Refugee Family Support Category

At a glance

The Refugee Family Support Category (RFSC) allows refugees and protected persons resident in New Zealand to sponsor specified family members for residence who would not otherwise qualify under any other residence category. [S4.10.1]

• Annual cap: 600 places per year (July–June cycle), with possible carry-over of unfilled places into the next year if funding arrangements are in place [S4.10.5].
• Two-tier priority system: Tier one sponsors have priority; tier two sponsors can register only when places remain after tier one selections [S4.10.20].
• Eligible sponsors: Must be a New Zealand citizen or resident whose residence class visa was granted on the basis of refugee, protected person, Afghan interpreter, Afghan evacuee, or their partner/dependent child [S4.10.15].
• Sponsored persons: Parent, grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, adult sibling, or adult child, plus their partner and dependent children [S4.10.20].
• Application timeline: Sponsored persons must apply for residence within 12 months of the sponsor being notified of selection (24 months for eligible notifications between 1 March 2019 and 19 March 2020) [S4.10.10].

How to apply

Sponsor registration

• Tier one sponsors may register at any time by completing the appropriate registration form and sending it by mail to the designated address [S4.10.25].
• Tier two sponsors can register only during set registration periods announced by Immigration New Zealand (INZ), when places are available after tier one selections [S4.10.35].
• No registration fee is payable [S4.10.25][S4.10.35].
• A sponsor can have only one registration in the queue at any time, in respect of one principal applicant [S4.10.50].

After registration is selected

• INZ notifies the sponsor when their registration is selected and appears to meet the requirements [S4.10.30][S4.10.40].
• The sponsor must advise the sponsored principal applicant to lodge a residence class visa application within the applicable timeframe — exactly 12 months of the sponsor receiving the notification (or 24 months for those with extended eligibility) [S4.10.10][S4.10.30][S4.10.40].

Residence application by the principal applicant

• The application is lodged in the prescribed manner for residence class visa applications [S4.10.10].
• Applicants are exempt from the application fee and Immigration levy [S4.10.10].
• Health certificates (General Medical Certificate INZ 1007 and Chest X-ray Certificate INZ 1096) are not required at lodgement, but must be provided when an immigration officer requests them; unless A4.20(d) applies, they must have been issued less than three months before receipt by INZ [S4.10.10].
• All partner and dependent children must be included in the sponsor's registration and cannot later obtain residence under Partnership or Dependent Child categories unless they were included in the registration (even if not in the application) or are newborn children meeting R2.1 [S4.10.45].

Eligibility criteria

Sponsor requirements

• Citizenship/residence status: Must be a New Zealand citizen or holder of a residence class visa [S4.10.15].
• Qualifying pathway: Must have obtained residence in New Zealand on the basis of:
  • refugee or protected person status [S4.10.55.1][S4.10.55.5]; or
  • being an Afghan interpreter who worked with the NZ Defence Force, NZ Police, or NZ SAS in Afghanistan [S4.10.15(2)]; or
  • being an Afghan evacuee who supported NZ agencies in Afghanistan and was evacuated after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, or who was granted a visitor visa by special direction on 15 May 2023 and subsequently a resident visa [S4.10.15(3)]; or
  • being the partner or dependent child of an Afghan interpreter or evacuee who accompanied them to New Zealand [S4.10.15(1)].
• No prior sponsorship: Must not have sponsored another principal applicant who obtained residence under the RFSC or the former Refugee Family Quota [S4.10.15].
• Location and age: Must be in New Zealand and aged 18 years or over [S4.10.15].
• Acceptable sponsor: Must meet the acceptable sponsor requirements of R4.5, except for R4.5(d)(ii) and (iii) [S4.10.15].

Tier one (priority)

• Has no other 'family member' who is eligible for residence under any category [S4.10.20(e)(iii)].
• Has either:
  • no 'immediate family' living lawfully and permanently in New Zealand [S4.10.20(e)(iv)]; or
  • is the 'sole carer' of a dependent relative in New Zealand, and apart from that dependent relative has no other immediate family in New Zealand [S4.10.20(e)(v)].
• Definition of 'immediate family': sponsor's partner, parent, or child (excluding a dependent child under R2.1.30) [S4.10.20 Note].
• Definition of 'family member': broader — partner, parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, adult sibling [S4.10.20 Note].

Tier two (general)

• Has 'immediate family' in New Zealand [S4.10.20(g)(i)].
• Has no other 'family member' who is eligible for residence under any category [S4.10.20(g)(iii)].
• Has been a New Zealand citizen or residence class visa holder for at least three years immediately before the sponsor registration is lodged [S4.10.20(g)(v)].
• In each of the three 12‑month portions within that three-year period, has spent at least 184 days in New Zealand [S4.10.20(g)(vi)].

Sponsored persons (principal applicant and included family)

• Must not be eligible for a residence class visa under any other category of residence instructions [S4.10.10(a)(i)].
• Must meet health (A4) and character (A5) requirements [S4.10.10(a)(ii)].
• The registration must not include any person who, at the time of lodging, is unlawfully in New Zealand or subject to section 150 of the Immigration Act 2009 [S4.10.50(3)].
• No registration will be accepted if any potential applicant included in it already has a current residence application or is eligible under another category [S4.10.50(2)].

