A person is entitled to obtain New Zealand citizenship by descent in the case in which the said person is related to at least one New Zealand citizen. However, not all persons who are related to someone who is a New Zealand citizen or who has obtained New Zealand citizenship can apply through this legal pathway (our immigration lawyer in New Zealand can provide legal assistance).
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How can one qualify for New Zealand citizenship by descent in 2026?
If you plan to immigrate from USA to New Zealand for the purpose of obtaining citizenship by descent, please mind that you will have to follow the procedure presented below. You can also apply for citizenship by birth (where applicable) or by grant.
The latter is the citizenship that is available for most foreigners who do not have any connection to New Zealand and they simply relocate here for the purpose of remaining in this country.
The main requirement, according to the law on immigration in New Zealand, is for the applicant to have a parent who is a New Zealand national. In order to be eligible, the applicant must have had a parent who was a New Zealand national at the moment when the applicant was born.
| Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| When can a person apply for citizenship by descent | A person can obtain New Zealand citizenship by descent if he or she was born overseas and had at least 1 parent who was a New Zealand citizen at the moment of the applicant’s birth. |
|
Forms available for citizenship by descent |
There are 2 forms available for applicants: – Application for New Zealand citizenship by Descent &Passport – Adult (minimum 16 years old); – Application for New Zealand Citizenship by Descent &Passport – Child (15 years old and under). |
|
Application fee |
There are 3 types of fees, for minors and adults, as follows: – NZD $243 – the procedure to register as a citizen (the same fee for minors and adults); – NZD $387 – obtaining citizenship and obtaining a New Zealand passport (minor applicans); – NZD $490 – obtaining citizenship and obtaining a New Zealand passport (adult applicants). |
| Categories of citizenship by descent | The formalities for citizenship by descent are divided between 2 categories of applicants, namely adults and minors. |
| Institution in charge with the application process |
The Department of Internal Affairs |
| Documents required for the application |
An applicant can obtain New Zealand citizenship by descent by submitting the following documents: – the birth certificate; – 2 recent photos; – change of name documents/adoption documents (where applicable); – the identity documents of the New Zealand parent. |
| Dual citizenship allowed (yes/no) |
Yes |
| Law regulating citizenship by descent in New Zealand |
The Citizenship Act 1977 |
| How can an application be submitted |
By post or in person. |
| Certification/authentication required (yes/no) | Yes |
| Documents to be issued after citizenship is granted |
After a person will obtain New Zealand citizenship by descent, he or she can apply for a New Zealand passport. |
| Costs of New Zealand identity documents |
The passport costs NZD$120 for minor applicants and NZD$206 for adults. |
| Validity of New Zealand identity documents |
Passports are valid for 5 years or 10 years, depending on the age group of the applicant (above 16 years old/below 16 years old). |
| Passport accelerated issuance procedure (yes/no) |
Yes |
| Law governing the issuance of New Zealand identity documents | The Passports Act 1992 |
The parent can be a New Zealand national by descent or by grant – the latter defines the legal situation in which a foreigner receives New Zealand citizenship after obtaining NZ permanent residency, without having blood ties with New Zealand persons.
Residence in New Zealand can also be obtained on a permanent basis in the situation in which a person applies for the Dependent Child Residence Visa. This is available for persons who are aged below 24 years old.
The visa grants them the right to permanent residency, study and work (if they meet the age requirements). If the child is a New Zealand descendent, the visa application formality is not necessary.
The individual can apply for citizenship by descent if he or she was born outside New Zealand, as persons who are born in New Zealand from New Zealand citizens will automatically receive the nationality. Our immigration lawyer in New Zealand has prepared a short list of important aspects you should know in this case:
- when applying for citizenship, you will need to pay a fee of NZD$ 243 (for the citizenship registration);
- if you want to obtain the New Zealand passport, the application fee for citizenship and passport is 6NZD$490;
- the fee for the issuance of citizenship and the passport for children below 15 years old is NZD$387;
- a foreigner can be eligible to obtain citizenship by descent if he or she was born outside New Zealand on or after 1 January 1978;
- starting with 10 December 2001, applicants are no longer required to register their citizenship, but the registration is mandatory when requesting the issuance of a New Zealand passport.
Persons who want to start their citizenship by descent application in 2026 must know that the application can be processed in approximately 40 days (this also includes the passport application formalities). Our team of immigration lawyers in New Zealand can offer additional information to those who want to start the citizenship application in 2026 (by descent, naturalization, by birth, etc.).
