New Zealand Student Visa
The New Zealand Student visapermits you to study in globally recognized universities or secondary schoolsthat offer certificates, degrees and diplomas that are accepted by the universities across the world. As an international student, you can be assured that you are safe and secured and well cared for in New Zealand. With the New Zealand Student visa opening avenues for quality education, you can find excellent job possibilities in the global market The relaxed pace of life helps you experience everything like culture, festivals, people, food, sports, and so on. To help you get global qualifications, you can apply for any of the following New Zealand Student visa:
- Fee Paying Student Visa
- Exchange Student Visa
- Foreign Government Supported Student Visa
- Dependent Child Student Visa
- Pathway Student Visa
General Eligibility Criteria for New Zealand Student Visa
You need to fulfill the following general requirements for acquiring any of the above types of New Zealand Student visa.
Proof of Identity: You need to provide for the identity purpose:
- The certified or original copy of your valid passport. Where you have a certificate of identity issued by the government in your country to help you travel, you can produce that. It is advisable to furnish the original copy of your passport for quick processing.
- Two acceptable photographs in case of sending a paper application. In case you apply online, you need only one acceptable photograph.
Health: The New Zealand Immigration requires you to be in good health by complying with the health requirements, which is having chest X-ray or medical examination. Nevertheless, you need not have a chest X-ray if you are:
- From a country, where you are residing for less than 6 months
- A foreign fee paying student staying in a country, with a low incidence of TB, for over 6 months. Where you are from a country with a high incidence of TB, you cannot have stayed there for more than 3 months in the last 5 years.
Furthermore, you need not have a medical examinationif you have not:
- used intravenous drugs
- had a blood transfusion
- been exposed to infectious disease
- been asked to produce the medical certificate
Character: In case you will stay in New Zealand for more than 24 months, you must submit a police certificate if you are 17 years or more from:
- Your native country
- Any other country where you have stayed more than 5 years since becoming 17
Where you have submitted a police certificate with the visa application sent earlier and if the certificate was issued in the last 24 months, then you do not have to provide one.
You are considered to be of good character if you do not have serious character issues like:
- You are convicted of an offence and sentenced to an imprisonment for a term of 5 years or more.
- You are convicted of an offence in the last 10 years and sentenced to an imprisonment for a term of 12 months or longer.
- You are forbidden from entering New Zealand.
- You have ever been deported, removed or excluded from any country.
Bona fide: You must have genuine intention of traveling to New Zealand for visiting the country and meet all the visa conditions. The immigration New Zealand will assess you to see whether you are bona fide by having all information in support of your claims in the application and about your personal circumstances.
Funds: You must show that you have enough money to live on while in New Zealand. As evidence you must provide:
- A proof of having enough money of NZ $15,000 for a full year of study or NZ $1250 per month until the time you will stay in New Zealand.
- Documents in support of your payment of living costs.
- A ‘Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry’ filled in by an acceptable sponsor.
- A ‘Financial Undertaking for a Student’ form filled in by you.
Onward Travel: This New Zealand Student visa also requires you to have a ticket to leave the country or a sponsorship for onward travel expenses. You have to submit any of the following evidence:
- The travel ticket, or
- Sufficient money to buy a ticket to travel out of New Zealand. You must also provide evidence of having additional money to live in New Zealand.
- A Sponsorship for Temporary Entry from an acceptable sponsor.
Medical and Travel Insurance: The New Zealand Student visa also requires you to have full medical and travel insurance for the period of time you are in New Zealand
- Your visa application must have a declaration that you agree to have insurance.
- The insurance policy must provide you coverage from the time you are in New Zealand until the time you leave after your course.
- Your insurance policy must cover:
- Travel to and from New Zealand, as well as travel within and outside New Zealand in case traveling is a part of the course.
- Medical care which includes prescription, diagnosis, surgery and hospitalization in New Zealand.
- Any transportation costs incurred because of serious injury or illness out of New Zealand. The costs must cover the cost of travel of family members accompanying for assisting the student.
- Death, which includes the family members’ travel expenses to and from New Zealand, repatriation costs and funeral expenses.
Students of Doctor of Philosophy are not required to have insurance.
