To qualify for Working for Families, you must meet the residency requirements.
On this page, you’ll find 2 sets of residency requirements: 1 for you and 1 for the dependent child you’re caring for.
You do not have to meet both sets of requirements. 1 will do. For example, if you do not meet them, you could still get Working for Families if the child meets the requirements.
Set 1: residency requirements for you
To qualify for Working for Families, all of these requirements must be met. That is, you must:
- be a New Zealand resident
- have lived in New Zealand for 12 months in a row at any time
- be a New Zealand tax resident and remain so for the period of time you're getting Working for Families
- not be a transitional tax resident or partner of a transitional tax resident.
Set 2: residency requirements for the child
For you to qualify for Working for Families, the child you’re caring for must be a New Zealand resident and be present in New Zealand.
When a child is a New Zealand resident
Children born in New Zealand on or after 1 January 2006 will qualify as New Zealand residents if at least 1 of the parents meets 1 of the following conditions.
- The parent is a New Zealand citizen.
- The parent has permanent residency.
- The parent is entitled to live in the Cook Islands, Tokelau or Niue for as long as they like.
Australian citizens and residents qualify immediately if they are also a New Zealand tax resident and normally live in New Zealand.
If you or your child are in New Zealand illegally, or hold only a temporary permit or visa, you are not entitled to receive Working for Families payments.
Bex and Ryan are going overseas for 6 weeks. Their 2 children will stay with their aunt during this time.
Bex and Ryan remain New Zealand tax residents while they are overseas and still have responsibility for the day-to-day care of the children even though the children live with the aunt for 6 weeks. The children are resident and present in New Zealand. Therefore, the family meets the residency requirements.
Rose and Matt are New Zealand citizens, who lived in New Zealand for 30 years then moved to France to live 8 years ago.
They have now decided to return to New Zealand to settle here with their 3 children, who were all born in France.
Rose and Matt meet the residency requirements from the day they returned to New Zealand as they are New Zealand citizens, they are New Zealand tax residents, and they've lived in New Zealand for 12 months in a row.
Clare and Victoria, along with their child Frankie, have moved to New Zealand from England.
The family got a temporary visa which was granted on 18 October, the day they arrived in New Zealand.
2 months later, on 18 December, a resident visa was granted for the whole family.
That means they qualify for Working for Families from 18 December, the date their resident visa was granted. From this date, Frankie was a New Zealand resident and present in New Zealand even though Clare and Victoria did not meet their residency requirement to have lived in New Zealand for 12 months in a row.
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