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The much-promised 5-year parent visa – the Parent Boost Visitor Visa – has finally been announced. While it’s close to what the Minister outlined before the election, we now have more detail about how it will work.
In this article, we’ll walk you through what we know so far and answer the key questions you've been sending through. As always, the final immigration instructions haven't been released yet – we expect those around September. We’ll publish a new article and video once they are available.
While it is referred to as a parent visa, it has been presented, during a presentation with Mark Mitchell, as also applying to grandparents, much like the parent grandparent visitor visa. This should be open to parents and grandparents.
This was created based on the situation where people wanted their family in New Zealand with them but instead could only have them here for half the time. The biggest concern for the government is the cost of having the parents here, including the health care costs. This visa seeks to solves that.
From 29 September 2025, eligible parents and grandparents will be able to apply online for a 5-year visitor visa. However, the application must be submitted from offshore — applicants must be outside New Zealand when applying.
The most important requirement is down to the person who is sponsoring them.
- The sponsoring child must be a citizen or resident visa holder. They also need to be the biological or adopted child of the parent, so someone cannot sponsor their parent-in-law, except if doing so as a couple, which we'll cover shortly.
- The sponsoring child must remain in New Zealand for the full duration of the parent's stay.
- They must agree to take full financial responsibility for the parent during their stay in New Zealand.
Financial requirements have been misunderstood in some online posts, so let’s break them down carefully. To be clear, you only need to meet one of these, and some will be easier than others.
- The sponsor needs to earn at least the median wage, currently being either $31.61 per hour or $33.56 per hour, as the instructions use two different figures for the median. It doesn't say if that is full time or not, but we would expect it would be at least 30 hours of work per week, and them may apply a rule used once elsewhere to require 40 hours per week. This can all be shown through payslips, employment agreement, IRD records, bank statements, or a mixture of those. If you don't earn that much then a couple can sponsor together if their combined hourly wages add to 1.5 times the median wage ($47.41/h or $50.34/h), which I believe should be possible for almost all couples. The above amount applies to only sponsoring one parent, and the amount required will increase by 0.5 times the median wage for additional parent being sponsored.
- The parent has a personal income equivalent to the New Zealand superannuation, possible through superannuation in their own country, or investments etc. This is currently $32,611.28 for a single person and $49,552.88 for a couple. Remember that your pension may be impacted if you leave your home country, so you'll need to look at the laws within your country for this.
- The parent has sufficient personal funds, being $160,000 for a sole parent or $250,000 for a couple. One political party has been providing information that this is unaffordable, but we doubt many will even look at this pathway, rather instead having a child earning the median wage. It is just one of three options.
Looking at the health requirement, parents must have an acceptable standard of health, as is required currently with all visas. However, for this visa they will also be required to show at least one year of health insurance. That health insurance must cover:
- Emergency medical care with a minimum $250,000 per year
- Repatriation (cost to fly them home if needed)
- Return of remains
- Cancer treatment of up to $100,000.
Important: This insurance must be maintained for the entire visa duration. If it's not, the parent may be required to leave New Zealand, and there may be future visa consequences. If Immigration New Zealand was to find that they weren't maintaining it while in New Zealand, they risk losing their visa, being deported or, at the very least, it will make future visas harder to get.
A second medical will be needed in the third year of their visa. This MUST be done outside of New Zealand, meaning that they have to leave New Zealand to get the medical done. We expect that they will then need to remain offshore while that is being processed, which may take weeks or months if there are any health issues found. We believe the reason for this is to ensure that people still meet health standards and, if they no longer do, Immigration New Zealand can end the visa while they are offshore, reducing the hassle and cost of finding and deporting someone. They will also need to show evidence that the health insurance continues.
The visa will cost $3,000 NZD for most applicants, or $2,450 NZD for those eligible under the Pacific fee band. A $100 tourism levy also applies.
The three-year review costs $325 NZD, or $240 NZD for Pacific fee applicants.
The review at three years will cost $325 for most and $240 for Pacific fee applicants.
The visa opens for applications on 29 September 2025. We expect to get the final instructions in 4-6 weeks before that, though there is no requirement for these to be provided until the day that the visa comes in to affect.
It is a five-year visa, though we've already seen the need to be offshore at least once in the visa for the second medical check. It also needs to be applied for from offshore, so those applicants currently onshore will need to leave to apply. However, if the same rules apply as we have for the Parent/Grandparent Visitor Visa, applicants won’t need to remain offshore while it is being processed.
A second 5-year visa is possible, but applicants must spend at least three months offshore between visas. It's not yet clear whether that period is counted from visa expiry, application date, or last entry, or if the restriction is on date of application being made or it being granted — we’re seeking more clarity on this but it may not be known until the instructions are provided.
