Form INZ 1178, Partnership Support Form for Residence: what it is and where relationship evidence fits

At a glance

• Form: INZ 1178, Partnership Support Form for Residence
• Agency: Immigration New Zealand (INZ)
• Edition: March 2021 (checked 2026-10-14) — This is the edition INZ linked from its Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa page when we checked. Download a fresh copy from that page before your partner fills it in.
• Filing fee: INZ 1178 does not show a fee of its own. The fee is paid when the applicant submits the residence application. The Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa page shows the cost as a “from” amount and shows full cost details once you enter your country details. We do not print it here because INZ fees change; check that page on the day you apply. Official fee schedule.

What the form is for

• Support an application for New Zealand residence under the Partnership Category of Residence Instructions. INZ links the form from its Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa page.
• Give INZ the supporting partner’s identity, immigration status and contact details (Section A), and the details of the principal applicant and any family members included in the residence application, including the date you began living together (Section B).
• Let INZ check the supporting partner’s eligibility: the form asks about partners previously supported for residence, convictions for domestic violence or sexual offences, and every country the supporting partner has lived in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years.
• Record a solemn declaration (Section C), made under the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957, that the supporting partner supports the application, is eligible to do so, and is living with the applicant in a genuine and stable partnership that meets the minimum requirements for the recognition of partnerships.
• INZ 1178 is not the visa application. The applicant applies online or on paper with the Residence Application (INZ 1000), and the form says completing it does not mean the residence application will be approved.

Who can file it

• The New Zealand partner (INZ calls them the supporting partner) completes and signs INZ 1178. The person applying for residence does not fill it in; they include the completed form with their application.
• The supporting partner must be a New Zealand citizen or resident. If their New Zealand residence comes through an Australian passport, Australian permanent residence or an Australian resident return visa, INZ says they must live in New Zealand, and the form asks them to show that New Zealand is their primary place of established residence.
• ‘Partner’ means a spouse, civil union partner or de facto partner, opposite-sex or same-sex. INZ’s visa page says you must have been living together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 12 months, after you both turned 18, when you apply.
• The supporting partner must not have acted as a partner in a successful resident visa application within the past 5 years, or in more than 1 successful resident visa application. INZ counts having supported a partner, having been a principal applicant supported by a partner, and having included (or been included as) a secondary applicant partner, except for a Permanent Resident Visa or a Second or Subsequent Resident Visa.
• The supporting partner must not be liable for deportation or have their deportation liability suspended, and must meet INZ’s good character requirements; if they do not, INZ says it will consider whether they are eligible for a character waiver. The form says an application will not be approved if the supporting partner has been convicted of an offence involving domestic violence or of a sexual nature (unless granted a character waiver), or was the perpetrator of domestic violence that led to a resident visa being granted under the Victims of Domestic Violence Category.
• Age: INZ’s visa page says you and your partner must both be at least 18, and its partnership page says you cannot apply for a Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa if either of you is 16 or 17. The notes on the March 2021 form still describe 16- and 17-year-olds supporting an application with their parents’ or guardians’ permission, so check INZ’s current pages for the rule that applies when you apply.

How and where it is filed

• The supporting partner gives the completed, signed form and its attachments to the applicant, who includes it with the residence application. The form says INZ’s Wellington PO Box address is not where the application should be sent.
• Online applications: INZ’s visa page tells the applicant to ask their partner for the completed and signed form with their supporting documents, then upload the documents and pay the fee in their online account. INZ’s partnership page says it accepts scanned images for online applications.
• Paper applications: the applicant completes the Residence Application (INZ 1000). INZ says it must receive originals or certified copies for a paper residence application.
• Write clearly in English using capital letters.
• The Section C declaration must be witnessed by a person authorised to take statutory declarations, such as a Justice of the Peace, a lawyer or a notary public.
• If an immigration adviser or anyone else helped (by giving immigration advice, explaining, translating or filling in the form), they complete Section E, and an adviser also completes Section D. INZ returns the form if the adviser should be licensed but is not.

Evidence the instructions ask for

• The form itself, signed by the supporting partner and witnessed by a person authorised to take statutory declarations.
• Evidence that the supporting partner is a New Zealand citizen. The form lists certified copies of a valid New Zealand passport, a certificate of New Zealand citizenship, a recent official statement of citizenship from the Department of Internal Affairs, or a New Zealand birth certificate.
• Or evidence that the supporting partner is a New Zealand resident, such as a current New Zealand residence class visa. If their residence comes through Australia, INZ’s visa page lists an Australian passport, Australian Permanent Resident Visa or Australian Resident Return Visa.
• For residence through Australia: evidence that New Zealand is the supporting partner’s primary place of established residence, sent with the form or with the application. INZ’s visa page gives examples such as letters or utility bills addressed to them, employment records, Work and Income benefit records or Inland Revenue tax records, mortgage, tenancy or utility supply agreements, and invoices or receipts showing household effects moved to New Zealand.
• Police certificates from every country other than New Zealand where the supporting partner has spent 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 17. The form says they must be less than six months old. INZ says it can arrange the New Zealand police certificate.
• The form recommends certified true copies rather than originals for any attachments.

