Refugee Family Support Resident Visa

At a Glance

Item	Details
Visa name	Refugee Family Support Resident Visa
Stay	Indefinitely
Cost	From NZD $0
Processing	May take up to 12 months
Annual places	600 each year
Eligibility timing	Apply within 12 months of invitation
Work rights	Work in New Zealand
Study	Study in New Zealand
Medicare	Not stated in the source
Travel facility	Multiple travel for two years
Citizenship	Not stated in the source
Family sponsorship	Eligible registered refugee-family sponsor required
Family inclusion	Partner and children 24 or younger
Visa record	Conditions recorded in eVisa
Current registrations	Tier 1 only

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Purpose

This resident visa is for people sponsored by a qualifying family member who came to New Zealand as a refugee or protected person.

It allows you to live, work and study in New Zealand indefinitely.

Eligibility

You must:

• Be invited by Immigration New Zealand to apply for residence.
• Have an eligible registered sponsor.
• Meet identity, health and character requirements.
• Meet any other visa requirements in your invitation letter.

Only tier 1 sponsor registrations are currently accepted. Tier 2 registrations will be returned.

Eligible sponsor

Your sponsor must be a New Zealand citizen or resident who received residence as:

• A refugee or protected person;
• An Afghan interpreter; or
• An evacuee who supported the New Zealand Defence Force or other New Zealand agencies in Afghanistan.

They must also meet applicable tier 1 or tier 2 requirements.

Sponsor registration and obligations

Your sponsor must complete the Refugee Family Support Category Sponsor Registration Form (INZ 1094) and provide evidence of immigration status, such as:

• New Zealand resident or permanent resident visa;
• Valid New Zealand passport;
• Certificate of New Zealand Citizenship; or
• Recent official citizenship statement from the Department of Internal Affairs.

If the sponsor changed their name, they must provide a statutory declaration certificate of name change.

Sponsors should provide available birth-certificate copies for family members they want to sponsor. Identity cards may be used if birth certificates are unavailable.

Your sponsor must:

• Arrange suitable accommodation for your arrival; and
• Continue supporting your accommodation needs for your first two years in New Zealand.

Invitation and application timing

If your sponsor’s registration is selected from a Refugee Family Support Category queue, Immigration New Zealand may invite you to apply.

If invited, you have 12 months to submit your residence application. Immigration New Zealand will send an invitation letter explaining the required information and evidence.

Family members

You may include your partner and dependent children aged 24 or younger in your residence application only if they were included in your sponsor’s registration.

You must provide evidence of:

• Your relationship with your partner and dependent children, such as birth or marriage certificates; and
• Their identity, health and character eligibility.

Required documents

When invited to apply, provide:

• Two acceptable head-and-shoulders photographs;
• Original passport or certificate of identity, or a certified copy;
• Original or certified copy of your full birth certificate;
• Police certificates, where required; and
• Relationship evidence for included family members.

Immigration New Zealand may request your original passport if you initially submit a certified copy.

Health

You must be in good health. Do not provide health evidence unless Immigration New Zealand asks for it.

Character

Applicants and included family members aged 17 or older must provide police certificates from:

• Every country of citizenship; and
• Any country where they stayed for 12 months or more during the last 10 years.

Police certificates must be less than six months old when you apply. They are not required until you are invited to apply.

Cost and processing

The listed cost is from NZD $0. Actual process and cost information depends on your passport nationality.

Processing-time data is listed as unavailable, but Immigration New Zealand warns that high application volumes may result in processing times of up to 12 months.

After visa grant

If you are outside New Zealand when the visa is granted, you and included family members have 12 months to travel to New Zealand.

If you do not arrive within that period, the visa expires and you must apply for a new visa.

Only family members included in the resident visa application may travel to New Zealand under it.

Travel conditions

You may travel in and out of New Zealand as often as you like until your travel conditions expire—two years after your first arrival as a resident.

After travel conditions expire, apply for either:

• A variation of travel conditions; or
• A Permanent Resident Visa.

Warning: If you are outside New Zealand when travel conditions expire, your visa will also expire.

Arrival requirements

Everyone must complete a New Zealand Traveller Declaration.

You may submit it:

• By air: from 24 hours before your journey starts.
• By sea: from 24 hours before your ship leaves its last overseas port.

You can be refused entry permission if you:

• No longer meet character requirements;
• Have had a relevant change in circumstances; or
• Refuse a photograph, fingerprints or iris scan.

Visa record and passport obligations

Your visa conditions are recorded in your eVisa.

For travel, your visa must be linked to a valid passport. If your passport expires, apply to transfer the visa to your new passport before travelling. This requires:

• Your old and new passports;
• Application for Transfer or Confirmation of a Visa (INZ 1023); and
• A transfer fee.