Parent or Legal Guardian: Where you will not live in an NZQA approved school hostel, you must have a parent or legal guardian accompanying you if you are 9 years or younger. Such being a case, you must furnish evidence supporting that your parent or legal guardian has the right to take care of you and cares for you in your native country. The supporting evidence must include:
- The copy of passport of your parent or guardian or the residence document showing your stay with them in your native country.
- Documents showing payment of fees or education expenses
- Documents or educational records that demonstrate their responsibility for your education.
The documents for evidence you may furnish include:
- Your birth certificate or adoption papers in case they are your parent.
- Court documents showing they are your guardian appointed by the court.
- Relevant legal documents showing them as a testamentary guardian (a guardian specified in your parents’ will).
The parent or legal guardian must hold a separate visa and accompany and take care of you while you study in New Zealand.
Permission to Work: If you want to work and you are 16 or 17 years or in years 12 or 13 of secondary school, you must get permission in writing to work. You can work up to 20 hours a week or full-time in the summer holidays provided you get permission from:
- Your parent or legal guardian
- Your approved education provider
Students, who are 18 years or older, can work without obtaining any permission to work.
Full-time Vacation Work Rights: Where the New Zealand Student visa, except the Dependent Student visa, allows you to work full-time in the holidays, you need to furnish evidence showing:
- The scheduled holidays by your approved education provider. They must be the same as given in your ‘offer of place’ document.
- Your course value, which is 120 credits as shown in the fee receipt or invoice or any document sent to you by the approved education provider.
Practical Experience (Optional):In case you need to undergo any practical work experience as a course requirement, you must provide evidence like:
- A letter stating the practical component requirement from the approved education provider.
- A course outline with the work experience requirement in the offer of place correspondence.
Get to Know the Types of New Zealand Visa
- Fee Paying Student Visa
The Fee Paying Student visa category under the New Zealand Student visa allows you to study full-time in New Zealand and apply for the visa from overseas. For the purpose, you have to join a course or courses paying the full cost with an approved education provider. This New Zealand Student visa allows you to acquire globally recognized qualifications through high-quality teaching. The following are the benefits of this visa:
- You can study full-time courses, which include school and tertiary (education which follows after secondary) education and English language.
- You can work part-time or full-time based on the visa conditions. As for the part-time, it is up to 20 hours a week, while in the holidays you can work full-time.
- You can live by yourself if you are of certain age; if not, the parent or guardian must accompany you.
The validity of the Fee Paying Student visa is up to 4 years. Your partner or children can accompany you depending on the relationship.
Additional Eligibility Requirements for Fee Paying Student Visa
This New Zealand Student visarequires you to fulfill the additional eligibility criteria, other than the general ones,given below:
Offer of Place: An approved education provider must have given you an offer for place, which must contain:
- The course name and the period of time it is for
- Confirmation of tuition fees payable by New Zealand Aid
- Details of your study whether it is full-time or part-time or as a correspondence student or distance learning
- The dates of all the scheduled holidays of the course, where it is more than one academic year. The academic year includes of that of a primary or secondary school or tertiary education provider approved by the New Zealand’s Ministry of Education or New Zealand Qualifications Authority.
- Confirmation that your accommodation conforms to the “Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students”.
The other requirements with regard to the Offers of place are the signed declaration from your approved education provider ensuring that they have conducted an assessment and are satisfied with:
- The programme offered is appropriate and meets your expectations
- Your English language skills and academic ability to succeed
Tuition Fees: You need to pay the tuition fees and support it with any of the evidence like:
- The approved education provider’s letter stating that the fees are paid or no fees have to be paid if they are exempted.
- The education provider’s confirmation that they expect to receive the fee and your evidence of application for the home country government loan.
- Your confirmation of joining a bachelor’s degree programme or higher at a Private Training Establishment (PTE), as well as your evidence of application for the home country government loan.
- The education provider’s offer of scholarship.
Where you join multiple courses or a single course for more than a year, the evidence showing your financial status for paying the first year or course tuition fees and your arrangement to pay the fees for the following years must be provided.
Already Have a Student Visa: Where you are holding a Student visa and are applying for another Student visa, you need to furnish the evidence of your previous performance, attendance and progress in the course. For the purpose you can send the photocopies of:
- Academic transcripts
- Attendance
- A letter given by your approved education provider
2. Exchange Student Visa
The New Zealand Exchange Student visa allows you to study full-time in New Zealand if you come under an approved student exchange scheme and reside outside New Zealand.By this, you can enjoy high-quality education and obtain qualifications that are globally recognized. Thiscategory of New Zealand Student visa considers you as a domestic student and hence, you need not pay any fees for the courses you are studying. The validity of the visa is up to 4 years.
