STRONGER TOGETHER: HOW THE PARENT BOOST VISA SUPPORTS MIGRANT FAMILIES?

After a long wait, the 5-Year Parent Boost Visitor Visa has finally been confirmed – and it’s good news for many migrant families here in New Zealand. Officially, the visa has an opening date of 29 September 2025, and it sets out a more certain, longer-term alternative for parents and grandparents of New Zealand residents and citizens to be together in New Zealand. In this blog, we break it down into everything we know so far straightforwardly and practically so you can see whether it works for your family.

What is the Parent Boost Visitor Visa?

This is a new visa that allows the parents and grandparents of New Zealand citizens or residents to spend up to 5 years in New Zealand. It is providing a longer-term family reunification solution that most families have been asking for – without the limitations that came with shorter-term visitor visas.

However, this visa is applied for while offshore. That means the applicant must be outside New Zealand when they apply.

Who Can Apply?

The visa application is open to biological or adoptive parents and grandparents of New Zealand citizens or residents. However, you cannot sponsor your in-laws individually. You’ve got to be couples who apply together, and this allows one partner to sponsor the other partner’s parent or grandparent.

Of course, the sponsor child/grandchild must also live here in New Zealand for the full duration of the parent’s stay and agree to take full financial responsibility for the parent during their visit.

Financial Requirements: What You Need to Know

There are 3 different ways to meet the financial requirements – and you only need to meet one of them.

1. Income-Based Sponsorship
   The sponsor needs to be earning at least the median wage (between $31.61 and $33.56 an hour depending on the latest calculations). While it is not defined whether that wage needs to be filled full-time, you can expect a standard 30-40 hour week. If you are not eligible alone, you can have two sponsors together – and their combined income needs to be 1.5 times the median wage. The requirement increases further by 0.5 times the median wage for every extra parent you might be trying to sponsor.
2. Parent’s Income
   The parent/grandparent has personal income amounting to the New Zealand Superannuation income rate ($32,611.28 for a single person, or $49,552.88 for a couple). This is income that can come through pensions, investments and so on.
3. Parent’s Savings
   The parent/grandparent can show that they have personal wealth of $160,000 (single) or $250,000 (couple). We don’t expect this to be a common route.

Health and Insurance Requirements

Applicants need to meet standard health settings, and for this visa, you also need to show 1 year of comprehensive health insurance. The insurance needs to cover:

• Emergency medical care of at least $250,000 a year
• Repatriation
• Return of remains
• Up to $100,000 for cancer treatment

The insurance stays valid for the full 5 years of the stay. If you don’t have valid insurance for the full period, you could leave without a visa, or you could face problems with gaining another visa in the future. You will need to have a second, or third-year medical done – and that must be done offshore. Applicants will need to leave the country and stay outside of it while that medical is being processed – and this could take days or even longer.

Visa Fees and Costs

A base level fee of NZD 3,000 is payable for the visa (or NZD 2,450 if you are Pacific Fee Band). A NZD 100 tourism levy also applies.

Then there’s the NZD 325 (NZD 240 if you are Pacific Band) for the 3-year medical review.

Is There a Second Visa?

Yes, there is a second 5-year visa available. However, there are stipulations:

• Applicants must have spent at least 3 months offshore before they apply for the second visa.
• Another offshore medical will be required during the second visa.
• So, that means that over 10 years, those on the visa will leave the country at least 3 times – when they apply for the second visa, for that first medical, and before the second visa.

More information to come on the offshore 3-month period (does it start from the date of visa expiry, the date of the visa application, or the date of the last time they entered New Zealand).

Questions Still Awaiting Final Answers

There are some things that we are unsure of and they will be confirmed later when Immigration New Zealand confirms the official instructions. These are:

• Self-employed sponsors: How income is going to be calculated for people who don’t receive wages on an hourly basis hasn’t been confirmed yet. It seems most likely that people will need to prove a minimum yearly amount.
• Insurance providers: New Zealand insurance providers might not be able to help with older applicants, but the visa is allowing for international insurance providers. This is going to give some more flexibility to families, but we don’t know what the costs and availability are going to look like.
• Health insurance preconditions: We don’t know yet how existing health conditions that aren’t necessarily concerned with insurance might affect the approval process. However, any serious conditions likely to have a high cost to New Zealand health authorities are still likely to be key in refusals.

A Step Forward for Migrant Families

While we are still waiting on the final instructions to receive, the Parent Boost Visitor Visa is an obvious positive step. It is giving families wanting to be together in New Zealand a better, more graspable option, without having the legal roller-coaster rides that have come with the residency lotteries and shorter-term stays.

Yes, there are conditions and yes, there are costs. However, for many families, that’s going to be a trade-off that opens doors and creates opportunities.

We’ll continue to share more updates from Immigration New Zealand as they come in. For now, families can start planning for the next time they can be together, as well as preparing for a chance to seize the opportunity for longer than before.