Apply for a New Zealand Student Visa and Complete Your Higher Studies

Updated on Jan 08, 2025 | New Zealand eTA

Has it been your lifelong dream to study abroad? While this is truly an exciting step and a stepping stone for success, the procedure can make you a little overwhelmed. New Zealand, popularly known as ‘The Land of the Kiwis’, opens its doors to international students, and how! With a large number of institutions offering enrolments to foreign students, you can complete your higher studies from here. First, you need to get a student visa.

Why Do You Need a Student Visa?

This is an important step. You have to understand the protocol, prerequisites, eligibility criteria, and remuneration as you apply for a New Zealand visa for approval. Sounds confusing? Well, worry not, as this blog will unravel the knots and let you understand the visa acquiring process in simpler terms.

Take certain factors into account when you apply for a student visa. Know about the types of visas available, obligatory records, application conditions, expenses, visa progression, and entry requisites that are specific to the country you are coming from.

The student visa will give you wings to reach any prestigious university in New Zealand and pass from there with flying colors!

Types of New Zealand Student Visas

If you are an international student and have been wanting to study abroad, you need to apply for a New Zealand visa. According to the terms of the visa, the individual can remain in the country as long as the course lasts. Besides this, one lucrative aspect of the student visa is that it allows the person to pursue any part-time job apart from studying.

There are different types of the student visas, each with its own processing time and duration. The fee will vary depending on which country you are coming from, your passport, to which university you got admission, and whether you wish for online or offline semesters:

As each type has different flexibility measures, select yours carefully before applying. The right kind will meet your diverse preferences. For more information about the cost of your visa, you can always check out the New Zealand Immigration website.

Fee Paying Student Visa

  • Duration: 4 years of studying full-time
  • Ability to Work: Part-time employments (weekdays 20 hours weekdays, holidays full day)
  • Approximate Processing Time: 45 weekdays

Exchange Student Visa

  • Duration: 4 years of getting to study full-time
  • Ability to Work: Part-time employments (weekdays 20 hours weekdays, holidays full day)
  • Approximate Processing Time: 23 weekdays

Foreign Government Supported Student Visa

  • Duration: 4 years of full-time study
  • Ability to Work: Part-time employments (weekdays 20 hours weekdays, holidays full day)
  • Approximate Processing Time: 27 weekdays

Pathway Student Visa

  • Duration: 5 years of studying and completing up to 3 consecutive courses
  • Ability to Work: Part-time employments (weekdays 20 hours weekdays, holidays full day)
  • Approximate Processing Time: 45 weekdays

Visitor Visa

  • Duration: 3 months of studying
  • Ability to Work: No permission to work
  • Approximate Processing Time: 38 weekdays

Vocational Trainee Student Visa

  • Duration: 12 months or as long as the program takes to end
  • Ability to Work: Part-time employments (weekdays 20 hours weekdays, holidays full day)
  • Approximate Processing Time: 27 weekdays

MFAT-Funded NZ Scholarship Student Visa

  • Duration: 4 years of studying
  • Ability to Work: Part-time employments (weekdays 20 hours weekdays, holidays full day)
  • Approximate Processing Time: 27 weekdays

Student and Trainee Work Visa (apply if you are above 16 years of age)

  • Duration: 6 months - 4 years according to the duration of the course
  • Ability to Work: Can work for the New Zealand trainer in the context of work that was informed at the time of visa application
  • Approximate Processing Time: 35 weekdays

New Zealand also offers other types of visas for those wishing to study in the country. But these are applicable to certain nationalities only.

There are also some others that apply only to certain situations. These are:

Guardian of a Student Visitor Visa

  • Duration: Same as the student you are the guardian of
  • Ability to Work: Yes
  • Approximate Processing Time: Mostly within 5 weeks

Trafficking Child Victim Student Visa

  • Duration: 12 months
  • Ability to Work: Yes
  • Approximate Processing Time: High priority

Trafficking Child Victim Visitor Visa

  • Duration: 12 months
  • Ability to Work: Part-time work after school if the child is 16-17 years old
  • Approximate Processing Time: High priority

Dependent Child Student Visa

  • Duration: Duration of the parents stay
  • Ability to Work: Can study in primary and secondary levels
  • Approximate Processing Time: Mostly within 8 weeks

Child of a Refugee Claimant Student Visa

  • Duration: 4 years
  • Ability to Work: N/A
  • Approximate Processing Time: Within 3 weeks

Occupational Registration Visitor Visa

  • Duration: Up to 3 months
  • Ability to Work: Yes
  • Approximate Processing Time: Mostly within 4 weeks

Eligibility Requirements

Before you go to New Zealand, you must meet a few eligibility criteria. The requirements are as follows:

  • Show a passport that possesses validity for the entire duration of your stay in the country. There should be a remaining validity of six months from the time your course ends.
  • State clearly from where you have received the admission offer. Remember that the offer must be without any conditions. Show proof of good health and character. As proof, you can present police certification and medical examination tests.
  • There should be enough funds to sustain your stay and academic journey throughout the course. Submit bank statements or any other financial records as proof. In case someone other than you is paying, show proof in that favor.
  • The candidate must be fluent in English. You are required to pass examinations like IELTS or TOEFL. You can find the accepted scores here.
  • Foreign students should hold comprehensive coverage for travel and health insurance.

Documents that You Need to Show

True, this may seem like a ship full of documents! But having the right documents at the time of the interview makes the approval process easier. Getting a student visa approved is a little trickier than a regular tourist visa because the individual intends to stay longer in the country. And this means that you need to have substantial proof in hand to put your intentions clearly on the table.

Keep the following documents while applying for a New Zealand visa:

  • A filled-out application form
  • A valid passport with a minimum of three months from the duration of the intended stay
  • An official acceptance letter from the university
  • Enough proof of funds that speak in favor of covering your staying expenses like living expenses, tuition fees, and return travel
  • Confirmation or valid receipt that shows that you have paid your tuition fees
  • Documentation verifying your source of income (for this, you can show payslips, bank statements, or tax returns)
  • Academic transcripts or qualification certificates Proof of employment history like employment letters or payslips
  • Enough funds to sustain your stay (you might need around NZ$ 20,000 to study in this country for a full year or NZ$ 1,250 per month). Proof that you have a financial guarantor (any legal document)
  • Intention that proves you are leaving New Zealand after the course is over
  • A police certificate to ensure good character (this is needed for someone above the age of 18 years who wants to stay in the country for more than a year)
  • X-ray certificates or proof of undergoing a thorough medical check-up that testifies to your good health
  • Travel and medical insurance papers
  • Proof that you intend to comply with all rules as per the student visa in New Zealand

Last but not least, you will have to appear for an interview before the visa gets approved. Make sure to exhibit your confident self and answer all questions with the truth. Incorrect information will get you nowhere; you will only end up with the visa being denied.

All Set to Study in New Zealand?

The time has finally come for you to get admission to the university of your dreams abroad. Apply for the New Zealand visa and get it approved by following the right procedure. A successful application will enable you to complete your higher studies in the country without any hassle. Once you are done with the visa approval process, all you have to do is focus on your studies and ace the exams! If you are stuck in the application process, fill in the form at the HelpDesk!

Ensure that you have checked the eligibility for your Online New Zealand Visa. Finnish citizens, Portuguese citizens, British citizens, Swiss citizens and Norwegian citizens can apply online for New Zealand eTA.

 
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