Last updated: September 27, 2026
Most students pick their New Zealand course first and think about work rights later. That order is backwards: the course you choose, its level, and how long you study decide what you can do after graduation — up to three years of open work rights, or nothing at all. This guide covers the student visa and every post-study option, including two new pathways opening on November 16, 2026.
The Fee Paying Student Visa: what it actually is
The main student visa for international students is the Fee Paying Student Visa, handled by Immigration New Zealand (INZ). It lets you study full-time at an approved provider — a university, polytechnic, institute of technology, or private training establishment. The visa is normally issued for the period of study you have paid for, up to a maximum of four years, and it allows multiple entries.
You can apply with a conditional offer of place: INZ can assess and approve it in principle, but needs an unconditional offer before issuing the visa. From outside New Zealand you may also wait to pay tuition until that approval — though it slows processing. Full requirements are on INZ’s Fee Paying Student Visa page.
What you need to qualify
An offer of place and first-year tuition
You need an offer from an INZ-approved provider stating the course name, length, full-time status, and scheduled holiday dates for courses over one academic year. The provider must be a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021, the framework protecting international students.
You must show you can pay tuition for one course or one year of study, whichever is shorter — usually a receipt or letter from the provider. For longer courses you do not need the full multi-year amount now, but a credible funding plan for later years, such as evidence of family income, strengthens your application.
Living funds: NZD 20,000 per year
INZ requires NZD 20,000 for each year of tertiary study of one year or more, or NZD 1,667 per month for shorter courses. That covers living costs only — tuition and return airfare are separate, and you must show airfare money on top.
Accepted evidence includes bank statements, scholarship letters, education loan sanction letters, fixed-term deposits, and sponsor or guarantor documents. Sponsors must be a family member or friend (or an organization), with a specific online sponsorship process. One restriction matters for this site’s readers: applicants from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, or Bhutan can only be sponsored by immediate family — partner, parents, siblings, grandparents, parents-in-law. Citizens of China, India, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam may also use the Funds Transfer Scheme.
Health, character, and insurance
Staying more than six months as a citizen of a country without low tuberculosis incidence means a chest X-ray; twelve months or more normally means a full medical certificate — both from an approved panel physician, with certificates less than three months old. If you are 17 or older and your total New Zealand stay will reach 24 months, you need police certificates (under six months old) from every country of citizenship and every country you have lived in for five or more years since turning 17.
Full medical and travel insurance is a condition of the visa, from course start to visa expiry — your provider will specify or arrange it. The only general exception is PhD students.
Genuine intention to study
INZ weighs everything you provide, your personal circumstances, and anything you have told them before. English test results are not mandatory for the visa itself but can help — and your provider will have its own English requirements regardless. The course should connect logically to your education or work history; a statement of purpose explaining that link is worth the effort.
Your passport must be valid for at least three months beyond your planned departure date.
What it costs and how long it takes
The application currently totals around NZD 750 for most offshore applicants (fee plus levy), plus a Visa Application Centre service fee where you apply through a VAC. Confirm the exact figure for your nationality on INZ’s official fee tool before paying.
Processing times vary by nationality and season, with longer waits before the February and July intakes. INZ publishes current estimates per office. Apply at least three months before your course starts — longer for complex cases.
Working while you study
Student visa holders can generally work up to 25 hours per week during term and full-time in scheduled holidays. The 25-hour limit has applied since November 2025; the older 20-hour figure on outdated pages is stale. For full-time holiday work, your course must be worth 120 credits and you need to provide your course and holiday schedule. Practical work experience required by your course is separate and does not count against the 25 hours.
Students aged 15 or younger cannot work on a student visa. At 16 or 17 you need written permission from a parent or guardian and your provider for work rights to be granted; at 18 and over, none is needed. One warning INZ states plainly: if your main activity is work rather than study, you need a work visa. Treating the student visa as a back door to employment damages your immigration record fast.
After graduation: the Post-Study Work Visa
Post-study outcomes differ by qualification, so the tiers are worth understanding precisely. Full details are on INZ’s staying-to-work page.
How long you get depends on what you studied
The visa runs up to three years, and the length follows the qualification, as set out on INZ’s PSWV durations page:
- Master’s or doctoral degree (Levels 9–10), at least 30 weeks full-time in New Zealand: up to 3 years of open work rights — any job, anywhere, including self-employment.
- Bachelor’s degree (Level 7), at least 30 weeks full-time: a visa for the duration you spent studying, with open work rights.
- Graduate Diploma (Level 7): newly eligible from November 16, 2026 — see below.
- Non-degree Levels 4–7 on INZ’s eligible-qualifications list, studied full-time for the full qualification duration: a visa for the study duration, but the work must relate to what you studied.
