Citizeo Expand your global options
Pathway

New Zealand Family Violence Resident Visa

New Zealand Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

A person whose partnership with a New Zealand citizen or resident has ended may qualify for residence after experiencing family violence. They must also show that returning home would leave them without independent financial support or expose them to abuse or community exclusion. The former partner does not need to sponsor the application.

Former partner
A New Zealand citizen or resident; the partnership must have ended
Family violence
Provide evidence accepted under the immigration rules
Return-home barrier
Returning would leave you without independent financial support or expose you to abuse or community exclusion

Summary

New Zealand’s family-violence residence category lets eligible survivors apply independently of a former New Zealand citizen or resident partner. It needs accepted evidence of family violence and the difficulty of returning home safely or with independent support.

The former partner does not have to sponsor the case. Use the official evidence options rather than assuming that preparing an application requires contacting the person who caused the harm.

Applying for residence after family violence
  1. Put immediate safety first Use a safe contact method; call 111 in New Zealand if there is immediate danger.
  2. Prepare relationship and family-violence evidence Use the accepted evidence rules; the former partner’s sponsorship is not required.
  3. Explain why returning home is not possible and apply Provide the required financial, community, personal, and child records.

Both the family-violence evidence and the specific return-home requirements must be met.

Could this pathway work for you?

Eligibility

The applicant must have been in a partnership with a New Zealand citizen or resident, and that partnership must have ended. If INZ has not assessed the partnership before, the applicant may need to prove it was genuine and stable. Marriage is not required.

The applicant must prove family violence using evidence accepted under the immigration rules. Depending on the facts, this can include a New Zealand protection order, a relevant conviction, a Police complaint supported by a statutory declaration (a formally witnessed written statement), or statements of that kind made by the applicant and qualifying professionals in the required way. General relationship conflict without evidence meeting the rules is not enough.

The abuser must have been a family member or someone close to the applicant, and the two must have lived together in a family relationship. The applicant must also show that returning to the home country is not possible because either:

Evidence may address employment and education history, available support, and how separated, single, or divorced people are treated in the home community. The applicant and included children must meet identity, health, and character requirements.

Single dependent children aged 24 or younger may be included. Children aged 18 to 24 must have no children of their own; the usual dependency evidence should be prepared where required.

What This Route Allows

Approval grants residence and lets the applicant and included children live, work, and study in New Zealand indefinitely. The applicant can work for any employer and is no longer dependent on the former partner for immigration status.

The visa normally lets you leave and return as a resident for 2 years from your first arrival as a resident. A Permanent Resident Visa may be available later if its separate requirements are met. The travel conditions must remain valid for return travel until permanent residence is granted.

What This Route Is Not

It is not limited to married applicants, and the abuser does not have to be the New Zealand partner. It is also not enough that a relationship ended badly: the family-violence evidence and the specific rules about being unable to return home must both be met.

The visa is not a sponsorship process involving the former partner. Applicants should not assume they must contact the abuser to prepare the case; the official evidence rules provide other ways to prove family violence.

Next Steps

  1. Address immediate safety needs first; call New Zealand emergency services on 111 if there is immediate danger.
  2. Confirm the former partner's New Zealand citizenship or residence and preserve relationship evidence.
  3. Compare the available family-violence records with INZ's exact accepted-evidence rules before filing.
  4. Gather evidence that the applicant lived with the abuser and explain the family relationship.
  5. Document why returning home is not possible under one of the stated rules with financial, employment, education, community, country, or professional evidence.
  6. Prepare identity, medical, police, translation, and dependent-child records and use a safe address and contact method for the application.

Stay up to date on this pathway

Get an email when something important changes.

No account needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Similar humanitarian pathways in New Zealand and other destinations.

Sources