A civil union is a legally recognised relationship that a couple can enter into in New Zealand. They do this by first obtaining a civil union licence from Births, Deaths and Marriages (part of the Department of Internal Affairs) and then having a formal ceremony before a Registrar or celebrant and officially registering the civil union.
Unlike marriage, a same-sex couple can enter into a civil union. Like marriage, people cannot enter in a civil union if they are too closely related; a civil union that breaches that prohibition will be legally invalid (void).
Civil unions are governed by the CIVIL UNION ACT 2004, which came into force on 26 April 2005. However, the ending (dissolution) of a civil union is governed by the same process as dissolution of marriages, which is set out in the FAMILY PROCEEDINGS ACT 1980 – see How to obtain a dissolution of marriage or civil union.
Anyone who is 18 or older can legally enter into a civil union, and does not need the consent of a parent or any other person.
People under 16 cannot enter into a civil union. If you are 16 or 17, you can enter into a civil union if you first get the consent of each of your guardians (usually these will be your parents). There’s a special form for this ("Consent to Civil Union of a Person aged 16 or 17") that you will need to get your guardians to sign. You must submit this form with the "Notice of Intended Civil Union" form when you apply for your civil union licence (see below). You can download a copy of the consent form from the Internal Affairs website at www.dia.govt.nz, under Forms.
You don’t need to get consent from a particular guardian if you cannot find them or if they are incapable of giving consent; but in that case you will still need to get the consent of any other guardians. If you don’t have a guardian, or they cannot be found or are incapable of consenting, you must get consent from a relative who has been playing the role of guardian, or from a Family Court judge. If a guardian refuses to give consent, you can apply to a Family Court judge to give consent instead.
If a civil union licence is issued and the ceremony takes place even though the age requirements aren’t met, the civil union will still be legally valid.
You will first need to get a civil union licence and then have a formal ceremony, either before a Registrar of Civil Unions or an approved civil union celebrant.
You must first complete a notice called a "Notice of Intended Civil Union". You can download a copy from www.dia.govt.nz, under Forms. This notice form includes a statutory declaration that both of you are free to be joined in a civil union and that all the details you’ve entered on the notice form are correct. If the ceremony will be carried out by a celebrant rather than a Registrar, you will need to include the celebrant’s name on the notice.
One of you must go into a Births, Deaths and Marriages office to sign the statutory declaration in front of a Registrar of Civil Unions and pay the fee. (For the location of your nearest BDM office, look on www.dia.govt.nz, under "About us".)
The Registrar will issue you with a Civil Union Licence, which allows you to enter into a civil union through a formal ceremony at the place stated on the licence, at any time in the next three months. Usually you will have to wait three days after you’ve provided the civil union notice before you will get the licence. The Registrar will also issue you with two copies of a document called a "Copy of Particulars of Civil Union".
If you have asked a civil union celebrant to perform the ceremony, rather than a Registrar, you will need to deliver the three documents (the licence and the two copies of the particulars) to the celebrant before the ceremony.
Ceremonies can be carried out by a Registrar of Civil Unions at a Registry Office or by an approved civil union celebrant at some other place.
Ceremonies before Registrars are held in a Registry Office during ordinary office hours. If you use a celebrant, the ceremony can take place at any time, any day of the week, and at any place.
The ceremony must have at least two witnesses. Each of the civil union partners must make a clear statement to the other that names both partners and acknowledges that they are freely entering into a civil union together.
A person who is already in a civil union cannot enter into another civil union with another person.
If you are married you cannot enter into a civil union with a third person, but you can change the form of your relationship with your spouse from a marriage to a civil union using the specific procedure for this set out in the CIVIL UNION ACT 2004 (see below).
Two people who are in a civil union may also change the form of their relationship to a marriage, using the procedure in the Act, but only if they are otherwise eligible to marry (see below).
If you are married, you and your spouse can change your relationship to a civil union under the special procedure for this set out in the CIVIL UNION ACT 2004, which includes getting a civil union licence and going through a formal ceremony. You will not need to dissolve your marriage first (dissolution requires that you have lived apart for at least two years).
Your first step is to obtain and fill in the special form, "Notice of Intended Civil Union (Change of Relationship from Marriage)", which includes a statutory declaration. You can download a copy from www.dia.govt.nz, under Forms.
One of you must go into a Births, Deaths and Marriages office to sign the statutory declaration in front of a Registrar of Civil Unions and pay the fee. You will also need to provide evidence of the marriage (such as a copy of the marriage certificate).
The Registrar will issue you with a Civil Union Licence, and from there the process is the same as any other couple entering into a civil union (see above).
If you are in a civil union, you and your partner can change your relationship to a marriage under the special procedure for this set out in the CIVIL UNION ACT 2004. You do not need to dissolve your civil union (dissolution requires that you have lived apart for at least two years). However, you and your partner must be eligible to marry – same-sex partners, for example, are not eligible to marry.
You will need to obtain and fill in a "Notice of Intended Marriage" form (go to www.dia.govt.nz, under Forms). The Registrar will issue you a marriage licence and you will then be able to go ahead with the marriage ceremony: see How to get married.