What is the law on citizenship by descent in New Zealand in 2026?
Foreigners interested in the procedures for citizenship in New Zealand or those who live here as permanent residents and who can qualify for citizenship by descent should know that the main rule of law regulating citizenship matters is the Citizenship Act 1977, amended in 2000 and which can be found here.
The act provides the legal framework for any legal matter related to citizenship – who is entitled to obtain it, in what conditions, the right to dual citizenship, legal situations when one can lose the right to New Zealand citizenship and so on.
Please mind that the law states that a person can have dual citizenship as long as the legislation of the other country allows dual citizenship as well. If you want to have a baby born in New Zealand, it is important to know that the child will automatically receive New Zealand citizenship just by being born here.
The regulations on how to obtain citizenship in 2026 have not been changed, but we mention that if you received the citizenship in New Zealand, you may be required to participate in a citizenship ceremony.
If you have received the citizenship certificate by courier or mail, this means that you will not be required to perform any additional steps, but the ceremony can be held in specific conditions. Below, you can watch a short presentation on how to obtain New Zealand citizenship by descent:
If you need information on other aspects concerning citizenship, besides the ones on how to obtain New Zealand citizenship by descent, our immigration lawyer remains at your disposal for in-depth legal advice. Matters concerning citizenship by descent are regulated under Section 7 of the Act.
What is the procedure for citizenship by descent for children under 16 years?
Persons who are above 16 years old are entitled to represent themselves in the process of obtaining New Zealand citizenship by descent; according to the legislation on immigration in New Zealand, for persons below this age, other procedures will apply, as the approval of the parents is necessary.
When preparing the application for citizenship as a minor under 16 years old, the application form will need to contain the approval of one of the parents, who has New Zealand nationality. If both have citizenship, the child can be represented by either one of the parents.
The law requires that the documents submitted by the applicants (regardless of their age) will be in their original versions (the applicants will receive back their documents once the procedure is completed). For minor children under the age of 16, the following documents have to be submitted:
- the birth certificate;
- two photos;
- all the documents showing the change of name of the child – where applicable;
- if the child is adopted, the adoption documents.
The parent representing the child will also have to submit certain documents, such as:
- the passport ID number (or another ID number issued by the New Zealand authorities, in the case in which the parent does not have a New Zealand passport);
- documents showing the change of name (however, if this event took place in New Zealand, one is not obligated to submit such papers, as the local institutions will be aware of the modifications) – our immigration lawyer in New Zealand can offer more details.
If you need additional information on how to obtain citizenship by descent, we invite you to contact our immigration lawyer in New Zealand, who can represent you in this procedure; our lawyer can also advise you when preparing the set of documents, based on your particular situation.
In the case in which a minor under 16 years old applies for citizenship by descent in 2026 and doesn’t have any living parent to legally represent him or her during the citizenship formalities, the law states that the child must add to the application file the death certificate of either parent. The infographic below presents the basics of citizenship by descent in New Zealand:
Obtaining New Zealand citizenship by descent in surrogacy cases
In order to obtain New Zealand citizenship by descent for a minor under the age of 16, it is necessary to complete the Form Application for New Zealand citizenship by descent and passport – Child (15 years and under).
The same application must be completed in the case in which the parent has had the child following surrogacy arrangements – the Citizenship Act 1977 requires local authorities to establish who the legal parent is, therefore the document contains clear sections concerning this matter.
We recommend you get in touch with our immigration lawyer in New Zealand if you plan to become the parent of a child via surrogacy procedures, as this is a very complex legal matter from a citizenship perspective.
In this case, there are 2 scenarios – the intending parent (the one who opts to become parent through surrogacy) can address a surrogate mother in New Zealand or offshore. As per the internal laws, New Zealand recognizes altruistic domestic surrogacy, in accordance with the rules of the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004.
It must be noted that in all cases, the New Zealand law applies provided that New Zealand citizens want to bring to New Zealand children obtained through offshore surrogacy. In both onshore and offshore cases, the local law requests that the genetic parents are identifiable.
As per the law, it is considered that the genetic parents are the legal parents, therefore New Zealanders who will opt for surrogacy must adopt said children so that they can become their legal parents. In the case of foreign children, the standard rules of immigration to New Zealand will apply.
We strongly recommend you address our immigration lawyer if you want to obtain New Zealand citizenship by descent for a child you have following surrogacy arrangements.
