The Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa Explained
The Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa lets a parent or grandparent of a New Zealand citizen or resident stay up to 6 months at a time, to a maximum of 18 months in any 3 years. It costs from NZD $441, requires a sponsor but no sponsor income threshold, and cannot be granted again within 36 months.
Quick Facts
| Item | Detail (as at August 2026) |
|---|---|
| Fee | From NZD $441 = NZD $300 + NZD $41 immigration levy + NZD $100 IVL |
| Processing time | 80% within 3 months |
| Stay per visit | Up to 6 months |
| Total stay | Maximum 18 months in 3 years |
| Sponsor | A NZ citizen or resident, with certified identity documentation |
| Sponsor income threshold | None stated |
| Where you must be to apply | Outside New Zealand |
| Repeat rule | Cannot have held this visa within the past 36 months |
| Health | Medical examination and chest x-ray required |
| Work in New Zealand | No — remote work for an overseas employer is permitted |
| Leads to residence | No |
What it is
A multiple-entry visitor visa for parents and grandparents of New Zealand citizens and residents, built for extended family visits rather than migration.
The structure is unusual for a visitor product. It has a sponsor. It has a 3-year window with a cumulative cap. It has a mandatory stand-down between grants. And it requires a full medical examination and chest x-ray, which most short visitor applications do not.
None of that makes it a residence pathway. It is a visiting visa with a long horizon.
No sponsor income threshold
Worth stating clearly, because it is the point of difference that most affects who can use it.
No sponsor income threshold is stated for this visa. The sponsor must be a New Zealand citizen or resident and must provide certified identity documentation, and they cannot sponsor anyone else at the same time — but there is no minimum income they must earn.
That contrasts sharply with the Parent Boost Visitor Visa, where a single sponsor supporting one parent must show income of NZD $72,800, and with the parent residence categories, which have their own thresholds. For a family whose New Zealand-based sponsor does not meet those figures, the income position on this visa is materially different.
The sponsorship obligation itself still carries weight — a sponsor is undertaking responsibility, not just signing a form.
The stay rules, and how they interact
Two limits operate together:
- Up to 6 months at a time.
- A maximum of 18 months in any 3 years.
So the visa contemplates three six-month visits across a three-year period, or the same total split into shorter stays. Once 18 months have been used, the allowance is spent for that window.
Then there is the repeat rule: you cannot have received this visa within the past 36 months. So the pattern is a three-year visa, then a three-year gap before another one.
Both limits are cumulative rather than per-entry, and departures do not reset them. Families planning multi-year arrangements around grandchildren often assume otherwise.
What the 18-month cap looks like in practice
A worked example, using the visa's own limits rather than any assumption about a particular family:
| Period | Activity | Cumulative stay used |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | A 6-month visit | 6 months |
| Year 2 | A 6-month visit | 12 months |
| Year 3 | A 6-month visit | 18 months — cap reached |
| Years 4–6 | 36-month stand-down before another Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa | — |
Split differently, the same 18 months could be six three-month visits, or any other combination. What does not change is the total and the stand-down that follows.
Families sometimes assume that a departure resets the clock, or that a fresh application resets it. Neither is the case. The cap runs across the three-year window, and the 36-month bar runs from the grant of the previous visa.
What the sponsor is taking on
The sponsor requirements are short but they are not nominal:
- The sponsor must be a New Zealand citizen or resident.
- The sponsor must provide certified identity documentation.
- The sponsor cannot be sponsoring anyone else at the same time.
That last point is the operative constraint for larger families. One sponsor supports one application. A family wanting to bring, say, two sets of parents needs to work out who sponsors whom before anything else is prepared.
Sponsorship in New Zealand immigration is an undertaking about accommodation, maintenance and departure, not simply an attestation that the relationship is real. What immigration sponsorship means sets out the general shape of the obligation.
You must be outside New Zealand to apply
This is a hard requirement, and it has a practical consequence: a parent already in New Zealand on an ordinary visitor visa cannot switch to this product from inside the country. They would have to leave and apply from offshore.
It also means the 3-month processing time sits between the application and the trip. Plan accordingly.
Health: the requirement that decides many applications
A medical examination and a chest x-ray are both required. Police certificates may also be needed.
This is heavier than the standard visitor visa requirement and it reflects the length of stay. Applicants also must agree to pay their own healthcare costs while in New Zealand — visitors are generally not eligible for publicly funded healthcare. See healthcare eligibility for migrants.
There is a threshold worth knowing about. INZ may decline an application where a medical assessor considers the likely cost of health services would exceed NZD $81,000, assessed over five years or over the predicted course of the condition. That figure rose from NZD $41,000 on 4 September 2022 and has not changed since.
We are describing how the test works. Whether any particular condition would cross it is a clinical and legal assessment, not something a website can perform. If health is a live issue in your family's case, that is a point at which a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer is the right person to speak to — and moving to New Zealand with a medical condition sets out the general framework.
Work and study
You cannot work in New Zealand. That is a standard visitor condition.
You may work remotely for an employer or client based outside New Zealand. This follows the 27 January 2025 change, which permits remote work for an overseas employer on visitor visas with no limit on the amount of work. It matters more here than on a two-week tourist visa, because a six-month stay is long enough for a self-employed parent to need to keep working. See remote work on a visitor visa.
Study follows the visitor rule: up to 3 months in any 12-month period, short courses only.
