Parent Category opens on 24 February 2020
Overview of the Parent Category
To be considered under this category, you must:
be of good health and character
have no dependent children
have a reasonable standard of English
have an adult child who is a New Zealand citizen or resident and is eligible to sponsor you, and
have a sponsor (or sponsors) that meets income requirements.
Only your partner can be included in your Expression of Interest and, later, in your residence application. Children cannot be included and you will not be eligible for residence under the Parent Category if you have dependent children. As the principal applicant, you will need to supply evidence of your relationship if you are including a partner in your application.
Please note that if you have a partner who is eligible to be included in your Expression of Interest, but you do not include them, they will not be eligible for residence based on your partnership later on, even if you become a New Zealand resident. Partners are considered eligible for inclusion in an EOI even if it appears that your sponsor (or sponsors) may not meet the income requirement to sponsor multiple Parent category applicants.
This means that a Partner must be declared irrespective. You cannot sponsor your partner yourself after the Residence has been approved if you haven’t disclosed them on the Expression of Interest.
Expressions of Interest will cost $490.00
Resident application after approval of EOI will cost $2250.00
The application can only be submitted on Paper / NO Online application
Eligible sponsors Amongst other things, to be an eligible sponsor your adult child and their partner (if joint income is being considered) must:
have been a New Zealand resident or citizen for at least three years before you apply for residence • be ordinarily resident in New Zealand and have spent at least 184 days in New Zealand in each of the three years immediately before you apply for residence, and
for the first ten years of your residence in New Zealand, undertake to ensure your maintenance in New Zealand and that you have suitable accommodation, and to pay for any costs of your deportation or repatriation, should it be necessary.
If costs are incurred by the Crown as a result of your sponsor/s breaching their sponsorship undertakings, you will be deemed to have breached the conditions of your visa and may become liable for deportation. These costs will also be considered to be a debt owed by the sponsor/s, and the sponsor/s will be liable to be pursued by the Crown or a third party to recover this debt. If your adult child and/or their partner (if using joint income) does not meet the residence requirements, you can still submit your Expression of Interest. However, if your Expression of Interest is selected before the requirements are met, you may not be able to apply for residence.
For ten years after your resident visa is granted, your sponsor/s must meet the following sponsorship obligations:
provide suitable accommodation if you don’t have your own place to live
ensure your health and welfare needs are met
pay any costs associated with your deportation and repatriation (if required).
If Work and Income make welfare payments to you during this time, we may consider that your sponsor/s are not meeting their obligations to care for you. If your sponsor/s do not meet these obligations, we may determine that you have breached your visa conditions and you will be made liable for deportation as a result. Your sponsor/s may have to repay any money spent by the New Zealand Government or a third-party as a result of them not meeting their obligations.
Minimum standard of English
We require people to have a reasonable standard of English to ensure they have the best opportunity to settle readily into work and life in New Zealand. There are a number of ways you can show you meet our minimum standard of English requirements, including an acceptable English language test result or having recognised qualifications taught entirely in English.
We may also consider other factors such as other countries in which you have lived, other languages you speak and your family’s English skills
Test Minimum score required International English Language Testing System (IELTS) – General or Academic
Module 4.0 or more in at least two of the four skills (Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking) Or An overall score of 5.0 or more
Test of English as a Foreign Language Internetbased Test (TOEFL iBT)
At least two of the following skill scores: Listening: 2 or more Reading: 2 or more Writing: 11 or more Speaking: 11 or more Or An overall score of 35 or more
Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic)
29 or more in at least two of the four skills (Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking) Or An overall score of 36 or more
Cambridge English B2 First (FCE) or B2 First for Schools (FCE for Schools)
142 or more in at least two of the four skills (Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking) Or An overall score of 154 or more
Occupational English Test (OET)
Grade D or higher in at least two of the four skills (Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking) Or Grade C or higher in all four skills (Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking)
Note: You must pre-purchase English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) tuition if you do not meet the minimum standard of English. You will need to attend English language classes once you arrive in New Zealand.
