Can my boyfriend or girlfriend get a partnership visa?

Only once the relationship is genuine and stable and you are living together. If you have never lived together, no partnership visa fits yet, including a partnership visitor visa, so a general visitor visa is usually the first step.

How do we show our relationship is genuine and stable?

With evidence built over time: living together, shared finances, communication, time spent together, and recognition by family and friends. A new or long-distance relationship usually needs to establish living together first.

Can they work while visiting?

No. A visitor visa does not grant work rights. Work rights come with a partner work visa, which needs a qualifying partnership, and that needs living together, first.

Can I bring my boyfriend or girlfriend to New Zealand?

Maybe, but a relationship on its own is not enough. Every partnership visa requires a genuine and stable relationship and that you are living together. If you have never lived together, the usual first step is a general visitor visa so your boyfriend or girlfriend can come to New Zealand, start living with you and build the shared history a partnership visa needs.

Your first step

A partnership visa (including a partnership visitor visa) requires you to be living together, so it cannot be the first step if you have never lived together. The usual route is a general visitor visa to come to New Zealand, then a partnership visa once you are living together.

Bringing a partner you haven't lived with yet

What you need to know

Dating alone does not qualify. Immigration New Zealand looks for a relationship that is genuine and stable and, crucially, that you are living together.
If you have never lived together, a general visitor visa is the realistic first step. A partnership visitor visa will not work yet, because it also requires living together.
Time living together and a clear, evidenced timeline are what move a relationship from 'dating' to 'genuine and stable' in immigration terms.
Once you are living together in a genuine and stable relationship, a partner work or resident visa becomes available.

About the evidence

The honest test is whether you can show you are living together in a genuine and stable relationship. If you are early on, focus on getting together and building that history before applying for a partnership visa.

See what a genuine and stable relationship means and the evidence of living together.

Other visas that might apply

Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa

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Common questions

Can my boyfriend or girlfriend get a partnership visa?: Only once the relationship is genuine and stable and you are living together. If you have never lived together, no partnership visa fits yet, including a partnership visitor visa, so a general visitor visa is usually the first step.
How do we show our relationship is genuine and stable?: With evidence built over time: living together, shared finances, communication, time spent together, and recognition by family and friends. A new or long-distance relationship usually needs to establish living together first.
Can they work while visiting?: No. A visitor visa does not grant work rights. Work rights come with a partner work visa, which needs a qualifying partnership, and that needs living together, first.