A Comprehensive Guide to New Zealand Parent Retirement Resident Visa

The Parent Retirement Category provides a residence class visa to those with family links to New Zealand who wish to make a significant contribution to New Zealand's economy.

You may be eligible for this visa if you have an adult child who is a New Zealand citizen or resident, you have NZD $1 million to invest for four years, an annual income of NZD $60,000, and another NZD $500,000 to live on.

This visa can be a good option if you’re not eligible to lodge an expression of interest under the Parent Category or you want to apply for New Zealand Residence immediately (rather than waiting around for the possibility that your Parent Category expression of interest is selected by ballot). It can also be a good option if you cannot meet the Active Investor Plus Visa category investment requirements or you cannot afford the high application fee under that category.

That said, the current estimated processing times for the Parent Retirement Resident Visa are long, and it’s a relatively complex category to navigate, especially in meeting and evidencing the investment and other financial requirements. Additionally, Immigration officers frequently adopt a ‘forensic’ approach to assessing the financial aspects of these applications. Therefore, this category isn’t for the ‘faint-hearted’ and I would strongly recommend engaging an immigration professional if considering an application.

What is the Parent Retirement Resident Visa?

You can apply to live in New Zealand permanently if you have a child who is a New Zealand citizen or resident. You will need an annual income of NZD $60,000 plus NZD $1 million to invest for four years, and another NZD $500,000 in settlement funds to live on.

Eligibility Criteria

For an application to be approved under the Parent Retirement Category, you must meet the following requirements (as set out in Immigration Instructions contained within Immigration New Zealand’s Operational Manual):

• Nominate funds and/or assets equivalent in value to at least NZD $1 million and undertake to invest them in New Zealand for a period of four years; and

• Demonstrate ownership of these funds and/or assets and that they have been legally earned or acquired; and

• Transfer and place the funds in an acceptable investment in accordance with the strict requirements set out in Immigration Instructions; and

• Nominate NZD $0.5 million of settlement funds and demonstrate ownership of these funds and/or assets; and

• Demonstrate an annual income of at least NZD $60,000; and

• Meet the family requirements by:

  • Being the parent of an adult child whose primary place of established residence is New Zealand and is a New Zealand citizen or a residence class visa holder not subject to conditions under section 49 of the Immigration Act 2009 (note that, unlike the Parent Category, there is no requirement for the sponsoring adult child to have held a New Zealand residence class visa for at least three years immediately preceding the date the application they wish to sponsor is made); and

  • Have no dependent children.

You and any partner included in your application must also meet the health and character requirements.

It’s important to note that the above requirements are further defined in Immigration Instructions, which include a range of additional requirements (including evidentiary) that must be met.

Investment Requirements

You must:

• Nominate funds and/or assets equivalent in value to NZD $1 million; and

• Demonstrate ownership of those funds and/or assets;

• Demonstrate that those funds and/or assets were earned or acquired legally in accordance with the laws of the country in which they were earned or acquired;

• Invest those nominated funds or the funds that result from the sale of the nominated assets (being a minimum of NZD $1 million) in New Zealand for a period of four years.

Once again, it’s important to highlight that each of the above requirements is further defined in Immigration Instructions, which include a range of additional requirements (including evidentiary) that must be met.  

All invested funds must meet the conditions of an “acceptable investment”, which Immigration Instructions defines as an investment that:

1. Is capable of a commercial return under normal circumstances; and

2. Is not for the personal use of the applicant(s) (see F3.10.30); and

3. Is invested in New Zealand in New Zealand currency; and

4. Is invested in lawful enterprises or managed funds that comply with all relevant laws in force in New Zealand (see F3.10.35); and

5. Has the potential to contribute to New Zealand's economy; and

6. Is invested in either one or more of the following:

   • Bonds issued by the New Zealand government or local authorities; or

   • Bonds issued by New Zealand firms traded on the New Zealand Debt Securities Market (NZDX); or

   • Bonds issued by New Zealand firms with at least a BBB- or equivalent rating from internationally recognised credit rating agencies (for example, Standard and Poor's); or

   • Equity in New Zealand firms (public or private, including managed funds) (as defined by/in accordance with Immigration Instructions); or

   • Bonds issued by New Zealand registered banks; or

   • Equities in New Zealand registered banks; or

   • Residential property development(s) (as defined by/in accordance with Immigration Instructions); or

   • Bonds in finance companies (as defined by/in accordance with Immigration Instructions).

