NZ Parent Boost Visitor Visa

Up to 10 Years

How the 10 Years Work

Parent Boost is a multiple-entry visitor visa for up to 5 years. INZ lets you hold two of them, which makes the maximum 10 years, with trips out of New Zealand at set points.

First visa

Up to 5 Years, Multiple Entry

Apply online from outside New Zealand. Your sponsor then completes their own form. If INZ approves you, it first approves in principle and asks for your insurance.

Arrive within 6 months of the visa being granted; your 5-year stay starts on the day you first enter New Zealand
Leave and re-enter as often as you like; there is no time limit on each visit
You need insurance for the first year and for every visit afterwards
In the third year you must leave New Zealand for a health and insurance check, with a new chest X-ray and medical examination
Complete the check before the fourth year starts, or the visa may be cancelled

Second visa

Another 5 Years, if You Still Qualify

INZ allows only 2 Parent Boost Visitor Visas. To stay longer after that you must apply for a different visa, because this one gives no way to apply for a resident visa.

You must be outside New Zealand when you apply for the second visa
Show you met the conditions of the first visa, including acceptable insurance during each previous visit
Meet all the current requirements, including income and sponsorship rules
Provide a new chest X-ray and medical examination, less than 3 months old when INZ receives it
A partner who was not in your first application can be included in your second

Eligibility

Who Can Apply

Your child sponsors you, you show you can support yourself, and you hold insurance. INZ sets a higher health standard than for other visitor visas.

The Sponsor

An adult child aged 18 or older who is a New Zealand citizen or resident
A natural child, an adopted child, or your partner's child if you lived with them for most of their life and until they turned 18
Up to 2 sponsors: your child alone, your child and their partner, two adult children, or your child and your partner's adult child
Sponsors must normally live in New Zealand and spend at least 184 days there each year you hold the visa
They agree to cover essential living costs, access to health and financial support, and repatriation or deportation costs
If a child and their partner sponsor you, show they have lived together for at least 12 months

The Applicant

Outside New Zealand when you apply and when the visa is granted
No dependent children
Genuine reasons for a temporary visit, with evidence such as family ties or commitments in your home country and previous travel
A partner can be included with proof of the relationship, identity, health and character
A partner cannot be added after the visa is granted

Health & Character

Good health, at a higher standard than other visitor visas; INZ does not consider medical waivers
Chest X-ray and medical examination from a panel physician, requested after you apply
For the first visa, certificates issued in the last 12 months can be reused; later checks need evidence under 3 months old
Police certificates if your total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or longer, from countries of citizenship and countries you spent more than 5 years in since turning 17
Police certificates must be under 6 months old when you apply

Insurance

At least 1 year of medical insurance, travel insurance or both, bought only after approval in principle
Send the evidence within 3 months of approval in principle, or INZ declines the application
Cover for every later visit to New Zealand
Insurer with a credit rating of at least A (strong) or an equivalent
No valid insurance can lead to cancellation and can affect later visas such as the Parent Resident Visa

Financial Support

The Money Test

Meet one of the four options below. INZ updates the amounts each April, so confirm them on the live page before you apply.

Minimum Income or Funds

Option	One parent	Parent and partner
Your own ongoing annual income	NZD 33,663.24 a year	NZD 51,182.56 a year
Your own funds in a bank account	NZD 170,000	NZD 260,000
One sponsor's annual income	NZD 72,800.00	NZD 109,200.00
Two joint sponsors' combined annual income	NZD 109,200.00	NZD 145,600.00

Your income must have been earned in the 12 months before you apply and be ongoing. Your funds must be your own, not gifted or borrowed, with no debt against them. A sponsor must currently earn the minimum and have earned it in 2 of the past 3 completed New Zealand tax years (1 April to 31 March). For sponsor income, the "Parent and partner" column is the figure for sponsoring 2 parents.

Minimum Insurance Cover

Coverage type	Minimum amount (NZD or equivalent)
Emergency medical care	250,000 each year
Cancer coverage	100,000 each year
Repatriation	250,000
Return of remains	50,000

Process

How to Apply

The online process runs in these stages. Do not book medical appointments until INZ asks for them after you submit.