Applicants under the Parent Category meet the minimum standard of English if they provide:
acceptable English language test results, no more than two years old at the time the application is lodged); or
other evidence that satisfies an immigration officer that, taking account of that evidence and all the circumstances of the application, they are a competent user of English. These circumstances may include but are not limited to:
the country in which the applicant currently resides;
the country(ies) in which the applicant has previously resided;
the duration of residence in each country;
whether the applicant speaks any language other than English;
whether members of the applicant's family speak English;
whether members of the applicant's family speak any language other than English;
the nature of the applicant's current or previous employment (if any) and whether that is or was likely to require skill in English language;
the nature of the applicant's qualifications (if any) and whether the obtaining of those qualifications was likely to require skill in the English language; or
evidence of one of the following:
completion of all primary education and at least 3 years of secondary education (that is, the equivalent of New Zealand Forms 3 to 5 or years 9 to 11) at schools using English as the language of instruction;
completion of at least 5 years of secondary education (that is, the equivalent of New Zealand Forms 3 to 7 or years 9 to 13) at schools using English as the language of instruction;
completion of a course of at least 3 years duration leading to the award of a tertiary qualification at institutions using English as the language of instruction;
that the applicant holds General Certificate of Education (GCE) "A" Levels from Britain or Singapore with a minimum C pass (the passes must specifically include the subjects English Language or Literature, or Use of English);
that the applicant holds International Baccalaureate – full Diploma in English Medium;
that the applicant holds Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English – minimum C pass;
that the applicant holds Hong Kong Advanced Level Examinations (HKALE) including a minimum C pass in Use of English;
that the applicant holds STPM 920 (Malaysia) – A or B pass in English Literature;
that the applicant holds University of Cambridge in collaboration with University of Malaya, General Certificate of English (GCE) "A" levels with a minimum C pass. The passes must specifically include the subjects English or General Paper;
that the applicant holds South African Matriculation Certificate, including a minimum D pass in English (Higher Grade);
that the applicant holds South African Senior Certificate, including a minimum D pass in English (Higher Grade), endorsed with the words 'matriculation exempt';
that the applicant holds a New Zealand Tertiary Entrance Qualification gained on completing the seventh form; or
are citizens of Samoa who have applications assessed under the Parent Category at the Apia Immigration New Zealand (INZ) branch and, after an interview, satisfy an immigration officer that they have sufficient English language ability.
When applying (b) (iv) above, the interviewing immigration officer determines if applicants meet the minimum English language requirement by assessing whether they are able to:
read English; and
understand and respond to questions in English; and
maintain an English language conversation about themselves, their family or their background.
In any case, an immigration officer may require any or each applicant to provide an English language test result in terms of (b)(i) above. In such cases, the English language test result will be used to determine whether the applicant meets the minimum standard of English.
For the child to sponsor you, they must be a New Zealand citizen or resident and:
be 18 or over
have been a New Zealand citizen or resident for at least 3 years before you apply for residence
live in New Zealand
have spent 184 or more days in New Zealand in each of the 3 years before you apply for residence
agree to meet your living costs for the first 10 years of your residence, if you’re unable to
agree to cover the costs of sending you home, if necessary
be able to give us Inland Revenue tax statements as evidence of their income.
If you are invited to apply for residence, we will ask your adult child to complete a ‘Sponsorship Form for Residence’, which will be available on our website in early May 2020.
Your child may include:
your natural child
your adopted child
your partner’s child, if you lived with them for most of their life and until they turned 18
your grandchild, if their parents died
a child you were the legal guardian of. This only applies if the child’s parents died and you became their legal guardian before they turned 18. You must also have been the child’s most recent legal guardian.
You must provide evidence that confirms your relationship to your child, which may include:
birth certificates
adoption papers
any other documents that confirm your relationship to each other.
If you’re the sponsoring child’s grandparent or legal guardian and their parents died, you must provide original or certified copies of parents’ death certificates.
If you became the legal guardian of a sponsoring child after their parents died, you must provide evidence you had custody of the child and you had the right to bring them up until they turned 18.
