Partnership · NZ immigration guide
Partnership evidence, organised across time.
Many couples know their relationship is genuine but are unsure how Immigration New Zealand expects them to show living together, timeline coverage and genuine/stable relationship evidence.
Key takeaways
- INZ public guidance defines living together as sharing the same home as your partner.
- Living-together evidence can include joint or individual mail sent to the shared address, as well as other shared-address records.
- For some partnership applications, evidence must cover a specific period; always check the exact visa category.
- A timeline helps expose gaps, periods apart and weak evidence coverage before professional review or application preparation.
Start with what the evidence needs to show.
INZ says partnership involves two people living together in a genuine and stable relationship. It defines living together as sharing the same home as your partner, while distinguishing that from visiting each other’s homes, holiday accommodation or living as flatmates.
Source: INZ partnership and how to prove it
The useful question is not just how many documents you have. It is whether the dates and records make the living-together story easy to follow.
Build the timeline before the evidence bundle.
Relationship begins
Record the relationship start and early evidence that helps explain the genuine/stable relationship context.
First shared home period
Map the date the couple began sharing the same home as partners and which records support that period.
Address changes or periods apart
Mark moves, sparse-evidence periods and time apart clearly so they can be explained rather than hidden in a document bundle.
Current visa category research
Check whether the exact visa category has a period-specific evidence requirement and use the official page as the source of truth.
Evidence groups to organise
- Shared-address records such as rental records, utility accounts, home ownership or dated mail.
- Financial and shared-life records that show responsibilities, arrangements or shared property.
- Relationship recognition evidence such as support letters, communication records, social evidence and family context where relevant.
- Periods apart, including why the couple lived apart, how long it lasted and how they kept in touch.
- Visa-category notes, especially where a residence, work or visitor partnership product has different public requirements.
A joint lease is useful, but not the whole question.
Common real-world situations include living with parents or relatives, only one partner being named on a tenancy, utilities in one person’s name, flatmates, or limited formal shared-address documentation.
INZ public guidance recognises joint or individual mail sent to a shared address as possible living-together evidence. A general guide can help organise the evidence principles, but it cannot decide whether a particular combination is sufficient for an individual case.
Name periods apart clearly.
INZ asks applicants who have spent time living apart to provide information about why they were apart, how long they were apart and how they kept in touch. A public page cannot label that separation as harmless or fatal. It is a fact pattern that may need individual interpretation.
Where a general guide stops
Evidence questions can be organised before a case-specific conversation. A general guide cannot decide whether a relationship or a set of documents is enough for a particular application.
Official sources
Public information is summarised and organised so it is easier to work through. Use official pages for current requirements before acting.
Related questions and resources
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