The advantages of Exchange Student visa are:
- You can pursue a full-time education in New Zealand through a school-to-school exchange or tertiary exchange or exchange program organization scheme.
- Work part-time 20 hours a week or full-time in the holidays while studying; however, it depends on your age and length of the course of study.
- You need not pay the tuition fees since you are deemed as a domestic student.
Essential Eligibility Requirements for Exchange Student Visa
This New Zealand Student visarequires you to fulfill the additional eligibility criteria, other than the general ones, given below:
Approved Exchange Scheme: You need to provide details to show that, you are accepted to the approved student exchange scheme, which is a system or a scheme approved by the New Zealand Immigration and New Zealand Ministry of Education that allow students from abroad to pursue education in a school or training institute in the country.
To get approval from the scheme, it is inevitable to have proper arrangements for accommodation, wellbeing, and protection of the concerned student and the dependents, if any.
Location: The New Zealand immigration will check the records to ensure that you are from outside New Zealand.
- Foreign Government Supported Student Visa
The Foreign Government Supported Student visa that comes under the New Zealand Student visaallows you to study full-time for more than 3 months if you possess a foreign government loan or scholarship. The evidence showing that your fees will be paid by scholarship or loan must be furnished. With this visa, you stand to gain the following benefits.
- Undergo full-time course that includes school or tertiary education and English language study in New Zealand. However, this course must be stated in the visa.
- Take part-time job up to 20 hours while studying or full-time job in the holidays based on the conditions stated in the visa
- Live by yourself if you are above certain age.
According to the Foreign Government Supported Student visa, your country must have an education agreement with New Zealand to help you apply for it.The validity period of the visa is up to 4 years.
Essential Eligibility Requirements for Foreign Government Supported Student Visa
This New Zealand Student visarequires you to fulfill the additional eligibility criteria given below:
Offer of Place: An approved education provider must have given you an offer for place, which must contain:
- The course name and the period of time it is for
- Confirmation of tuition fees payable by New Zealand Aid
- Details of your study whether it is full-time or part-time or as a correspondence student or distance learning
- The dates of all the scheduled holidays of the course, where it is more than one academic year. The academic year includes of that of a primary or secondary school or tertiary education provider approved by the New Zealand’s Ministry of Education or New Zealand Qualifications Authority.
The other requirements with regard to the Offers of place are the signed declaration from your approved education provider ensuring that they have conducted an assessment and are satisfied with:
- The programme offered is appropriate and meets your expectations
- Your English language skills and academic ability to succeed
Foreign Government Support: This category of New Zealand Student visa requires you to produce a letter showing the government support from your home country. There must be an education agreement between your government and New Zealand and a letter detailing the terms of support must be issued and it must:
- Agree to pay your education fee to the provider.
- Agree to pay your living expenses in New Zealand.
- Affirm that you are of good character
Already Have a Student Visa: Where you are holding a Student visa and are applying for another Student visa, you need to furnish the evidence of your previous performance, attendance and progress in the course. For the purpose you can send the photocopies of:
- Academic transcripts
- Attendance
- A letter given by your approved education provider
Accommodation: Where you are under 18 years, you need to meet certain requirements with regard to accommodation. You must furnish a statement from your education provider that they are the signatory to the “Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students”.
Medical Insurance: A declaration to have a medical insurance until your stay in New Zealand must be provided in your visa application.
- Dependent Child Student Visa
The Dependent Child Student visa category under the New Zealand Student visa is meant for the dependent children of certain types of work and student visa holders. The visa allows them to study in a primary or secondary school free of cost. The benefits of this visa are:
- You can be with your parents while they work or study in New Zealand
- You can have education in a primary or secondary school, thereby gaining access to the high-quality of education system in New Zealand
- You do not have to pay any tuition fees for you are considered as a domestic student.
The validity of the Dependent Child Student visa is until the time of the validity of the parent’s visa. Nevertheless, dependent children must be 19 years and under.
When the parents enrolled for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programme and those on an approved student exchange scheme are only eligible to have their children stay with them on a Dependent Child Student visa, the following work visa holders are not eligible to bring their children to New Zealand under this visa.