If your application is successful, you will be informed by Immigration New Zealand that your application has been ‘approved in principle’.

If required, you may apply for a specific purpose work visa to travel to New Zealand to investigate investment opportunities and make investments in New Zealand (and your partner may also apply). 

Resident visas may be granted to you and your partner included in your application once you provide acceptable evidence of having transferred (through the banking system) and invested the nominated funds in accordance with the relevant requirements set out in Immigration Instructions and you provide a New Zealand address at which you can be contacted by mail, after you arrive in New Zealand.

Your resident visas will be granted subject to conditions under section 49(1) of the Immigration Act 2009, which will require you to retain your acceptable investment in New Zealand for a minimum of four years and submit evidence of this to Immigration New Zealand at the two year mark and again within three months after the expiry date of the four year investment period. You must also inform Immigration New Zealand of any changes to your New Zealand address during the investment period.

Application Fee

The application fee for most nationalities is currently (as of May 2025) NZD $12,850, but it’s less for applicants from certain South Pacific nations. You should check the Immigration New Zealand website for the latest fee information, as they often increase.

Application Processing Time

Immigration New Zealand’s website advises that 80% of applications that are approved in principle are done so within 24 months. Depending on your case and demand, processing times could take longer.

Parent Category Limitations

Although, as mentioned above, this visa category can be a good option for those wishing to apply for New Zealand Residence immediately, arguably the most significant limitation currently for this category is the significant processing times. Two years is a long time to potentially have to wait for an application to be decided, and it significantly increases the risk that one or both parent applicants will, during this time, suffer a health issue that could affect their eligibility to meet the health requirements.

The Parent Retirement category is also a much more expensive visa application option in terms of Immigration New Zealand fees than the Parent Category, as for most nationalities lodging an Expression of Interest under the Parent Category currently costs NZD $450 and, if selected from the pool, the Immigration New Zealand fee for the Parent Category is currently NZD $5,360. That said, the Immigration New Zealand fee for the Parent Retirement Category is still much less than the current Active Investor Plus Visa category application fee of NZD $27,470.

Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Frequently, the most significant challenge in the Parent Retirement Resident Visa applications is demonstrating the applicant’s funds and/or assets have been “legally earned or acquired”, and this is arguably one of the most common issues that Immigration New Zealand will raise questions or concerns about during an application’s processing. This issue is especially acute for applicants that are from countries where there is a lack of financial transparency, weak rule of law, poor record keeping, a shadow economy (where people have accumulated wealth through semi-legal means), complex ownership structures, or different cultural norms (e.g. informal loans, undocumented property transfers, cash only deals) which can make it very difficult to prove - with documentary evidence - the ultimate source of funds and that they were legally earned or acquired. In such cases, demonstrating this requirement is met can become a highly ‘forensic’ exercise, and this is where having an immigration lawyer to assist with the application can make all the difference to its success.

Another common challenge is meeting Immigration New Zealand’s health requirements to be assessed as having an “Acceptable Standard of Health”, particularly given the frequent older age of applicants under this category. Unfortunately, Parent Retirement Resident Visa applicants are subject to the same stringent health requirements as any other visa applicants / categories, which given the increased chances of health issues in later life can create problems in an application (especially when combined with the lengthy application processing times) and potentially result in a decline decision.

In conclusion, the Parent Retirement Category can be a good option, particularly if you do not meet the requirements of other categories (such as the Parent Category or the Active Investor Plus Visa category). However, current processing times for this category at Immigration New Zealand are lengthy, and it’s a complex category to navigate, so I would always recommend you contact an immigration lawyer if considering an application.