) issued from a Korean Immigration Office.
   • Certificate of the Facts Concerning the Entry & Exit (출입국에 관한 사실 증명서) issued from a Korean Immigration Office.
   Sponsorship Form : For residence visa (complete ‘Sponsorship Form for Residence in New Zealand - NZIS 1024’)
6. Health requirement
   • If your stay is more than 6 months but less than 12 months – submit X-ray Certificate for Temporary Entry Form INZ 1096 if you hold a passport from a country or have spent more than 3 months in the last 5 years in one or more countries NOT on the List of Low TB Incident Countries.
   • If your stay is more than 12 months – submit a Medical and Chest X-Ray Certificate INZ 1007.
   • The x-ray film is NOT required if your X-ray results are normal.
   • Children under 11 years of age and pregnant women are not required to have an x-ray.
   • The certificate must be less than 3 months old at time your application is submitted. Please refer to our website for an approved list of panel doctor doctors and radiologists who can complete your certificate.
   Form for Partners Supporting Partnership-based Temporary Entry applications INZ1146: for temporary visa application only.Evidence of your return or onward ticket booking For temporary visas
7. Police Certificates are required if you are aged 17 years and above intending to stay in New Zealand for 24 months or longer.
   • From your country of citizenship, and
   • For temporary visa application - any country in which you lived for 5 years or more since the age of 17 years, OR.
   • For residence visa application - any country in which you lived for 12 months or more (whether on one visit or intermittently) in the last 10 years prior to lodging this application.
   • Police Certificate at time your application is submitted. Korean police certificate obtained in Korea must be accompanied with an official  English translation and notarisation. Self-translation is not accepted.
    
8. Evidence that your New Zealand partner has New Zealand citizenship/residence status
9. Partnership Support Form for Residence INZ1178: for residence visa only.

10. Form for Partners Supporting Partnership-based Temporary Entry applications INZ1146: for temporary visa application only.

11. Letter of Support from eligible sponsor - This should be prepared by your New Zealand partner, with the evidence that you and your  partner intend to live in NZ together for the same period of time. For residence visa – supporting your application for a resident visa.

12. Evidence of Funds  - for the last 6 months or a letter from the bank stating the balance amount held in an account.

13. Additional documents (where applicable)
• Sources of Funds You must provide evidence of the source of funds. This should include, for example, evidence of employment and salary, and official documents such as income certificate from the National Tax Office, bank history, and/or company registration.
• Evidence of your return or onward ticket booking For temporary visa only (if applicable).
• Certificate of Employment, Letter of Leave from the Employer For temporary visas (if employed, a letter of leave from your employer on original company letterhead including phone and fax contact numbers.
• Evidence of current and past marital status for both you and your partner (i.e. notarised certificate of ‘never married’ or divorce papers. NZ partners may require providing ‘No Impediment to Marriage’ from the Department of Internal Affairs.)
• Any other documents or evidence.

14. Evidences that may support the claimed partnership where:

• You and your partner are living together (showing shared accommodation) may include but is not limited to:
- joint ownership of residential property
- joint tenancy agreement or rent book or rental receipts
- correspondence (including postmarked envelopes) addressed to both principal applicant and partner at the same address.
• If you and your partner have been living separately for any period during the partnership, you should provide evidence of the length of the periods of separation, the reasons, and how the relationship was maintained during the periods of separation, such as letters, itemised telephone accounts or e-mail messages.
• You and your partner are in a genuine and stable partnership may include but is not limited to:
- Marriage certificate
- a civil union certificate for the parties;
- birth certificates of any children of the parties;
- evidence of communication between the parties;
- photographs of the parties together;
- documents indicating public recognition of the partnership;
- evidence of the parties being committed to each other both emotionally and exclusively such as evidence of:
i. joint decision making and plans together
ii. sharing of parental obligations
iii. sharing of household activities
iv. sharing of companionship/spare time
v. sharing of leisure and social activities
vi. presentation by the parties to outsiders as a couple.
- evidence of being financially interdependent such as evidence of
i. shared income
ii. joint bank accounts operated reasonably frequently over a reasonable time
iii. joint assets
iv. joint liabilities such as loans or credit to purchase real estate, cars, major home appliances
v. joint utilities accounts (electricity, gas, water, telephone)
vi. mutually agreed financial arrangements.

15. Birth certificate: where applicable when family members accompany the applicant.

Important Notes

1. You can bring in, or mail the fully completed application and correct fee to the embassy. Residence visa applications will be forwarded to designated processing Immigration New Zealand branch. 
2. Your application may not be accepted if you do not answer all the relevant questions or provide all the required documentation.
3. Lodging a New Zealand visa application with all requested documents does not guarantee your visa will be approved.
4. Application fees are non-refundable.
5. All documents submitted in support of your application must be originals or copies certified by an authorised person by law to take statutory declarations.
6. Original documents supplied must be in English or attach with official English translation certified by a recognised translation service. Please also submit photocopies of the document. If you had any immigration problem while staying overseas, you should submit a written explanation on lodgement of your application.
7. All applicants are obliged to notify any significant change that occurs during processing of the application, including after visa is granted. (eg. Change of relationship)
8. Immigration New Zealand reserves the right to request additional information/or attend an interview in the course of assessing an application and to retain information and documents on file.

10. All information provided in support of your application will be subject to verification. If you provide false or misleading information your application may be declined.

11. In some circumstances, your application may be forwarded to the receiving office for your country.

12. Processing Duration: approximately 4 to 6 weeks. Applications submitted without the required documents will take longer to process. We recommend you submit your application 3 months before your intended departure date. Please do not purchase an airline ticket before you obtain a visa.

13. If you are granted a visa you must arrive within the validity of the visa. If you are unable to arrive within the validity date of your visa, you must lodge a new application as your visa may have been expired.

14. You must leave New Zealand before the expiry of your visa or face deportation.