The New Zealand Family Relationship visa (461 visa) allows married or de-facto partners of a New Zealand citizen living in Australia to join them and reside in Australia. Other family members may also be able to apply for this visa.
Am I eligible for a New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship (Temporary) Visa?
- I am not a New Zealand citizen
- I am a member of the family unit of a New Zealand citizen who is residing in Australia. I am one of the following to my New Zealand Citizen partner:
- their partner
- their (or their partner’s) dependent child
- the dependent child of their (or their partner’s) dependent child
- their (or their partner’s) relative who meets all of the following:
- is widowed, divorced, separated, or has never married or entered a de-facto relationship
- is usually resident in my partner’s household
- is dependent on my partner.
- I meet the health and character requirements
- I hold/will hold private health insurance during my stay in Australia
Current holders of the New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship (Temporary) Visa may have different eligibility criteria to that listed above.
You can renew your visa, even if your relationship with your partner has ended provided that:
- you have maintained Australian residency – you must have been in Australia for a total of at least two years in the last five years
- you continue to meet standard health and character requirements
- you do not become the member of a family of another person (e.g., form a new relationship with a different person)
- if you are currently outside Australia, you held this visa when you left Australia.
What does this visa allow me to do?
- Reside in Australia for a period of 5 years
- Travel in and out of Australia
- Work and study in Australia
We chose Immigration Downunder for our spouse visa application as Joe had already had a great experience with them before with a work visa. From the beginning to the end of our visa application Ben and Kelly demonstrated their expertise in this area and they made us feel confident in our application. We also felt they went above and beyond our expectations, by helping us to lodge our initial application in a short time frame to assist us in starting the process on-shore before Joe needed to travel again for work. We are pleased to say we were successful with our application and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Immigration Downunder to others.