New Zealand has changed the way it handles some residence applications when a dependent child is living in the country without lawful immigration status.
For applications made on or after 12 November 2026, a parent and other secondary applicants generally cannot be granted residence while a dependent child is in New Zealand unlawfully. The child’s status must be resolved, although the immigration rules provide exceptions for some visa categories and certain custody situations.
The change does not apply to residence applications submitted before 12 November. Those applications will be considered under the rules that were in place when they were made.
What happens to an application?
Applicants will be given an opportunity and time to respond to concerns about a child’s status before a final decision is made. INZ has asked parents to take all reasonable steps to regularise their child’s immigration status.
In cases covered by the change, a residence application cannot be approved while the child remains in New Zealand unlawfully. The situation may be resolved if the child obtains another visa or leaves the country. Even then, approval depends on the other requirements for the visa being met.
What happens during processing also depends on whether the child is included in the application. If an included child’s visa expires while the application is being considered, the application must be put on hold until the child obtains a valid visa or leaves New Zealand.
If the child is not included in the application, or is removed from it, the application will be declined if the child remains in the country unlawfully. Applicants whose residence applications are declined can continue to appeal to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal if they believe special circumstances apply.
Exceptions and other options
Several exceptions apply. A person applying for a second or subsequent resident visa, a permanent resident visa or an Australian resident visa may still be eligible even if a dependent child is in New Zealand unlawfully. Eligibility is not a guarantee that a visa will be granted.
There is also an exception for a dependent child aged 15 or younger where the parent does not have the legal right to remove the child from the country where custody or visitation rights were granted, or from the child’s country of residence. Officials may ask for evidence, such as custody documents.
People who are in New Zealand unlawfully cannot make an ordinary visa application, but may request a visa under section 61 of the Immigration Act 2009. Such a request is not guaranteed to be considered or granted, and it does not automatically stop deportation. The definition of a dependent child differs according to age and the type of visa involved.
Why the rule has changed
Under the previous rules, a parent could be granted residence even if a dependent child was unlawfully in New Zealand. This could happen when a child arrived on a short-term visa but could not meet the requirements for a longer-term visa, including health requirements.
Once a parent had residence, the child’s unlawful status could become harder to resolve, INZ says. Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said the change was intended to ensure family members’ circumstances were considered together, and their immigration outcomes were consistent. She said she expected fewer than 35 applications a year to be affected.
Green immigration spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March argued that the change would make it harder for parents of disabled children to obtain residence and then pursue ways of resolving their children’s status. He said other parties should have been consulted during the caretaker period.
Labour’s immigration spokesperson, Phil Twyford, said his party had not been consulted and asked the government to explain why the change was not deferred until after a government had been formed. Stanford said the decision had been made in October, before the election, and that the immigration instructions then needed to be developed and approved.
