On 8 June 2025, the New Zealand government introduced the new Parent Boost Visitor Visa, a pathway designed to reunite families while ensuring health, financial, and sponsorship safeguards are in place. The category opens on 29 September 2025. Here’s everything you need to know about eligibility, sponsorship, and the requirements for applicants and sponsors.
The Parent Boost Visitor Visa is a multiple-entry visa that allows parents of New Zealand citizens and residents to visit for up to 5 years. Applicants may apply for a second visa, enabling a total stay of up to 10 years, provided all eligibility requirements are still met.
While this visa is not a pathway to residence, it allows families to spend extended time together in New Zealand.
Key requirements for the Parent Boost Visitor Visa
To qualify, applicants must:
- Not have dependent children.
- Be outside New Zealand at the time they apply, and at the time of the grant of the visa.
- Meet health, character, and sponsorship requirements.
- Demonstrate sufficient funds or income.
- Demonstrate they hold acceptable travel and/or health insurance.
Sponsorship Requirements
Sponsorship plays a key role in the Parent Boost Visitor Visa.
- Sponsors must be New Zealand Citizens or Residents.
- They must be adult children (18 years of age or older) of the applicant.
- Up to two adult children can jointly sponsor their parents.
- A sponsor can support up to a maximum of six parents.
Financial Requirements:
Applicants must demonstrate that they have funds genuinely available to them for the duration of their visa. The parents must meet at least one of the following financial requirements:
- Single applicant: NZ$160,000 in maintenance funds OR annual income of NZ$32,611.28.
- Couple (applicant + Partner): NZ$250,000 in funds OR annual income of NZ$49,552.88.
- Alternatively, be sponsored by one or more sponsors who meet the relevant minimum income requirements for sponsors. The sponsor earns at least the New Zealand median wage (or 1.5 times the median wage for joint sponsors) to sponsor 1 parent, with the amount increasing by 0.5 times the median wage for additional parents being sponsored.
Health insurance and medical requirements:
Parents are required to complete medical and chest X-ray certificates. The first health check is completed as part of the initial visa application unless they were previously completed with an earlier application, assessed as acceptable standard of health and they were issued less than 12 months prior to the parent boost visitor visa application
After holding the Parent Boost visa for three years, applicants must get a second health check, and they must go out of New Zealand to get it done.
During their stay, visa holders are required to maintain valid insurance, meet health requirements, and ensure their sponsors spend at least 184 days per year in New Zealand. After three years (but before four years) visa holders must complete another compliance check from outside New Zealand, which includes submitting a form with a fee, providing a recent medical and chest X-ray certificate, and showing proof of maintained insurance. Applicants must remain outside New Zealand until Immigration New Zealand confirms that these compliance requirements have been met.
Parents applying for a Parent Boost Visitor Visa must have at least one year of health insurance that covers emergency medical care (minimum NZ$250,000), repatriation, return of remains, and cancer treatment (minimum NZ$100,000). They are also required to maintain valid health insurance for the entire duration of their stay in New Zealand. Importantly, applicants for this visa are not eligible for a medical waiver. This means that if Immigration decides that they do not have an acceptable standard of health, the whole application will be declined.
Approval and Conditions
If approved, applicants first receive an approval in principle. To confirm the visa, they must provide proof of travel or health insurance covering at least 12 months within three months of approval, enter New Zealand within six months, and can then stay for up to five years with multiple entries allowed.
Need assistance?
The Parent Boost Visitor Visa is an exciting opportunity for parents to spend extended time with their families in New Zealand. However, applicants and sponsors must carefully check if they can meet financial, health, and compliance requirements. Need advice or help with the visa process, contact us.