Bringing Your Partner and Children on a New Zealand Student Visa
A New Zealand student visa cannot include a partner or dependent children. Each family member applies separately, on their own visa, and pays their own fee and immigration levy. What each of them is eligible for depends on your course, your level of study and, later, your visa.
Quick Facts
| Can a student visa include family? | No. Neither the Fee Paying nor the Pathway Student Visa can |
| Partner | Applies separately — a partnership-based work visa fee line is NZ$570 plus a NZ$1,060 immigration levy |
| Children, school age | Dependent Child Student Visa for primary or secondary school |
| Children, tertiary | Need a Fee Paying Student Visa of their own |
| Definition of partner, for fee purposes | A spouse, civil union or de facto partner who has been living with you for 12 months or more |
| On a Post Study Work Visa | Your partner can apply for a work visa; dependent children can study as domestic students |
| Parent of a school-age student | Guardian Visitor Visa, from NZ$441 |
| Figures checked | 20 August 2026 |
The rule that shapes everything
A Fee Paying Student Visa cannot include a partner or dependent children. Neither can a Pathway Student Visa.
This is a hard structural fact about New Zealand's student visas, and it differs from some other countries where dependants ride on the principal application. Here, every person needs their own visa, their own application and their own fee.
Plan the family as several applications rather than one, and budget accordingly. Nobody's visa is granted because yours was.
Your partner
A partner applies in their own right. What they can apply for depends on your situation and on the published criteria for each product.
The partnership work visa fee line is NZ$570 plus a NZ$1,060 immigration levy. That is a substantially larger sum than the student visa itself, and it surprises people who budgeted for one visa and got two.
"Partner" has a definition. For fee purposes, a partner means a spouse, civil union partner or de facto partner who has been living with you for 12 months or more. New Zealand takes the evidential side of this seriously across every partnership-based visa: what is being assessed is a genuine and stable relationship, evidenced by documents rather than asserted.
Whether a particular partner qualifies for a particular visa turns on your course, your level of study and the published criteria. That is an assessment of your circumstances, which is regulated advice in New Zealand — so it is a question for INZ or a licensed immigration adviser, not for a website. What we can tell you is that a partner is never simply added to a student visa.
Where a partner does not qualify for a work visa, a visitor visa is the other commonly used product. Visitor visas carry no New Zealand work rights, though remote work for an overseas employer is permitted. See remote work on a visitor visa and partner of a worker work visa.
Your children
Children of a student visa holder can apply for a Dependent Child Student Visa to attend primary or secondary school.
The key facts:
- It is for primary or secondary school only — tertiary study requires a Fee Paying Student Visa
- It is granted for the same period as the parent's visa and expires with it
- The child may be treated as a domestic student, which removes international school tuition
- Funds: NZ$17,000 for a full year of study, or NZ$1,417 a month
- Cost: from NZ$750 — $485 plus a $265 immigration levy, and it is IVL-exempt
- Processing: 80% within 10 weeks
Ten weeks is slower than the parent's own visa in most provider bands, which matters when a family is trying to arrive together. Full detail is on the Dependent Child Student Visa explained.
The two age tests that trip people up
New Zealand uses different dependent-child age tests in different parts of the system, and confusing them is a common and expensive mistake.
| Context | Age test |
|---|---|
| Fee purposes, on visitor, transit and limited visas | Dependent children must be 19 or younger, unmarried and dependent |
| Residence class applications | The dependent child test runs to age 24, with conditions |
These are not variants of one rule. They belong to different parts of the system and they do different work. A child who is a dependant for one purpose may not be for another. See what is a dependent child.
What the family arrangement costs
| Application | From |
|---|---|
| Your Fee Paying Student Visa | NZ$850 ($485 + $265 + $100 IVL) |
| Your Pathway Student Visa, if applicable | NZ$750 ($485 + $265) |
| Partnership work visa fee line | NZ$570 + NZ$1,060 immigration levy |
| Dependent Child Student Visa | NZ$750 ($485 + $265, IVL-exempt) |
| Guardian Visitor Visa | NZ$441 ($300 + $41 + $100 IVL) |
Each of those is a separate application. Fees and levies are not refunded if an application is declined, and the IVL is never refunded. A family should assume that one application being approved says nothing about the others.