- Working Holiday Scheme
- Foreign crew of fishing vessels
- Supplementary Seasonal Employer (SSE) Instructions
- Recognized Seasonal Employer (RSE) Work Instructions
- Silver Fern Job Search Instructions
- Skilled Migrant Category Job Search Instructions
- Domestic staff of diplomatic, counselor or official staff
- Undertaking low-skilled employment under Essential Skills Work visa
Essential Eligibility Requirements for Dependent Child Student Visa
The additional eligibility criteria for the Dependent Child Student visaother than the general ones are given below:
New Zealand Immigration Status: Your parents must have a suitable student or work visa to make you eligible for this type of New Zealand Student visa.
Dependent Child: To be eligible for this visa, you must be financially dependent on your parent. You are considered dependent if:
- You are 17 years or under
- You are 18-19 and have no children of your own
Where you are 17 years or under, you need not provide any evidence in support of the financial support you receive. In case you are 18-19 years old, you need to furnish:
- School receipts that show the day-to-day expenses like food, clothes and phone paid
- Bank statements showing the allowance paid and other big expenses incurred for you by parents
Relationship to Your Parents: You must furnish evidence of your relationship to your parents and it can be through:
- Birth certificates
- Adoption papers
- Any other documents that shows and affirm your relationship to them
Custody of 15 years and under Children: This New Zealand Student visa allows your parents to have the legal right to take or remove you from the home country. This happens if your parents are divorced or separated and one of them furnishes legal documents showing that he/she:
- has the sole right in deciding where the children should live
- can remove the children from the home country
- the custody of the children and move to New Zealand on the other parent’s permission and approval of the visa application
Health Care: Your health care cost must be met in case you are not entitled to free health care or medical assistance. A declaration must be given by the parent in the visa application to take care of the heath of the dependent child in New Zealand. However, it is advisable to have a full medical insurance for the children for the period of time they stay in New Zealand.
Minimum Income: Where your parent is in New Zealand on Essential Skills Work Visa or Religious Workers Visa, he/she is required to earn a minimum of NZ $37,090.68 yearly before tax. The following documents in evidence of it must be furnished:
- pay slips, tax records, or employment agreements showing your salary or wages
- a completed ‘Sponsorship Form of Temporary Entry’ by the religious organization who sponsor you under the Religious Worker work visa.
Approval to Study: If you are a dependent child of a consular, diplomatic, or official staff, you need to have approval from New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Protocol Division confirming the approval to study in New Zealand.
- Pathway Student Visa
The Pathway Student visa is a single student visa that permits you to study up to three successive courses in New Zealand. However, you have to get from your Pathway education provider a Pathway Student Visa offer of place and have enough money to pay the tuition fees. The validity of the visa is up to 5 years. This category of New Zealand Student visa offers you the following benefits:
- Join and study up to 3 courses in succession on a single student visa
- Work part-time 20 hours a week or full-time in the holidays while studying
Essential Eligibility Requirements for Pathway Student Visa
You need to fulfill the other following eligibility criteria to acquire this New Zealand Student visa.
Study Pathways: The Pathway education provider(s) must have proposed you a valid study pathway through a letter that:
- Lay out the courses to make your study pathway
- Lay out the starting and ending dates of every course offered
Written Proposal: Where your Pathway education providers are more than one, then you need furnish a joint cover letter, which must contain:
- The course details like the name, starting and ending dates, etc., of each course in your study pathway.
- Signatures of the Pathway education providers, who come under your study pathway.
Offer of Place: An approved education provider must have given you an offer for place, which must contain:
- The course name and the length of time it is for
- Details of your study whether it is full-time or part-time or as a correspondence student or distance learning
- The dates of all the scheduled holidays of the course, where it is more than one academic year. The academic year includes of that of a primary or secondary school or tertiary education provider approved by the New Zealand’s Ministry of Education or New Zealand Qualifications Authority.
- Confirmation that your accommodation conforms to the “Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students” if you are under 18.