There would also be another medical offshore during that second five-year period. Therefore, in total applicants are looking at needing to be offshore three times over the full ten-year period. One of these stays will be at least three months, the others are likely to be one or two months.
We’ve already covered some missing information above that we won’t be able to answer until we have the full instructions. However, further questions are being raised.
Self-employed
There is a question around the handling of self-employed sponsors who have no hourly income. It isn't clear at the moment from what has been released as to how this will be handled. We expect that this will be clarified when the final instructions are released. The government has expressed support for resident business owners, so we don’t expect them to be excluded. We expect there will be a solution in the final instructions, likely either showing a set minimum annual figure, or a way that an hourly figure can be calculated based solely on taxable income.
Availability of insurance
Another question relates to the reluctance generally of New Zealand insurers to provide insurance to older age groups. The Minster has stated that they have deliberately allowed foreign insurers to provide insurance, to provide migrants more options. We also expect that, with this new visa, we'll see more New Zealand companies providing longer insurances and for those who are older. We’ll have to wait and see what the cost of these options will be, but migrants can explore both New Zealand and international insurers.
Parent Resident Visa ballot
In a video with the Minister of Immigration, the Minister of Police Mark Mitchell mentioned that people won't have to rely on draws from September. We want to clarify that, based on our knowledge of how the visas work, and what we hear from within INZ and government, we believe there is no intention to remove the current ballot, or to increase the numbers drawn. The police Minister’s reference was based on this visa providing an easier way to be in NZ longer, but this was not an announcement to change the residence visa process or requirements for that visa.
Insurance preconditions
Finally, will there be a check to ensure that insurance covers all preconditions? If someone has a precondition that isn't enough for them not to be considered healthy enough for a visa, preconditions may not be covered in the insurance which could still mean health costs in New Zealand. We're assuming that health issues that are deemed high cost to NZ will still block a visa, even if covered by insurance.
As with all visa announcements, we have some base details — but without the full instructions, we’re relying on experience and conversations with INZ to fill in the gaps. We're continuing our dialogue with the Minister of Immigration, and Immigration New Zealand, and will share updates as soon as possible.
For now, this visa delivers on the government's pre-election promise: a practical, longer-term option for parents and grandparents to stay in New Zealand. At a cost, yes — but a meaningful option for many families wanting their parents close for life’s most important moments.
New 'Parent Boost' Visitor Visa to strengthen family connections (8 June 2025) Immigration New Zealand <www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/news-centre/new-parent-boost-visitor-visa-to-strengthen-family-connections/>
The much-promised 5-year parent visa – the Parent Boost Visitor Visa – has finally been announced. While it’s close to what the Minister outlined before the election, we now have more detail about how it will work.
In this article, we’ll walk you through what we know so far and answer the key questions you've been sending through. As always, the final immigration instructions haven't been released yet – we expect those around September. We’ll publish a new article and video once they are available.
While it is referred to as a parent visa, it has been presented, during a presentation with Mark Mitchell, as also applying to grandparents, much like the parent grandparent visitor visa. This should be open to parents and grandparents.
This was created based on the situation where people wanted their family in New Zealand with them but instead could only have them here for half the time. The biggest concern for the government is the cost of having the parents here, including the health care costs. This visa seeks to solves that.
From 29 September 2025, eligible parents and grandparents will be able to apply online for a 5-year visitor visa. However, the application must be submitted from offshore — applicants must be outside New Zealand when applying.
The most important requirement is down to the person who is sponsoring them.
- The sponsoring child must be a citizen or resident visa holder. They also need to be the biological or adopted child of the parent, so someone cannot sponsor their parent-in-law, except if doing so as a couple, which we'll cover shortly.
- The sponsoring child must remain in New Zealand for the full duration of the parent's stay.
- They must agree to take full financial responsibility for the parent during their stay in New Zealand.
Financial requirements have been misunderstood in some online posts, so let’s break them down carefully. To be clear, you only need to meet one of these, and some will be easier than others.
- The sponsor needs to earn at least the median wage, currently being either $31.61 per hour or $33.56 per hour, as the instructions use two different figures for the median. It doesn't say if that is full time or not, but we would expect it would be at least 30 hours of work per week, and them may apply a rule used once elsewhere to require 40 hours per week. This can all be shown through payslips, employment agreement, IRD records, bank statements, or a mixture of those. If you don't earn that much then a couple can sponsor together if their combined hourly wages add to 1.5 times the median wage ($47.41/h or $50.34/h), which I believe should be possible for almost all couples. The above amount applies to only sponsoring one parent, and the amount required will increase by 0.5 times the median wage for additional parent being sponsored.
- The parent has a personal income equivalent to the New Zealand superannuation, possible through superannuation in their own country, or investments etc. This is currently $32,611.28 for a single person and $49,552.88 for a couple. Remember that your pension may be impacted if you leave your home country, so you'll need to look at the laws within your country for this.
