INZ Update: Culturally Arranged Marriages

Immigration New Zealand updated its guidelines on the Culturally Arranged Marriage Visitor Visa following government intervention, allowing people who have entered arranged marriages overseas to apply for a partnership-based visitor visa.

What changed

INZ issued Amendment Circular 2019-11 to update processing guidelines. People who had a culturally arranged marriage outside New Zealand can now apply for the visitor visa to join their partner. INZ also updated internal guidelines on assessing genuine intent for people travelling to join a partner they have not lived with.

Impact on previous applicants

If your visa was previously declined under the old guidelines, INZ developed a process to review affected applications and will contact impacted applicants via email.

Background

The earlier policy change had required couples to have lived together for at least 12 months before a partnership-based visa could be granted, making it nearly impossible for people in culturally arranged marriages, which by definition often involve couples who marry before living together. The government directed INZ back to the prior approach, recognising the cultural context.

What this means now

If you’ve entered a culturally arranged marriage overseas and want to join your partner in NZ, the Culturally Arranged Marriage Visitor Visa is the current pathway. The “12 months living together” requirement that briefly applied does not apply; confirm the current evidentiary requirements for partnership-based visas and INZ guidance before lodging.