A foreign national is often required to have someone in New Zealand in order to obtain a Residence class visa under certain residence categories. This is called sponsorship for New Zealand Residence Class Visa. Those certain residence categories set New Zealand sponsor as one of the requirements for it will help an applicant is getting settlement support in the land of Kiwis.

Below is the list of acceptable sponsors who can sponsor a foreign national for a residence class visa. Have a look:

• A residence class visa sponsor must be considered acceptable by the New Zealand Immigration Minister or immigration officer.
• Moreover, the sponsor must satisfy the eligibility requirements for acceptable sponsors as set by Immigration New Zealand.
• Along, the sponsor must meet other requirements applicable for the specific residence category under which the applicant is applying.
• There is no specific requirement that a residence class visa sponsor must be a natural person only. A sponsor can also be an organization or a government agency. However, the type of sponsor a foreign national needs in his situation depends on the residence category under which he/she is applying.

Let us have a look at the eligibility criteria for different types of sponsors:

Natural person as Sponsor:

• The person must be a New Zealand citizen. Or he/she must be currently holding a New Zealand residence class visa, but the visa should not be subject to conditions under sector 50 of the New Zealand Immigration Act 2009.
• The person must have been a citizen in New Zealand or either a residence class visa holder, or a residence permit holder, or a returning resident’s visa holder under the Immigration Act 1987 for a minimum period of 3 years till the date of filing the sponsorship application.
• The person must be ordinarily a New Zealand resident and he/she must have spent at least 184 days in the Kiwi land in each year of the 3-year duration till the date of filing for sponsorship application.
• The person must not have been found guilty of an offense at any time as per the New Zealand immigration law.
• The person must not have any pending debt to the Crown or any other third party because of a previous sponsorship arrangement.
• The person may not be entitled to sponsor if he/she has a record of violating the sponsorship obligations in the past.
• The person must not have been declared bankrupt.
• The person must not be facing deportation.
• The person must not be facing any jail sentence, no matter if he/she is awaiting the sentence against committing crime.

Organization or government agency as sponsor:

• An organization must be registered in the land of Kiwis as a company, a charitable trust or an incorporated society.
• An organization must demonstrate the relevancy between its activities and the purpose for which it is sponsoring the applicant to the Kiwi land.
• An organization in any case must not sponsor a foreign national with a purpose of receiving financial reward.
• The organization must not have been found guilty of violating immigration law in the past. In addition, the corporation must not have anyone as its employee or director or trustee who has been found guilty under the immigration law.
• The organization must not be facing any unpaid debt to the Crown or any third party, pertaining to another sponsorship arrangement.
• An organization does not qualify to be a sponsor if it has violated sponsorship obligations in the past.
• The organization must not be in a circumstance of handing over all its property or assets to a receiver (not facing receivership) or must not be in a state of liquidation.

If you are interested in applying for a residence permit to New Zealand, mail following information ASAP at ajay@abhinav.com for a free of charge assessment by Ajay Sharma, principal consultant, ABHINAV.

• Your updated resume if skilled professional, or if businessmen, then brief on business profile along with information on your current personal net worth.
• If married, provide the resume for your spouse as well.
• If applicable, please provide information on children and their age.
• Information on any blood relatives residing in New Zealand. This is not a compulsory requirement to qualify for immigration to New Zealand, but serves as additional positive assessment and suitability factor.