Dependent Child Resident Visa processing time: current New Zealand figures

Immigration New Zealand currently reports that 50% of Dependent Child Resident Visa applications are processed within 162 working days, and 80% within 189 working days. These are working days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and New Zealand public holidays.

The figures are a guide based on current processing timeframes, not a deadline or promise for an individual application. Missing information, application complexity and peak demand can make a case take longer.

Which dependent-child route this time describes

INZ describes this resident visa as a route for a New Zealand citizen or resident living in New Zealand to bring an eligible dependent child to live there. Its current page says the child must be 24 or younger, single and financially dependent, alongside the route’s other requirements.

These processing figures belong to the Dependent Child Resident Visa. They are not the time for a Dependent Child Student Visa, citizenship confirmation, or a child included in another residence application. INZ notes that some children of citizens or residents may already be New Zealand citizens and would not need this residence visa; the official route page is the authority for an individual situation.

Route facts checked September 6, 2026 against INZ Dependent Child Resident Visa guidance. Eligibility and visa conditions can change; the official page controls.

History we have recorded

INZ does not provide a source update date for this tool. We therefore date a value when GovWait first observes it and add a new history row only when the official value changes.

How to read New Zealand’s 50% and 80% processing-time figures →