What are the rules for New Zealand citizenship by birth?
We have clarified that a person can apply for citizenship by descent in New Zealand as long as a person is directly related to a New Zealand citizen. The application can be started regardless if the birth took place in New Zealand or in another country.
For births that occurred on the national territory of a state, it is commonly considered that the child born on a given territory will automatically obtain citizenship of that state, this conception being given by the fact that most of the countries used to apply this rule.
However, in the last decades, countries across the world have modified the legislation on citizenship, imposing certain conditions so that a newborn can obtain the nationality of that country. The same is true for New Zealand, which modified its legislation in 2006.
In other words, all children born prior to 1 January 2006 (when the legislation became applicable) received New Zealand citizenship by birth, regardless of the nationality of the parents, based on the place of birth, which was a direct determinant of citizenship.
Nowadays, for a child born in New Zealand citizenship can be obtained only if one of the parents is a New Zealand citizen or if one of the parents is a New Zealand permanent resident.
As such, if you are considering relocating here for permanent residency in New Zealand, your future child can benefit from this legal status without you being required to apply for citizenship. Additionally, we mention that the same rights are extended to persons who live in Cook Islands, Tokelau and Niue.
What are the rights of a New Zealand citizen?
Whether you obtained citizenship by descent in New Zealand or via other legal options, there will be no distinction between you and another person, who has acquired citizenship in another way. All citizens benefit from the same rights and obligations.
There are differences, however, between citizens and permanent residents, the latter having fewer rights than citizens, but not to an extent that will make any difference in matters concerning employment, property ownership, access to education and health, etc.
Therefore, if you want to migrate to New Zealand, you must know that you do not have to apply for citizenship to enjoy a fruitful life here. However, if you are related to a local national, we advise you to apply for citizenship by descent in New Zealand. For a person who acquired/was born in New Zealand citizenship has the following advantages:
- live in New Zealand on a permanent basis;
- have a New Zealand passport and travel across the world without complying with any immigration formalities (outside the ones imposed by the visiting states);
- have full access to education, social rights, economic rights, etc;
- vote and hold governmental functions.
Any person, including those who obtained citizenship by descent in NZ, has the obligation to respect the local law and not act against New Zealand interests. Our immigration lawyer in New Zealand can present other legal matters concerning citizenship by descent in NZ.
Whether you apply for citizenship by descent in 2026 or by conferral, you are entitled to obtain a New Zealand passport, a right granted to all persons who hold New Zealand citizenship. This procedure can only be initiated after there is proof of citizenship and once the person obtained the necessary paperwork, he or she can address local institutions for the issuance of the passport.
What happens when a child is born in New Zealand whose parents are temporary residents?
As reflected in this article, children born in New Zealand can acquire citizenship rights if their parents (or at least one of them) is a New Zealand permanent resident or citizen. However, in practice, it can happen that individuals who are temporary residents (they have been living in New Zealand for less than 5 years) have children in New Zealand, born on the New Zealand territory.
In this case, the child does not receive citizenship rights. Upon his/her birth, the child will receive a visa, which will vary in accordance with the type of visa the parent(s) holds. The visa granted to the newborn will have the same expiration date as the one of the parent.
Provided that the parent(s) will apply for a new visa that will further allow the right to residency in New Zealand, then the child will also receive a visa matching the one of the parent. This is a very important aspect to be aware of if you plan to immigrate to New Zealand on temporary basis.
If you are interested in other options for entering the country and remaining for long-term purposes, we can provide details onthe visa options.
Is it possible to renounce/revoke NZ citizenship?
Yes, regardless of the modality in which a person has obtained citizenship in New Zealand, it must be noted that one can also renounce citizenship rights at a given moment in time. Likewise, citizenship can be revoked by the NZ authorities.
Please mind that although the 2 terms have the same consequences, they have different legal understandings – renouncing citizenship is a voluntary legal formality started by the individual, while when we refer to revoking citizenship rights, it usually means that the authorities have unilaterally started the procedure due to the fact that the citizenship holder did something against the NZ law.
Therefore, if a person who has become NZ citizen by descent wants to renounce citizenship rights in 2026, regardless of the reason, he/she has this right. The procedure can be initiated by completing specific forms. In 2026, the fee for renouncing citizenship is NZD 474.
If you need additional details on citizenship by descent in NZ, do not hesitate to contact our immigration lawyer in New Zealand.