The cost, split into its parts
| Component | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | NZD $300 | Bands A and C. Band B, the Pacific fee band, is NZD $120 |
| Immigration levy | NZD $41 | Per application |
| International Visitor Levy | NZD $100 | Per person, never refunded |
| Total | NZD $441 |
INZ publishes only "from NZD $441". The split matters because the International Visitor Levy is charged per person and is not refunded even if the application is declined, while the immigration levy is charged once per application. Citizens of 16 Pacific nations, Australians and New Zealanders, and resident visa holders are exempt from the levy.
On top of the visa fee, budget for the medical examination and chest x-ray, which are paid to a panel physician rather than to INZ and vary by country, and for police certificates if required.
How it compares with Parent Boost
This is the decision most families in this position are actually facing, so here are both products side by side. Neither leads to residence.
| Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa | Parent Boost Visitor Visa | |
|---|---|---|
| Stay | 6 months at a time, 18 months in 3 years | Up to 5 years, multi-entry |
| Renewal | New visa after a 36-month stand-down | A second visa, to 10 years total; maximum 2 |
| Sponsor | NZ citizen or resident | An adult child (18+) who is a NZ citizen or resident |
| Sponsor income | None stated | NZD $72,800 (single sponsor, 1 parent), rising with more parents or joint sponsors |
| Health insurance | Not required | Required, with specified minimum cover |
| Health checks | Medical examination + chest x-ray | Medical examination + chest x-ray; no medical waivers available; mandatory third-year re-check requiring departure from NZ |
| Fee | From NZD $441 | From NZD $3,100 |
| Processing | 80% within 3 months | Around 4 months |
| Grandparents | Covered | Covered as a parent pathway — check current settings |
| Leads to residence | No | No — INZ states this expressly |
Parent Boost opened on 29 September 2025. INZ's page says of it, in terms: "This is a temporary visa and it does not give you a pathway to a resident visa." Any source implying otherwise is wrong, and the point is important enough that families should not have to discover it late.
For a fuller treatment see the Parent Boost visa explained and parent visa options compared.
We are setting out what each product requires. We are not, and legally cannot, tell you which one suits your family — that is tailored immigration advice.
Step 1: Confirm the sponsor's position
The sponsor must be a New Zealand citizen or resident, must provide certified identity documentation, and cannot be sponsoring anyone else. Sorting this out first avoids assembling an application around a sponsor who is not available.
Step 2: Book the medical examination and chest x-ray
Both are required, and both take time to arrange and report. INZ's guidance on the visa medical examination and chest x-ray requirements covers the process. Medical evidence has a shelf life, so sequencing matters — too early and it expires, too late and it delays the application.
Step 3: Apply from outside New Zealand
The applicant must be offshore. Applications go through INZ's system, with the sponsor's documentation attached.
Step 4: Allow 3 months, and check the 36-month clock
INZ publishes 80% within 3 months for this visa — considerably slower than the general Visitor Visa at 80% within 2 weeks, and a reflection of the sponsorship and health assessment involved.
Before applying, check when any previous Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa was granted. The 36-month bar is absolute, and an application made inside that window is not going to succeed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can parents stay in New Zealand on this visa?
Up to 6 months at a time, with a total cap of 18 months in any 3 years. Both limits are cumulative, and leaving and re-entering does not reset them. After the visa, a further 36 months must pass before the same visa can be granted again.
How much does the Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa cost?
From NZD $441 — a NZD $300 application fee, a NZD $41 immigration levy and the NZD $100 International Visitor Levy, as at August 2026. Under Band B, the reduced Pacific fee band, the application fee is NZD $120. Medical examination, chest x-ray and any police certificates are paid separately and are not INZ charges.
Is there a sponsor income requirement for the Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa?
No income threshold is stated for this visa. The sponsor must be a New Zealand citizen or resident, must provide certified identity documentation, and cannot sponsor anyone else. This is the main structural difference from Parent Boost, where a single sponsor supporting one parent must show income of NZD $72,800.
Can I apply for this visa while my parents are already in New Zealand?
No. Applicants must be outside New Zealand when they apply. A parent already in the country on another visitor visa would have to leave and apply from offshore, and then wait out the processing time, which INZ gives as 80% within 3 months.
Do parents need a medical and chest x-ray?
Yes — both are required for this visa, and police certificates may also be needed. Applicants must also agree to pay their own healthcare costs in New Zealand. INZ may decline an application where a medical assessor considers likely health service costs would exceed NZD $81,000, assessed over five years or the predicted course of the condition.
Can my parents work on a Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa?
Not in New Zealand. They may work remotely for an employer or client based outside New Zealand, with no limit on the amount of work, under the visitor visa rules that took effect on 27 January 2025. Work for a New Zealand-based employer, or work requiring physical presence in New Zealand, is not permitted.
Does the Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa lead to residence?
No. It is a temporary visitor visa. Neither it nor Parent Boost provides a pathway to a resident visa — INZ states that expressly about Parent Boost. New Zealand's parent residence categories are separate products with their own criteria; see the Parent Resident Visa explained.
What is the difference between this visa and Parent Boost?
Length and cost, mainly. This visa gives 6 months at a time to a maximum of 18 months in 3 years, costs from NZD $441, and has no sponsor income threshold. Parent Boost gives up to 5 years, renewable once to 10 years in total, costs from NZD $3,100, requires sponsor income from NZD $72,800, requires health insurance with specified minimum cover, and includes a mandatory third-year health check requiring the holder to leave New Zealand temporarily. Neither leads to residence.
Can grandparents apply?
Yes. Grandparents of New Zealand citizens and residents are covered by this visa on the same terms as parents, which is not true of every parent-focused product in the New Zealand system.