Evidence may include:
legal documents naming you as the child’s guardian
documents showing the child lived with you after their parents died
medical and school records showing you acted in the role of a parent after your sponsoring child’s parents died.
Grandparents of New Zealand citizens or residents may be considered for residence under the Parent Category if their grandchild’s parents died.
Calculating the sponsor's income for the Parent Resident Visa
You can be sponsored by your adult New Zealand citizen or resident child, or jointly by them and their partner, if they earn enough.
What your sponsor or sponsors need to earn
Your sponsors need to have earned the correct income, based on the New Zealand median income, for 2 out of the 3 years before you applied for residence.
INZ update the New Zealand median income each year, so the amount they need to earn may change depending on which years they include in their application.
How we define the 3 year period
The 3 year period where we can assess your sponsor's income starts from the end of the month before you were invited to apply, and ends 36 months before that.
The median income for each year is the median income that was in effect on the last day of each 12-month period.
To calculate your sponsor or sponsor's income
You need to know:
if you have 1 or 2 sponsors
how many parents are being sponsored — this includes any parents they may have sponsored before
the date of the last day of the month before you were invited to apply, and
what the New Zealand median income was on the last day of each year that your sponsor’s income will be assessed on.
EXAMPLE given by INZ
Deepak and Ann want to come to Auckland and live with their daughter Shirley and her partner Andrew, who have agreed to jointly sponsor them.
They are invited to apply for residence on 28 May 2020, so the 3 year period where we can assess Shirley and Andrew’s income starts on 30 April 2020.
Year 1 is from 1 May 2019 to 30 April 2020.
Year 2 is from 1 May 2018 to 30 April 2019.
Year 3 is from 1 May 2017 to 30 April 2018.
For year 1, the last day of the year is 30 April 2020, and on this day the New Zealand median income is NZD $53,040.
Joint sponsors of 2 parents need to earn 4 times the median income, so the amount Shirley and Andrew need to earn for year 1 is NZD $212,160.
For year 2 it is NZD $52,000 x 4 = NZD $208,000.
For year 3 it is NZD $50,523 x 4 = NZD $202,092.
Minimum income for 1 sponsor
This starts at twice the median income for 1 parent, and increases by the median income amount for each additional parent.
Effective date From 24 February 2020
NZ Median Income NZD $53,040
1 parent NZD $106,080
2 parents NZD $159,120
3 parents NZD $212,160
4 parents NZD $265,200
From 26 November 2018 to 23 February 2020
NZ Median Income NZD $52,000
1 parent NZD $104,000
2 parents NZD $156,000
3 parents NZD $208,000
4 parents NZD $260,000
Before 26 November 2018
NZ Median Income NZD $50,523
1 parent NZD $101,046
2 parents NZD $151,569
3 parents NZD $202,092
4 parents NZD $252,615
Minimum income for 2 sponsors
This starts at 3 times the median income for 1 parent, and increases by the median income amount for each additional parent.
Effective date From 24 February 2020
NZ Median Income NZD $53,040
1 parent NZD $159,120
2 parents NZD $212,160
3 parents NZD $265,200
4 parents NZD $318,240
From 26 November 2018 to 23 February 2020
NZ Median Income NZD $52,000
1 parent NZD $156,000
2 parents NZD $208,000
3 parents NZD $260,000
4 parents NZD $312,000
Before 26 November 2018
NZ Median Income NZD $50,523
1 parent NZD $151,569
2 parents NZD $202,092
3 parents NZD $252,615
4 parents NZD $303,138
INZ only consider taxable income
The sponsor's income must be taxable and appear on their Inland Revenue summary of income.
If your sponsor has already sponsored 1 parent or more, we include that parent in their minimum income calculation.
For example, if your adult child sponsored 2 parents before the visa closed, then they and their partner sponsored 2 more parents after it reopens, they will need to meet the income requirements to sponsor 4 parents.
NOTE
If your sponsor's income helped to sponsor their partner's parents before the visa closed in 2016, they are not considered a previous sponsor.
