Statutory Declaration and Affidavit for NZ Partner Visa: How to Prepare Them Correctly

Statutory declarations and affidavits appear at multiple points in a New Zealand partner visa application. They are used to formalize relationship statements, to stand in for unobtainable police certificates, to document unusual living arrangements, and for friends or family members vouching for the couple's relationship. Getting the format and witnessing right is not optional — an incorrectly witnessed statutory declaration is legally invalid and INZ will reject it.

What Is a Statutory Declaration and Why It Matters for Partner Visas

A statutory declaration is a written statement of facts made under oath or affirmation. Under New Zealand law, the person making the declaration — the declarant — is legally bound by its contents under perjury laws. This is why INZ treats a statutory declaration as stronger evidence than an unsworn letter: there are legal consequences for a person who knowingly makes false statements in a statutory declaration.

For partner visa applications, statutory declarations serve several functions:

• Relationship statements by the couple themselves: The principal applicant and the sponsor each typically provide a relationship statement or timeline. When these are formalized as statutory declarations, they carry more legal weight.
• Support letters from third parties: Letters from friends, family members, or community figures who can attest to the couple's relationship are significantly stronger when they take the form of statutory declarations rather than informal letters.
• Replacement for unobtainable police certificates: If a police certificate cannot be obtained from a particular country, INZ may accept a statutory declaration from the applicant or sponsor swearing to their attempts to obtain it and declaring the absence of relevant convictions.
• Non-standard living arrangements: If the couple is living in a shared house with others and there is no joint tenancy agreement, a statutory declaration from the landlord or homeowner explicitly confirming that the couple shares one room and functions as a domestic partnership can bridge the evidence gap.

The Required Format

Under New Zealand legislation, a statutory declaration must:

• Be written in the first person (using "I" throughout)
• Begin with the declarant's full legal name, occupation, and residential address
• Contain the specific legal preamble: "I solemnly and sincerely declare that..."
• Have all pages initialed by the declarant
• Conclude with the declarant's signature in the presence of an authorized witness
• Have the witness sign, print their name, and note their qualification (e.g., "Justice of the Peace")

There is no required length. A statutory declaration can be one paragraph or ten pages — what matters is that the substance is factual, specific, and uses the correct legal form.

Affidavits follow a similar format but use the phrase "I swear" or "I affirm" at the beginning rather than "I solemnly and sincerely declare." For INZ purposes, the terms are often used interchangeably in practice, but if INZ requests a "statutory declaration" specifically, use the declaration form.

Who Can Witness a Statutory Declaration in New Zealand

In New Zealand, the following people are authorized to witness a statutory declaration:

• Justices of the Peace (the most common and accessible option)
• Notaries Public
• Lawyers (solicitors and barristers)
• Court registrars
• Certain other authorized officers

Justices of the Peace are by far the most accessible option in New Zealand. Many banks, libraries, and community centers have JPs available, often at no charge. You can find a JP through the Justices of the Peace Association of New Zealand's online directory at jpanewzealand.co.nz.

The witness must see you sign the document. Do not pre-sign the declaration and then present a signed document to the JP for witnessing. The correct sequence is: bring the unsigned document, sign it in front of the JP, and the JP then signs and stamps as witness.

Who Can Witness Overseas

This is where many applicants go wrong. If you are outside New Zealand when you need to have a statutory declaration witnessed, you cannot simply use whoever witnessed your signature on other documents.

For declarations made outside New Zealand, acceptable witnesses include:

• Notary Publics (universally recognized and the safest choice internationally)
• Consular officers at a New Zealand embassy or consulate
• Any person authorized to administer oaths in the country where the declaration is made, provided their authorization can be verified

A local solicitor, lawyer, or notary in the declarant's home country will generally be acceptable, but only if they hold the equivalent of the authorization to administer oaths in their jurisdiction. The safest approach internationally is a Notary Public — this designation is recognized across most jurisdictions.

INZ may reject a statutory declaration witnessed by someone who was not authorized to do so. If there is any doubt, use a Notary Public.

Third-Party Declarations: What Makes Them Useful

When friends or family members write support letters for the application, an unsworn letter is the minimum. A statutory declaration from the same person is significantly more persuasive because the declarant is legally accountable for what they say.

A strong third-party statutory declaration should:

• State how long the declarant has known the couple and in what capacity
• Describe specific personal observations of the couple's shared life — not generic statements like "they seem happy together" but concrete details like "I have visited them at their shared home on [address] on [specific occasions] and have observed that they share a bedroom and manage the household together"
• Confirm when the couple first became a couple, when they started living together, and any relevant events the declarant can personally attest to
• Include the declarant's contact details so INZ can verify the statement if needed

Generic or vague statements from friends carry limited evidentiary weight. Specific, detailed statements from people who have direct personal knowledge of the relationship are what move the needle.

What Happens If You Get It Wrong

An invalidly witnessed statutory declaration — one where the witness was not authorized, or where the correct legal preamble was not used — is not a statutory declaration. INZ will treat it as an unsworn letter, which has significantly less evidentiary weight. If that declaration was serving a critical function in your application, such as standing in for a police certificate, you may receive a Request for Further Information requiring you to submit a valid one.

Getting witnessing wrong offshore can mean delays of weeks or months while you track down a Notary Public in your country and resubmit.

Practical Summary

• Use the exact legal preamble: "I solemnly and sincerely declare that..."
• Initial every page, sign in front of the authorized witness
• In New Zealand: a JP is the most accessible and appropriate witness
• Overseas: use a Notary Public to be certain
• Third-party declarations should include specific, personal observations — not generic character references
• Do not pre-sign before seeing the witness

The New Zealand Partner Visa Guide includes templates for relationship statements and guidance on how to structure statutory declarations that satisfy INZ's evidentiary expectations at both the temporary and residence stages of the application.

See more New Zealand guides →