Parent Boost financial evidence: parental income, bank funds or sponsor income

8 hours ago

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Parent Boost offers three ways to demonstrate money for living expenses: the parent's qualifying annual income, eligible personal bank funds or qualifying sponsor income. Choose a route that meets its requirements. Do not assume three shortfalls can be added together to make an acceptable result. Sponsorship, insurance, health and the remaining visa requirements still apply.

Check the number of people and sponsors

Evidence route	Current amounts in New Zealand dollars
Parent annual income	33,663.24 alone;51,182.56 including a partner
Parent bank funds	170,000 alone;260,000 including a partner
One sponsor's annual income	72,800 for one parent;109,200 for two
Two joint sponsors' annual income	109,200 for one parent;145,600 for two

These figures were checked against the official page on 18 October 2026. They are not permanent thresholds. Parent income and funds amounts are updated annually, while sponsor income relates to the applicable median income and number of parents sponsored. Recheck the requirements at submission. Do not treat an NZD figure as the same number in another currency or apply the one-parent amount to a larger family.

Annual income needs a history and continuity

INZ lists sources including pensions, rental property earnings, portfolio dividends, investment interest, company ownership profits and share trading. The evidence must show income earned during the 12 months before applying and that it is ongoing each year the Parent Boost visa is held. A projected investment return or one unusually large receipt does not automatically establish this.

Income can be the applicant's alone or earned together with a partner included in the application. Match pension statements, tenancy and payment records, dividend distributions or relevant tax evidence to the actual period. Company turnover is not automatically personal income. A property's valuation is not rent received. Where income varies, use the real record rather than multiplying the strongest month by 12.

Personal funds must be owned and accessible

The money must be in bank accounts available for use during the New Zealand visit. For an account outside New Zealand, include evidence that the money can be accessed while there. Funds may be owned alone or jointly with an included partner. Where money is shared with somebody else, only the applicant's own portion can count; the full joint-account balance is not automatically available for this assessment.

The personal-funds route does not accept gifted or borrowed money, and there must be no debt owed against the funds. Do not import gift rules from another immigration category. A temporary transfer from a child should not be presented as the parent's pre-existing personal money while concealing its source. Property equity, a company valuation and an unused loan facility are not substitutes for the required available bank funds.

Sponsor income includes completed tax years

Sponsors using the income route must currently earn the required minimum and meet the requirement in two of the past three completed New Zealand tax years. INZ's example for applications between 1 April 2026 and 31 March 2027 uses the three completed years between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2026. An unfinished current tax year cannot simply replace one of those years.

INZ identifies different Inland Revenue records for PAYE, self-employed and mixed-income sponsors. Depending on the circumstances, these include income details, proof of income, assessments or accepted return records. Business bank turnover alone does not prove qualifying personal income. A new employment offer does not waive the historical test. Joint sponsorship also requires an eligible combination and the correct parent count.

The current V4.25 instructions require joint sponsors to use the same two completed tax years, with the historical-year threshold calculated using the median income in force at lodgement. A specific parental-leave provision may allow alternative evidence of leave, return to employment and current earnings; it is not a general waiver for any recent pay rise. Parent annual income generally means gross income, but sources requiring expenses to be deducted, such as rental earnings, are assessed on the applicable net basis.

Budget beyond the eligibility threshold

Separately estimate government application charges, insurance, medical examinations, translations, the mid-visa offshore check and travel, and everyday living costs. Professional service fees should be described through the actual service agreement. The financial threshold is not an all-inclusive five-year price. Use an appropriate exchange rate for the family's budget and allow for changing costs, rather than promising a fixed total or an approval result.