Student Visa
Student visa
Anyone enrolling as an international student on a course of study lasting three months or more in New Zealand must apply for a student visa.
If the course you want to study is no more than three months long, and you hold an NZ visitor’s visa, then you do not need to get a student visa to study. If your course is due to take three months or longer to complete, you will need a student visa. There are no age limits to getting a student visa in New Zealand. Yes. The student visa and working holiday visa schemes are separate from one another.
Once you are in New Zealand you can apply for a Variation of Conditions to your visa, which will allow you to work up to 20 hours a week during term and the holidays. Student visa applications from the UK currently cost £140, plus a service fee of £19. Fees are subject to change, so please check www.immigration.govt.nz before making your application.
The full requirements are listed at the front of the Application To Study In New Zealand form but an outline list of documents is as follows:
• A valid passport
• A completed application form
• The application fee
• Two recent passport-sized photos
• An unconditional offer of place to study at a university in New Zealand
• Receipt showing payment of one year’s tuition fees (provided that your visa application has been approved in principle)
• Guarantee of accommodation
• Evidence of sufficient funds for maintenance, via a letter or bank statement, or completed Financial Undertaking form (INZ 1014)
• Evidence of sufficient funds to purchase an outward ticket.
All applicants for New Zealand visas need to be of good character. This generally means you have no criminal convictions. If you have convictions or if you intend on remaining in New Zealand for more than 24 months you will need to provide police clearances from each country for which you have citizenship. You will also need to provide police clearances for every country you have lived in for five years or more since you turned 17.
In order to be eligible for a visa for New Zealand you must have an ‘acceptable standard of health’. In order for INZ to check this you may be asked to provide a medical and/or x-ray certificate. As an international fee-paying student, however, you do not need to provide any medical documents at the point of application unless the student visa application form (INZ 1012) or the student visa guide (INZ 1013) specifically indicates that you should. If INZ requires a medical or chest x-ray during assessment,
a visa officer will be in touch to request this from you directly.
It is not possible to add your partner to your student visa as a dependent. Your partner will need to apply for their own visa to be in New Zealand if he or she wishes to work or study. They have the option of applying for a work visa as the partner of a student who is either:
i) Studying for a qualification in an area of absolute skill shortage, as specified in the Long Term Skill Shortage List, or
ii) Studying for a postgraduate qualification.
If your course of study does not fall into either of these categories, your partner will need to apply to be in New Zealand of their own accord, for example under the Working Holiday Scheme, the Essential Skills Visa or the Skilled Migrant Category.
Immigration New Zealand recommends you allow between four and six weeks for student visa processing.
The visa is valid immediately upon issuing, so once you have your visa you can use it to enter New Zealand.
The visa is valid for the duration of your course if it is up to 12 months long, or for the academic year for courses that are longer than a year.
You must hold comprehensive health insurance for the duration of your stay, as only residents and holders of two year or longer work permits are eligible for publicly funded health and disability services. You also have a legal obligation to be in New Zealand on a valid permit at all times. If you fail to remain in New Zealand lawfully you may be declined a visa to travel to the country in the future.