- The parent has sufficient personal funds, being $160,000 for a sole parent or $250,000 for a couple. One political party has been providing information that this is unaffordable, but we doubt many will even look at this pathway, rather instead having a child earning the median wage. It is just one of three options.
Looking at the health requirement, parents must have an acceptable standard of health, as is required currently with all visas. However, for this visa they will also be required to show at least one year of health insurance. That health insurance must cover:
- Emergency medical care with a minimum $250,000 per year
- Repatriation (cost to fly them home if needed)
- Return of remains
- Cancer treatment of up to $100,000.
Important: This insurance must be maintained for the entire visa duration. If it's not, the parent may be required to leave New Zealand, and there may be future visa consequences. If Immigration New Zealand was to find that they weren't maintaining it while in New Zealand, they risk losing their visa, being deported or, at the very least, it will make future visas harder to get.
A second medical will be needed in the third year of their visa. This MUST be done outside of New Zealand, meaning that they have to leave New Zealand to get the medical done. We expect that they will then need to remain offshore while that is being processed, which may take weeks or months if there are any health issues found. We believe the reason for this is to ensure that people still meet health standards and, if they no longer do, Immigration New Zealand can end the visa while they are offshore, reducing the hassle and cost of finding and deporting someone. They will also need to show evidence that the health insurance continues.
The visa will cost $3,000 NZD for most applicants, or $2,450 NZD for those eligible under the Pacific fee band. A $100 tourism levy also applies.
The three-year review costs $325 NZD, or $240 NZD for Pacific fee applicants.
The review at three years will cost $325 for most and $240 for Pacific fee applicants.
The visa opens for applications on 29 September 2025. We expect to get the final instructions in 4-6 weeks before that, though there is no requirement for these to be provided until the day that the visa comes in to affect.
It is a five-year visa, though we've already seen the need to be offshore at least once in the visa for the second medical check. It also needs to be applied for from offshore, so those applicants currently onshore will need to leave to apply. However, if the same rules apply as we have for the Parent/Grandparent Visitor Visa, applicants won’t need to remain offshore while it is being processed.
A second 5-year visa is possible, but applicants must spend at least three months offshore between visas. It's not yet clear whether that period is counted from visa expiry, application date, or last entry, or if the restriction is on date of application being made or it being granted — we’re seeking more clarity on this but it may not be known until the instructions are provided.
There would also be another medical offshore during that second five-year period. Therefore, in total applicants are looking at needing to be offshore three times over the full ten-year period. One of these stays will be at least three months, the others are likely to be one or two months.
We’ve already covered some missing information above that we won’t be able to answer until we have the full instructions. However, further questions are being raised.
Self-employed
There is a question around the handling of self-employed sponsors who have no hourly income. It isn't clear at the moment from what has been released as to how this will be handled. We expect that this will be clarified when the final instructions are released. The government has expressed support for resident business owners, so we don’t expect them to be excluded. We expect there will be a solution in the final instructions, likely either showing a set minimum annual figure, or a way that an hourly figure can be calculated based solely on taxable income.
Availability of insurance
Another question relates to the reluctance generally of New Zealand insurers to provide insurance to older age groups. The Minster has stated that they have deliberately allowed foreign insurers to provide insurance, to provide migrants more options. We also expect that, with this new visa, we'll see more New Zealand companies providing longer insurances and for those who are older. We’ll have to wait and see what the cost of these options will be, but migrants can explore both New Zealand and international insurers.
Parent Resident Visa ballot
In a video with the Minister of Immigration, the Minister of Police Mark Mitchell mentioned that people won't have to rely on draws from September. We want to clarify that, based on our knowledge of how the visas work, and what we hear from within INZ and government, we believe there is no intention to remove the current ballot, or to increase the numbers drawn. The police Minister’s reference was based on this visa providing an easier way to be in NZ longer, but this was not an announcement to change the residence visa process or requirements for that visa.
Insurance preconditions
Finally, will there be a check to ensure that insurance covers all preconditions? If someone has a precondition that isn't enough for them not to be considered healthy enough for a visa, preconditions may not be covered in the insurance which could still mean health costs in New Zealand. We're assuming that health issues that are deemed high cost to NZ will still block a visa, even if covered by insurance.
As with all visa announcements, we have some base details — but without the full instructions, we’re relying on experience and conversations with INZ to fill in the gaps. We're continuing our dialogue with the Minister of Immigration, and Immigration New Zealand, and will share updates as soon as possible.
For now, this visa delivers on the government's pre-election promise: a practical, longer-term option for parents and grandparents to stay in New Zealand. At a cost, yes — but a meaningful option for many families wanting their parents close for life’s most important moments.
