skip to navigation skip to main content
StudyLink
  • A-Z
  • Forms

  • Home
  • Starting study
  • In study
  • Returning to study
  • Finished studying
  • Home
  • Search
  • Login
  • Menu
  • Menu
  • Online Services
    • Your RealMe login
      • Manage your RealMe account
      • Forgotten username or password
    • MyStudyLink
      • What you can do in MyStudyLink
      • Can’t log in to MyStudyLink
    • Apply
      • First-time students
      • Returning application in MyStudyLink
      • Apply in MyStudyLink
      • Help with applying online
      • Information you'll need
      • Help with filling in the online form
      • Documents supporting your application
      • Verifying copies of original documents
      • How to send us your documents
      • Application status in MyStudyLink
      • When do payments start
    • Eligibility test
      • What the test assesses you for
      • Eligibility test disclaimer and privacy information
  • Starting study
    • How StudyLink works
    • Thinking about study
      • What and where to study
      • Your costs while studying
      • How to pay for study
      • Scholarships
      • Moving from benefit to study
      • Information for parents
    • What's available
      • Student Allowance
      • Student Loan
      • Extra help
      • Help for partners
      • On a benefit
      • Studying part-time
      • Studying overseas
      • Coming to NZ to study
    • Apply
    • Student Allowance
    • Student Loan
  • In study
    • Change in circumstances
      • Age changes
      • Address and contact details
      • Bank account
      • Cancel your loan
      • Change course or programme
      • Change papers
      • Children in your care
      • Going overseas
      • Change living costs
      • Relationships
      • Tax code
      • Change education provider
    • Childcare
      • Absent from childcare
      • Change in hours
      • Change in reason you get payment
      • Child moves providers
      • Child no longer in your care
      • Start or stop 20 hours ECE
      • Continuing pre-school childcare
      • Continuing childcare when your child's at school
      • Extending childcare
      • Moving to OSCAR
      • Add a child
      • Stop payments
      • Child stops childcare
      • Study, work or training
      • Teacher only day
    • Debt
      • Pay from overseas
      • Pay from NZ
    • Urgent or unexpected costs
      • Food
      • Accommodation
      • Travel for COVID-19 vaccination
      • Power, gas and water bills or heating
      • Dental treatment
      • Glasses
      • Whiteware (eg, fridge, freezer, washing machine)
      • Car repairs
    • Income
      • Student Allowance
      • Student Loan
      • Childcare
      • Extra help
      • Jobseeker Support Student Hardship
      • Parents income
    • Study details
      • Break between study
      • Change study dates
      • Claim course related costs
      • Drop papers
      • Extending your study
      • Jobseeker Support Student Hardship obligations
      • Not meeting course requirements
      • Pick up papers
      • Student Allowance obligations
      • Student Loan obligations
      • Summer school
      • Unpaid work or research
      • Withdraw
      • Working while studying
  • Returning to study
    • Continue from last semester
    • Took a study break
    • Postgraduate study
    • Returning application
  • Finished studying
    • Help when you finished study
    • What happens to your loan
    • More study
    • Starting work
  • Payments and rates
    • A-Z of payments
      • Student Allowance
      • Student Loan
    • Rates
    • Calculators
  • Forms
  • Glossary
  • About StudyLink
    • Contact us
      • Phone numbers
      • Send evidence
    • News
    • Glossary
    • Our services
      • Appointments
      • Cheap as data
      • Death of a student
      • How StudyLink works
      • About us
    • Agents
    • Complaints
  • About this site
    • Access keys
    • Privacy, disclaimer and copyright information
    • Online security
    • Site map
    • Change font size
Home / In study / Change in circumstances / Relationships

In study

  • Change in circumstances
    • Age changes
    • Address and contact details
    • Bank account
    • Cancel your loan
    • Change course or programme
    • Change papers
    • Children in your care
    • Going overseas
    • Change living costs
    • Relationships
    • Tax code
    • Change education provider
  • Childcare
  • Debt
  • Urgent or unexpected costs
  • Income
  • Study details

Relationships

If your relationship status changes, you must tell us straight away as it could affect how much you're paid.

How to tell us

Email us or call us

You need to tell us:

  • what's changed
  • when things changed.

We’ll work out if the change affects what you get from us.


Getting a Student Allowance

If you now have a partner and we consider you to be in a recognised relationship you may now either:

  • be able to get a Student Allowance, or
  • your Student Allowance payment could be affected.

If you're in a recognised relationship, you'll need to:

  • apply online (if you haven't already applied) if you're now able to get a Student Allowance
  • get your partner to fill out a Student Allowance Partner's form
  • get your partner to provide a verified copy of their birth certificate (if we haven't already seen it)
  • log in to Connect and upload your form and verified birth certificate.
linksStudent Allowance Partners application form (PDF 307.74KB)

Getting other payments

If you're getting any other payment (eg, Disability Allowance, childcare or Income Relief Payment) and you start a new relationship you'll need to fill in a change of circumstances form.

linksChange of circumstances form (PDF 724.39KB)

How we can help

  • Starting study
  • In study
  • Returning to study
  • Finished studying

Online services

  • Eligibility test
  • MyStudyLink
  • Declare income

About

  • About StudyLink
  • About this site
  • Access keys
  • Privacy, disclaimer and copyright

Contact us

  • How to contact us
  • Facebook
Ministry of Social Development logo govt.nz - connecting you to New Zealand central & local government services shielded