Is there a fiancé visa in New Zealand?

No. New Zealand does not have a fiancé visa, and you cannot get a partnership visa, even a partnership visitor visa, without living together. Couples who are engaged but not living together usually come on a general visitor visa, then apply for a partnership visa once they are living together.

What is the culturally arranged marriage visa?

It is a visitor visa for partners in a genuine culturally arranged marriage, allowing the partner to come to New Zealand to marry. It applies to that specific situation, not to engagements generally.

Can we apply for a partnership visa before we marry?

Only if you are already living together as de facto partners in a genuine and stable relationship. Marriage is not required, but living together is. If you are not living together yet, you will usually need the general-visitor-visa-first route.

Can I bring my fiancé or fiancée to New Zealand?

Not on a partnership visa yet, in most cases. Every partnership visa, including the partnership visitor visa, requires you to be living together in a genuine and stable relationship, and being engaged does not meet that on its own. If you are not living together yet, the usual first step is a general visitor visa so your fiancé or fiancée can come to New Zealand, after which you live together and then apply for a partnership visa.

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

Engagement is not a visa category, and being engaged does not satisfy the living-together requirement that every partnership visa has.
If you are not living together yet, a general visitor visa is the usual first step. A partnership visitor visa is not a shortcut, because it also requires living together.
Once you are living together, whether married or de facto, a partner of a New Zealander work or resident visa becomes available.
If yours is a culturally arranged marriage, the culturally arranged marriage visitor visa is a specific pathway designed for that situation.

About the evidence

Start building your relationship timeline and evidence now, including communication, visits, photos and plans, because you will need it for the partnership application that follows.

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

Other visas that might apply

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Common questions

Is there a fiancé visa in New Zealand?: No. New Zealand does not have a fiancé visa, and you cannot get a partnership visa, even a partnership visitor visa, without living together. Couples who are engaged but not living together usually come on a general visitor visa, then apply for a partnership visa once they are living together.
What is the culturally arranged marriage visa?: It is a visitor visa for partners in a genuine culturally arranged marriage, allowing the partner to come to New Zealand to marry. It applies to that specific situation, not to engagements generally.
Can we apply for a partnership visa before we marry?: Only if you are already living together as de facto partners in a genuine and stable relationship. Marriage is not required, but living together is. If you are not living together yet, you will usually need the general-visitor-visa-first route.