Applications for the New Zealand "Parent Boost Visa" open 29th September 2025. Now is a good time to start preparing for submission!
What is the Parent Boost visa?
This new visa aims to offer a five-year multiple-entry option for parents to visit their children in New Zealand, with the possibility of extending it for an additional five years, allowing for up to 10 years of stay in the country.
Your child must either be a New Zealand citizen or resident visa holder. Applicants will need to meet standard health and character requirements as well as financial thresholds and insurance requirements.
It's important to distinguish this new "Parent Boost Visa" (a visitor visa) from the existing Parent Category Resident Visa, which allows for permanent residency.
Key points relating to the Immigration New Zealand Parent Boost Visa
Requirements For the Applicant (Parent)
- Have an Approved Sponsor: You must have an approved Parent Sponsor (your child) to apply for this visa.
- Relationship to Sponsor: You must be the biological, legal (including adoptive) parent, step-parent, or parent-in-law of the Parent Sponsor. If a step-parent, you must still be in a married/de facto relationship with a biological parent of the sponsor.
- Genuine Temporary Stay: You must genuinely intend to stay in New Zealand temporarily and abide by the visa conditions. This means you cannot use this visa to try and remain in New Zealand permanently.
- Health Requirements: You must meet the New Zealand health requirements, which may involve undertaking health examinations. More information below are specific to this visa category
- Character Requirements: You must meet the New Zealand character requirements, including providing police certificates from any country (including New Zealand) where you have spent a total of 5 years or more since turning 17.
- Financial Capacity: You will need to have access to enough money to support yourself while in New Zealand. There are financial criteria for savings and ongoing income requirements (such as pensions or other sources of income). More financial information below
- Health Insurance: You will have to maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance to cover any unforeseen medical treatment you might need while in New Zealand. This will be mandatory, as the applicants will not be eligible for government subsidised medical care or accident compensation corporation cover (unless a reciprocal healthcare agreement applies, but private health insurance is generally required). More information below.
- Previous Visa Obligations: You must have met and complied with any previous New Zealand visa obligations.
- Location of Application: there may be a requirement that you must apply for the Parent Boost visa while outside of New Zealand.
Requirements for the Sponsor (Child)
- Relationship to Applicant: The sponsor must be the biological, adoptive, or step-child of the applicant.
- Residency Status: The sponsor must be a New Zealand citizen or New Zealand resident.
- Residency in New Zealand: The sponsor must living in New Zealand and be a New Zealand tax resident.
- Age Requirement: The sponsor must be at least 18 years of age.
- Character Requirements: The sponsor must meet character requirements, and may have to provide police clearances if required.
- No Adverse Information: The sponsor should have no adverse information relating to them, unless it is reasonable to disregard that information.
- Sponsorship Obligations: As a sponsor, your child must also agree to take on specific responsibilities for the full duration of the visa, including:
- covering essential costs such as accommodation and daily living costs
- ensuring access to health and financial support
- covering costs related to repatriation or deportation, if required.
- Limited Sponsorships: A sponsor may be restricted to only sponsoring two parents at a time per household.
Financial requirements
Applicants must meet 1 of the following financial criteria:
- the New Zealand child who sponsors earns at least the New Zealand median wage (or 1.5 times the median wage for joint sponsors) to sponsor 1 parent, with the amount increasing by 0.5 times the median wage for additional parents being sponsored, or
- the applicant(s), the parent(s), have a personal income equivalent to New Zealand Superannuation which is currently NZD $32,611.28 gross per annum for a single parent and NZD $49,552.88 for a couple, or
- the applicant(s), the parent(s), have sufficient personal funds: NZD $160,000 for a single applicant or NZD $250,000 for a couple.
You must also hold health insurance.
Health insurance requirements
Applicants must hold at least 1 year of comprehensive health insurance to include:
- emergency medical care (at least NZD $250,000 a year)
- repatriation
- return of remains
- cancer treatment (at least NZD $100,000)
They must also maintain valid health insurance for the entire duration of their stay in New Zealand. Not complying with this requirement may jeopardise your ability to apply for residency under the Parent Category, or may result in visa cancellation and/or deportation.
Applicants will be required to undergo 2 health assessments to ensure they are of an acceptable standard of health. The first health check is completed as part of the initial visa application. In the third year of the visa, applicants must get a second health check while outside of New Zealand. At that point, they will also have to show evidence that they have held valid health insurance while visiting New Zealand.
Important Considerations for both Applicant and Sponsor
- Temporary Visa: This visa is for temporary stay only and does not lead to permanent residency in New Zealand.
- Maximum Stay: Parents can stay in New Zealand for up to 5 years on a single visa, renewable once (so a maximum of 10 years on this visa type).
- No Work Rights: The Parent Boost Visa does not provide any work rights for New Zealand
- Cost: The cost of the visa is NZD $3,000 (for 2025) for most applicants, unless a bilateral fee-waiver agreement applies + NZD $100 International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy.. Applicants will also be required to pay the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy of NZD $100. After 3 years, there is an additional processing fee for the third-year health check of NZD $325 for most people.
Questions about the Parent Boost visa?
The Parent Boost visa is not a pathway to residency. There may be other visa options may be available to retire or join your children in New Zealand.