Each family member also needs their own funds evidence, health evidence and character evidence. The funds requirements do not merge into a household figure.
What changes when you move to a Post Study Work Visa
This is the point in the journey where the family position genuinely improves.
On a Post Study Work Visa:
- Your partner can apply for a work visa
- Your dependent children can study as domestic students
Domestic student status for children is a substantial change, because it removes international tuition for school.
That is one of the reasons the Post Study Work Visa is worth understanding before you enrol rather than after you graduate. It costs from NZ$1,670, lasts up to three years depending on the qualification, and can only be held once, ever.
The other family route: a parent coming with a school student
The reverse case — a parent accompanying a child who is the student — uses a different product entirely.
The Guardian Visitor Visa, from NZ$441, is for a parent or legal guardian of a child holding a student visa, where the child is 17 or younger or enrolled in school years 1 to 13. It lasts as long as the child's visa, gives no New Zealand work rights by default, and carries an obligation to live with and care for the child. See the Guardian Visitor Visa explained.
Practical points
Apply with the timelines in mind. The bands differ: school student visas average 2 weeks, university 2.5, PTEs 4, polytechnics 5.5, the Dependent Child Student Visa 10 weeks for 80%, and the Guardian Visitor Visa 8 weeks for 80%. A family will not be granted everything at once.
Each person needs their own evidence. Health, character, identity and funds are assessed per applicant.
Relationship evidence takes time to assemble. Twelve months of cohabitation evidence is not gathered in a weekend, and it is the part of a partnership application that most often causes delay.
Nobody can tell you what your family qualifies for except INZ or a licensed adviser. That is not a disclaimer; it is the actual law here.
Where to confirm this
- Fee Paying Student Visa: immigration.govt.nz/visas/fee-paying-student-visa
- Bringing family to New Zealand: immigration.govt.nz bringing family
- Dependent Child Student Visa: immigration.govt.nz/visas/dependent-child-student-visa
General information about published rules. Not immigration advice, and it cannot assess your family's eligibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I bring my partner on a New Zealand student visa?
Not on your application. A student visa cannot include a partner. Your partner applies separately for their own visa, and what they are eligible for depends on your course, your level of study and the published criteria for each product.
Can my partner work in New Zealand while I study?
That depends on which visa your partner is granted. A partnership-based work visa carries work rights; a visitor visa does not, although remote work for an overseas employer is permitted on visitor visas. Whether a particular partner qualifies is a question for INZ or a licensed adviser.
How much does a partner visa cost alongside a student visa?
The partnership work visa fee line is NZ$570 plus a NZ$1,060 immigration levy, which is separate from and larger than the student visa itself at from NZ$850.
Can my children go to school in New Zealand while I study?
Children of a student visa holder can apply for a Dependent Child Student Visa for primary or secondary school. It costs from NZ$750, is granted for the same period as the parent's visa, requires NZ$17,000 a year in funds, and may allow the child to be treated as a domestic student.
Can my child go to university on a Dependent Child Student Visa?
No. That visa covers primary and secondary school only. Tertiary study requires a Fee Paying Student Visa, with the tertiary funds rate of NZ$20,000 a year.
What age counts as a dependent child in New Zealand?
It depends on the context. For fee purposes on visitor, transit and limited visas, a dependent child must be 19 or younger, unmarried and dependent. For residence class applications the test runs to age 24 with conditions. These are two different rules and confusing them causes real problems.
Who counts as a partner for a New Zealand visa?
For fee purposes, a spouse, civil union partner or de facto partner who has been living with you for 12 months or more. Partnership-based visas separately require evidence of a genuine and stable relationship.
Does my family's position change after I graduate?
Yes. On a Post Study Work Visa, your partner can apply for a work visa and your dependent children can study as domestic students — which removes international tuition for school. That is one of the reasons the visa is worth understanding before you enrol.