1. Choose the Right Visa

If you plan only one visit or short visits, INZ says the Visitor Visa or Parent and Grandparent Visitor Visa has fewer requirements. Research insurance cost before you apply.

2. Gather Documents

Passport, one photo, proof of your relationship to your sponsor, proof of money, and English translations with scanned originals. Police certificates must be under 6 months old.

3. Submit and Pay

Apply online while outside New Zealand. INZ lists the fee from NZD 3,100; the exact amount shows after you enter your country details.

4. Sponsor Completes Their Form

INZ notifies your sponsor or sponsors. They upload identity and immigration status evidence and, if they support you, income evidence from Inland Revenue.

5. Decision and Insurance

INZ expects processing to take around 4 months. If approved in principle, send 12 months of insurance evidence within 3 months or the application is declined.

6. Visa and Arrival

You receive an eVisa and must arrive within 6 months. The 5 years start on first entry. INZ is not legally obliged to reconsider a declined application.

While You Are in New Zealand

Conditions and Costs

What the visa allows, and what it does not.

Work

You cannot work in New Zealand on a visitor visa. INZ says you may be able to work remotely for an employer or client based outside New Zealand.

Study

You can study for up to 3 months in any 12-month period.

No Residence Pathway

This is a temporary visa and it does not give you a way to apply for a resident visa. You must leave New Zealand before it expires.

Third-Year Check Fee

INZ lists a form and processing fee of NZD 325 for most people for the health and insurance check, and says more detail on the check will follow.

Sponsor Presence

Your sponsor must live in New Zealand and spend at least 184 days there each year you hold the visa, counted from the day you first arrive.

Parent Resident Visa

A different route: an Expression of Interest, then an invitation. Since 5 October 2026 selection is a hybrid of a queue (about 90 percent) and a ballot (10 percent), with up to 2,500 approvals a year. INZ states no annual cap for Parent Boost.

Common Questions

Parent Boost FAQs

Answers based on Immigration New Zealand pages checked on 6 November 2026.

Can my parents stay in New Zealand for 10 years on one visa?

No. One Parent Boost Visitor Visa allows a stay of up to 5 years, counted from the day you first enter New Zealand. INZ allows a second 5-year visa, which makes the maximum 10 years. You must leave New Zealand in the third year of each visa for a health and insurance check, and you must be outside New Zealand when you apply for the second visa.

Does the Parent Boost visa lead to permanent residence?

No. It is a temporary visitor visa and INZ says it gives no pathway to a resident visa. You can hold only 2 Parent Boost Visitor Visas. For residence, parents would need a different route such as the Parent Resident Visa, which starts with an Expression of Interest and allows up to 2,500 approvals a year.

Can parents work or study on the visa?

Parents cannot work in New Zealand on a visitor visa, although INZ says they may be able to work remotely for an employer or client based outside New Zealand. They can study for up to 3 months in any 12-month period.

How much must my child earn to sponsor me?

If you do not meet the money test with your own income or funds, one sponsor must earn at least NZD 72,800 a year to sponsor 1 parent and NZD 109,200 to sponsor 2 parents. Joint sponsors must earn a combined NZD 109,200 for 1 parent and NZD 145,600 for 2. The sponsor must currently earn that amount and have earned it in 2 of the past 3 completed New Zealand tax years. INZ updates the figures each April.

Is health insurance compulsory?

Yes. You need at least 1 year of medical or travel insurance, bought after approval in principle, and cover for every later visit. Minimum cover is NZD 250,000 a year for emergency medical care, NZD 100,000 a year for cancer, NZD 250,000 for repatriation and NZD 50,000 for return of remains, from an insurer rated at least A (strong) or equivalent.

Is there a cap on Parent Boost applications?

INZ's Parent Boost pages do not state an annual cap. The limit of 2,500 approvals a year applies to the Parent Resident Visa, not to Parent Boost. INZ lists the Parent Boost fee from NZD 3,100 and expects processing to take around 4 months.

Can a parent with a dependent child apply?

No. To be eligible for the Parent Boost Visitor Visa you must not have any dependent children. Check INZ's definition of a dependent child before you apply.