The other requirements with regard to the Offers of place are the signed declaration from your approved education provider ensuring that they have conducted an assessment and are satisfied with:
- The programme offered is appropriate and meets your expectations
- Your English language skills and academic ability to succeed
Tuition Fees: The Pathway Student visa requires you to have sufficient money to pay your tuition fees for the first year or first course of study, whichever is shorter. You must furnish evidence for this, as well as for your ability to pay for the rest of the courses in the pathway. As for the evidence, you may provide any of the following:
- Your savings that can be used to pay the fees
- A letter showing the fee payment or exemption from paying fees from the pathway provider.
- Evidence of applying for the government loan in your home country and confirmation of expecting to receive the tuition fees from the pathway education provider.
- Your confirmation of joining a bachelor’s degree programme or higher at a Private Training Establishment (PTE), as well as your evidence of application for the home country government loan.
- The education provider’s confirmation of tuition fees to be paid through New Zealand Aid.
Already Possess a Student Visa: Where you are holding a Student visa and are applying for another Student visa, you need to furnish the evidence of your previous performance, attendance and progress in the course. For the purpose you can send the photocopies of:
- Academic transcripts
- Attendance
- A letter given by your approved education provider
Processing Time for New Zealand Student Visa
The processing time of theNew Zealand Student visa depends on your application submitted online or offline. Where you have made an online submission, the visa is issued within 20 working days provided you satisfy all the eligibility conditions provided above. In case of a paper submission, the processing time is 25 days. However, it depends much on the time you take to produce supporting documents and any additional information to the immigration office.
Cost for the New Zealand Student Visa
The cost for the New Zealand Student visa varies based on the application submitted online or by paper.
For online application:
The cost for the visa is NZD $270, including an immigration levy. You have to pay an additional receiving center fee of 665 – 1485 INR to the Visa Application Center (VAC) for handling your visa.
For paper application:
The visa application through paper submission costs 14300 INR and it includes the immigration levy too. Moreover, you need to pay the Visa Application Center (VAC) service fee of 1000 – 1770 INR while submitting the application.
Other Costs
You may also have to pay costs related to health examinations and police certificate which may differ from country to country.
Our Professional Services Fee
It depends on the type of the visa and the work involved from our end.
Get the Help of Licensed Immigration Experts
To have the New Zealand Student visa granted, it is advisable and essential to find the service of an immigration and visa consultant, which is licensed by the Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA) to immigrate to New Zealand from India. We, at Immigration Help, have specialist expertise in dealing with temporary visa and permanent residency in New Zealand. Being a professional in the field, we assure you that we meet the competency standards laid by the New Zealand government. We can help you with the following:
- Explore all the possibilities of your visa options and choose the appropriate visa for easy New Zealand Migration.
- Help you with all the eligibility requirements for the New Zealand Student visa.
- Assist you throughout the visa process until you reach New Zealand.
- Provide you timely updates on the New Zealand immigration rules and processing time for New Zealand immigration from India.
- Assess your situation and advise you whether you can appeal a declined visa.
For Assistance and Guidance You Can Contact Immigration Help
Immigration Help can handle New Zealand immigration from India process for you at anytime as a professional and reliable consultant. We are recognized as the best and only licensed immigration consultants for Australia / New Zealand / Canada providing immigration advice. We assist you with easy New Zealand immigration by offering various New Zealand visa services and choosing the appropriate New Zealand Studentvisa. Our extensive knowledge and expertise in the field will help through the New Zealand Student visa procedure by meeting the New Zealand visa requirements. With years of experience in New Zealand immigration consultancy services and wide knowledge of New Zealand immigration new rules, and New Zealand Student visa eligibility, we have proved to be the most sought-after and dependable Immigration Consultants in Delhi for New Zealand.Being a licensed New Zealand Immigration Advisers Authority (IAA) agent, we take pride in having most of our clients completely satisfied, working with us for their New Zealand Student visas.Our knowledge and competence in the field combined with the core values of commitment, compassion and care has helped us give cent percent result when it comes to filing the application and meeting the New Zealand immigration rules and New Zealand visa requirements for Indians.If you are looking fora suitable Student Visa to New Zealand from India and are not aware of the New Zealand visa procedure, our New Delhi visa office can help you.
If you are looking for genuine immigration consultants for Australia/New Zealand/Canada who can be of assistance in every step of Australia/New Zealand/Canada Immigration, you can contact Immigration Help at 7011601133 (India) / 0433303774 (Australia) / +614 333 037 74 (outside Australia) or drop an email at: contact@myimmigrationhelp.comor directly interact with the expert through our Live Chat window.