Where relationship evidence fits

• INZ 1178 does not ask for relationship documents itself. It records the date you began living together (B4) and the supporting partner’s declaration that you are living in a genuine and stable partnership. The evidence that proves the relationship goes with the residence application.
• INZ’s visa page says your evidence must show you have been living together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 12 months when you apply, and that evidence from before you both turned 18 will not be used.
• The evidence should show how long you have been in a relationship and living together, that you share finances or other responsibilities, that you spend time together, and that other people recognise your relationship.
• Living together means sharing the same home. INZ says spending time in each other’s homes while you each keep your own, sharing accommodation on holiday, or living as flatmates does not count. INZ suggests items showing your shared address, dated every few months, to cover the full 12 months.
• INZ’s optional partnership timeline and evidence checklist can be uploaded with an online application under ‘Provide a timeline of your partnership’. It asks where and how you met, when you began living together, your key milestones, and any periods you lived apart, with dates and reasons.
• For online applications, the checklist says to upload evidence under the category that fits best (evidence that your relationship is genuine and stable, or evidence that you have been living together for more than 12 months), combining several documents into one PDF per category.

What chat history can help show

• Contact while apart: INZ’s evidence checklist lists chat and communication records, with dates, between you and your partner, particularly during any periods spent apart.
• How you kept in touch: if you have lived apart, INZ asks you to explain the reasons, how long it lasted and how you kept in touch. Dated messages can support that explanation.
• Time together and shared plans: INZ’s visa page gives emails and social media conversations between you as examples of evidence that you spend time together, and its partnership page says evidence should show that you make decisions and plans together.
• Your timeline: dated messages around the milestones you list in the partnership timeline (meeting, moving in, marriage, shared holidays) can corroborate the dates you give.

Before you include chat history

• Chat records are not part of INZ 1178 itself. They belong with the applicant’s relationship evidence in the residence application.
• Messages are not on INZ’s list of evidence that you live together. For the 12 months of living together, INZ points to items such as joint rental agreements, joint utility accounts and mail sent to your shared address, dated every few months.
• Use messages from after you both turned 18. INZ says it will not use earlier evidence to assess your relationship.
• Keep the dates visible. INZ’s checklist asks for chat records with dates.
• Messages that are not in English need English translations by a translator who meets INZ’s requirements.

Common mistakes

• A Section C declaration that was not witnessed by a person authorised to take statutory declarations, such as a Justice of the Peace, lawyer or notary public.
• Missing attachments. The form warns that a partnership support form without the necessary documents may be returned.
• Police certificates that are six months old or more, or missing for a country where the supporting partner spent 12 months or more in the last 10 years.
• Leaving out partners previously supported for residence (question A15). The supporting partner declares the information is true and complete, and the form warns that false or misleading information may be an offence.
• Getting help from an immigration adviser who should be licensed but is not. INZ returns the form in that case.
• Living-together evidence that does not cover the full 12 months before the application is submitted, or that dates from before you both turned 18.
• Documents or messages in another language without English translations.
• Uploading many separate files in one evidence category instead of combining them into one PDF per category.
• Using INZ 1178 for a temporary partnership-based visa. INZ’s Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa page links a different form, INZ 1146.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides and templates

• New Zealand Partnership Visa: INZ-Style Chat and Communication Records PDF
• New Zealand Partnership Visa — Relationship Statement (free template)
• Relationship Evidence — Communication Gap Explanation Letter (free template)
• Affidavit of Relationship (Third-Party Supporting Statement) (free template)
• My WhatsApp Chat Has Gaps — What Do I Do for My Visa Application?
• Proof of Genuine Relationship for Visa Applications: Complete Guide
• How to Redact Private Messages in Your Visa Evidence (Safely)

Official sources

• Immigration New Zealand — Partnership Support Form for Residence (INZ 1178), March 2021 (checked 2026-10-14)
• Immigration New Zealand — Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa (checked 2026-10-14)
• Immigration New Zealand — Applying for a Partner of a New Zealander Resident Visa: Partnership timeline and evidence checklist (July 2025) (checked 2026-10-14)
• Immigration New Zealand — Partnership and how to prove it (checked 2026-10-14)
• Immigration New Zealand — Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa (checked 2026-10-14)
• Immigration New Zealand — Form for Partners Supporting Partnership-Based Temporary Entry Applications (INZ 1146), October 2026 (checked 2026-10-14)