Restoring Family Links
One of the oldest services in the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, this service helps families in New Zealand locate news of missing loved ones.
Tropical Cyclone Yasa, Fiji
On Thursday 17 December, Tropical Cyclone Yasa made landfall in Fiji, and it's continuing to move between the two main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu .
The Restoring Family Links service may be able to assist people who have lost contact with family members in Fiji. New Zealand has a substantial Fijian diaspora population, who maybe anxious to know whether their loved ones are safe and well. We encourage people to complete the Red Cross Message form or email New Zealand Red Cross' Restoring Family Links team on familylinks@redcross.org.nz and we will respond as soon as possible.
Note that we ask people to contact their family member using their usual means of communications with them first, including by phone, email, social media or mutual family or other contacts in the foreign country, prior to engaging with this service.
For more information about Tropical Cyclone Yasa click here.
Tigray region, Ethiopia
For people in New Zealand who may be worried about family members in Tigray, Ethiopia, please contact the New Zealand Red Cross Restoring Family Links team on familylinks@redcross.org.nz and we will respond as soon as possible. We can speak with you via interpreter if needed.
We are collecting requests from people in New Zealand to deliver short messages to family members which we will send to the ICRC Delegation in Addis Ababa. We are also sending tracing requests to send through to ICRC Khartoum (if family members are believed to have fled to Sudan).
The situation in Tigray is complex and not all areas are currently accessible to our ICRC colleagues at this time, however, messages may be able to be delivered as the situation changes. Telephone lines are being partially re-established in some areas including inside Mekele town and in West Tigray (Dansha, Terkan, Humera, Shiraro, Mytsebrena, Mykadera, Alamata). Mekele town remains accessible for Restoring Family Links activities. Some areas of Western Tigray Dansha, Humera, Maikadra are also becoming progressively accessible. ICRC teams are currently in the field however many areas in Central and East Tigray, no Restoring Family Links activities at this time are possible because of lack of access as well as telecommunication blackout.
Our colleagues in ICRC Khartoum have informed us that they visited three sites hosting Ethiopian refugees in Sudan and provided the Restoring Family Links service.
COVID-19 (coronavirus)
The Restoring Family Links service may be able to assist people whose contact with family members overseas has recently stopped due to illness or infirmity, including COVID-19 (coronavirus), to check on their health and wellbeing. You can enquire here.
Note that we ask you to contact your family member using your usual means of communications with them first, including by phone, email, social media or mutual family or other contacts in the foreign country, prior to engaging with this service.
Health and Welfare requests made to New Zealand Red Cross will be passed to the National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society in the country where the sought person is located. Please be aware that they may be under considerable pressure at this time -they may not accept the request or may take time to process your request, and may have limited capacity to access information about your family member. Health information is treated in confidence and will only be released with the consent of the sought person, or their next of kin.
You can make an enquiry to the Restoring Family Links service here.
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Restoring Family Links services
We cannot assist in searches for genealogical reasons, cases of adoption to locate birth parents, or for the purposes of litigation. We are also not able to assist in situations where separation was caused by a relationship breakdown.
International tracing
This free service helps family members find each other if they have been separated by conflict, disaster or migration. It is where internationals or locals can self-register that they are alive so family and friends know they are safe or to report someone as missing in these circumstances.
If you wish to contact our Restoring Family Links service in circumstances other than the Christchurch incident, lodge a request by clicking on the button below.
You must be residing in New Zealand to lodge a tracing case with New Zealand Red Cross.
Red Cross Messages
We help family members to communicate through Red Cross Messages when usual means of communication are not available. Family members must have been separated by armed conflict, disaster or migration; or in some other cases of humanitarian need. Messages may only contain personal family news and are subject to censorship. Photos may be attached, however no money may be attached.
Health and Welfare reports
We can assist people whose contact with family members overseas has stopped unexpectedly, to check on their health and wellbeing. We can do this when there are no other family members available to help.
Attestation of Detention Certificates
Attestation of Detention Certificates confirm that a person is being or has been detained. We can only provide these if the person was visited and registered by the ICRC while in detention. Certificates are only issued at the request of the person concerned or, if deceased, the next of kin.
International Committee of Red Cross travel documents
We can help people get ICRC travel documents if they have been formally offered entry by the New Zealand government. We can assist refugees, displaced or stateless people who do not have documentation to travel to New Zealand, if they have an official request from Immigration New Zealand. We cannot help with immigration applications, advocate on behalf of family reunification applicants or contribute to travel costs.
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Whakaari / White Island eruption
Red Cross worked with New Zealand Police to respond to the Whakaari / White Island eruption.
A special web page on the International Red Cross' online platform was activated so people could register a loved one as missing or people could register themselves as safe.
To provide information or request information about family impacted by this disaster, you can contact New Zealand Police on 105. If you are calling from overseas, you can contact New Zealand Police on +64 49 105 105.
Christchurch attack
The Red Cross Restoring Family Links service was used by the NZ Police during the response to the Christchurch terror attack on 15 March 2019. A special web page on the International Red Cross' online platform was set up so people could register a loved one as missing or people could register themselves as safe.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has advised that families wishing to travel to New Zealand as a result of the Christchurch terror attack will need to apply for emergency visas. More information is available via this link: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/media-centre/news-notifications/family-members-of-mosque-incident
