How to bring my partner to New Zealand
If your partner is overseas and you want to bring them to New Zealand, you usually have two main routes: a partnership visitor visa so you can simply be together, or a partner work visa if they are eligible to work here. Both rest on the same foundation - showing Immigration New Zealand that your relationship is genuine and stable.
You are in New Zealand and your partner is still overseas, and the distance is hard. You want them with you, but the visa options are confusing and you are not sure which one fits or how to prove your relationship from two different countries.
Visit and live in New Zealand with your partner — a visitor visa based on your relationship, for partners not yet eligible for a work or resident visa.
What to do
- 1Decide what you need first - a partnership visitor visa lets your partner come and be with you, while a partner work visa may suit if they are eligible and want to work.
- 2Build strong evidence that your relationship is genuine and stable, including how you met, your history together, and proof of ongoing commitment despite living apart.
- 3Gather evidence of living together where you can - past shared addresses, plans to live together in New Zealand, and any time already spent under the same roof.
- 4Choose the route that matches your situation and your partner's eligibility, rather than applying for the wrong visa and risking delay or decline.
- 5Talk to MyLaw for an honest assessment of which visa is the best fit and how to present a long-distance relationship convincingly.
Get it right the first time
Have a lawyer check your case or run the whole application — backed by our money-back guarantee.
Common questions
- What is the easiest way to bring my partner to New Zealand?
- Often a partnership visitor visa, which lets your partner come to be with you. If they are eligible to work, a partner work visa may be a better fit. Both depend on a genuine and stable relationship.
- Can my partner work once they arrive on a visitor visa?
- No. A visitor visa has no work rights. If your partner needs to work, you should look at a partner work visa instead. MyLaw can help you choose.
- How do we prove our relationship while living in different countries?
- Show your full history together, communication over time, visits, and your intention to live together in New Zealand. MyLaw can help you build this evidence.
Related guides
This page is general information, not immigration or legal advice. For advice on your situation, talk to MyLaw. Reading it does not create a solicitor–client relationship.