Evidence

• Sponsor: Must provide evidence of New Zealand citizenship or residence status, and may need to supply current and previous passports to prove time spent in New Zealand for tier two applicants [S4.10.60.5][S4.10.60.10]. INZ may also use its own records of entry and exit [S4.10.60.10].
• Principal applicant: Must provide all available evidence of the relationship to the sponsor, such as birth certificates, household registration documents, adoption evidence, or documents from UNHCR and other agencies [S4.10.60.15]. If evidence is unavailable or unduly difficult to obtain, an immigration officer may specify alternative evidence, conduct interviews, or waive the requirement with appropriate delegation [S4.10.60.15(3)].
• Sponsor undertaking: The sponsor must undertake to provide adequate accommodation for the relatives on arrival and during the first 24 months of residence, and must notify INZ of the arranged accommodation before arrival [S4.10.70].

Interpretation & edge cases

• Tier priority and queue operation: Tier one registrations are selected chronologically until the 600 places are met. If tier one does not fill the cap, tier two registrations (also chronological) are used. If neither fills the quota, INZ opens a new call for tier two registrations. [S4.10.20][S4.10.35]
• Carry-over of unused places: Unfilled places from one year can be added to the following year's allocation if INZ puts suitable funding in place. This may create larger pools in some years. [S4.10.5]
• Sole carer definition for tier one: The sponsor must have primary day-to-day care responsibility on an ongoing basis. Evidence can include ACC payments, specification by a District Health Board or GP as carer, Work and Income invalid's benefit records, or proof that a relative aged 17 or younger is totally or substantially reliant on the sponsor for financial support. [S4.10.55.15]
• Grandparent as legal guardian (tier two): A grandparent may be sponsored under the tier two pathway only if both of the sponsor's parents died before the sponsor turned 20 and the grandparent had custody and the right to control the sponsor's upbringing before that age. [S4.10.55.20]
• Adult child definition: In the RFSC context, an adult child is aged 18 or older, unless the child meets the dependent child definition in R2.1.30. [S4.10.55.10]
• Extended application window: Sponsors who were advised of selection between 1 March 2019 and 19 March 2020 (inclusive) have 24 months, not 12, to lodge the residence application. This transitional provision reflects COVID‑related disruption. [S4.10.10(a)(iii)]
• Health certificates timing: General Medical and Chest X-ray Certificates must be issued less than three months before INZ receives them, unless A4.20(d) (referring to limited certificates for certain applications) applies. [S4.10.10(5)]
• Inclusion of family members strict rules: Partner and dependent children who could have been included in the registration but were not cannot later obtain residence under Partnership or Dependent Child categories. However, a partner or child who was included in the registration but is not included in the subsequent residence application may still apply under those categories as a principal applicant. A newborn child not eligible at registration can be added to the residence application provided R2.1 is met. [S4.10.45]
• Prohibition on subsequent sponsorship: A sponsor who has already sponsored a principal applicant who obtained residence under the RFSC or the former Refugee Family Quota is permanently ineligible to sponsor again. [S4.10.15]
• Afghan interpreter and evacuee pathways: The definition of eligible sponsor has been expanded beyond conventional refugees to include Afghan interpreters, evacuees, and their qualifying family members, reflecting policy decisions following the Afghanistan crisis. [S4.10.15]
• Unlawful presence and s150 bar: At the time of lodging the sponsor's registration, none of the potential applicants may be in New Zealand unlawfully or subject to section 150 (which restricts claimants). [S4.10.50]
• Refugee definition for sponsor eligibility: For RFSC purposes, 'refugee' means a person who obtained residence as a mandated or quota refugee (UNHCR determination), a Community Organisation Refugee Sponsorship category refugee, or a Convention refugee recognised by New Zealand under the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol. [S4.10.55.1]
• Protected person definition: A 'protected person' is a person who obtained residence on the basis of recognition under the 1984 Convention Against Torture or the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. [S4.10.55.5]

Citations

• S4.10 — Refugee Family Support Category
• S4.10.1 — Objective
• S4.10.5 — Number of places available under RFSC
• S4.10.10 — How do people qualify for residence under the RFSC?
• S4.10.15 — Eligible sponsors under RFSC
• S4.10.20 — Two tier registration system for sponsors
• S4.10.25 — Registration process for tier one sponsors
• S4.10.30 — Selection process for tier one sponsors
• S4.10.35 — Registration process for tier two sponsors
• S4.10.40 — Selection process for tier two sponsors
• S4.10.45 — Inclusion in registration of immediate family members of the sponsored principal applicant
• S4.10.50 — Number of registrations that may be submitted
• S4.10.55 — Definitions
• S4.10.55.1 — Definition of 'refugee'
• S4.10.55.5 — Definition of 'protected person'
• S4.10.55.10 — Definition of 'adult child'
• S4.10.55.15 — Definition of 'sole carer' for tier one sponsorship purposes
• S4.10.55.20 — Definition of 'grandparent' as a legal guardian for tier two sponsorship purposes
• S4.10.60 — Evidence
• S4.10.60.1 — Evidence of identity of applicant(s)
• S4.10.60.5 — Evidence of immigration status of sponsors
• S4.10.60.10 — Evidence of time spent in New Zealand as a citizen and/or holder of a residence class visa
• S4.10.60.15 — Evidence of relationship to sponsor
• S4.10.65 — Verification of family details
• S4.10.70 — Undertakings of sponsors