The rules that catch people out
Apply no later than three months after your student visa ends (six months for doctoral graduates). You can only ever hold one Post-Study Work Visa — a previous one disqualifies you even after further study. And for non-degree qualifications at Level 7 or below, the work must relate to your field of study: the condition is enforced, not decorative.
PSWV holders can support partners and dependent children for visitor, work, or student visas, provided standard requirements are met. The application totals around NZD 1,670 (fee plus levy) — confirm the current figure on INZ’s site before applying.
New from November 16, 2026: Graduate Diploma holders become eligible
Until now, a Level 7 Graduate Diploma left many graduates with no post-study work pathway. From November 16, 2026, that changes for graduates who completed the diploma full-time in New Zealand for its full duration, with no cross-crediting or recognition of prior learning, and who also hold a bachelor’s degree — from New Zealand or overseas, with no time limit on when it was awarded.
The visa is issued for the time spent studying the Graduate Diploma, up to one year, with open work conditions. You will need the diploma certificate, your bachelor’s degree certificate, and an official transcript. No International Qualification Assessment is needed for overseas bachelor’s degrees, though INZ may check authenticity. A diploma holder without a bachelor’s degree qualifies only if that diploma is listed in Appendix 13 of the immigration manual — and the work must then be in the occupation named there. Announced on INZ’s news page on the new post-study options.
Also new from November 16, 2026: the Short-Term Graduate Work Visa
For graduates whose qualifications do not reach PSWV eligibility — typically certificates and diplomas at Levels 5 to 7 — a new Short-Term Graduate Work Visa offers up to six months of open work rights as a bridge to employer-sponsored options. The conditions: at least 24 weeks of full-time New Zealand study in a Level 5–7 qualification that does not qualify for a PSWV, application within three months of the student visa expiring, NZD 5,000 in funds, and meeting health and character requirements.
It is a one-time, non-renewable visa. Holders cannot run their own business and — unlike the PSWV — cannot support a partner or children for work or student visas. And if you hold it and later want to study again, you can only get a new student visa for a bachelor’s degree or higher qualification that leads to a PSWV.
Which path fits your qualification?
- Planning a Master’s or PhD: the strongest position — up to 3 years of unrestricted post-study work rights.
- Planning a bachelor’s degree: open work rights for the length of your study, with at least 30 weeks full-time in New Zealand.
- Planning a Graduate Diploma and you already hold a bachelor’s degree: from November 16, 2026, up to 1 year of open post-study work rights.
- Planning a vocational certificate or diploma (Levels 5–7) not on the PSWV list: from November 16, 2026, 6 months under the Short-Term Graduate Work Visa — a bridge to employer sponsorship, not a settlement pathway on its own.
- Planning a short English-language or foundation course: no post-study work pathway. Fine as a stepping stone to a higher qualification, but not an immigration plan.
Choosing a cheaper, shorter course to save money can cost you the entire post-study pathway.
What the first year actually costs: a realistic budget
For a single student on a one-year course:
- Tuition: varies widely by institution and program — check the exact figure on your offer of place.
- Living costs (INZ minimum): NZD 20,000.
- Student visa application: around NZD 750 plus any VAC service fee.
- Medical examinations and chest X-ray: varies by clinic and country.
- Health and travel insurance: arranged through or approved by your provider.
- Return airfare funds: shown separately from living costs.
Students who show the minimums with clean, traceable documentation move faster than those who show larger sums with unexplained deposits.
Applying, step by step
- Choose your course with the end in mind. Check where the qualification sits on the NZQCF and which post-study pathway it unlocks before paying anything.
- Get your offer of place with course details, fees, and holiday dates.
- Arrange your funds and their paper trail — at least NZD 20,000 per year for living, plus tuition and airfare money, with documents that explain every large deposit.
- Complete health checks with an INZ panel physician if your stay length requires them.
- Get police certificates if you are 17 or older and your total New Zealand stay will reach 24 months.
- Apply online through INZ — passport scan, photo, offer of place, financial evidence, insurance — and pay the fee.
- Submit biometrics at a Visa Application Centre if required for your country.
- Respond fast to any INZ queries. If approved in principle and you have not paid tuition yet, pay it and send the receipt to get the visa issued.
Can your family come with you?
Partners of students in higher-level qualifications may be eligible for a work visa for the duration of your study, and dependent children can attend school in some cases — but the rules depend on your qualification level and length of study. Verify the current partner and dependent-child rules on INZ before building them into your plan, and budget honestly: partners add to the funds equation.
From study to residence: the long view
The student visa is not a residence pathway by itself, but the chain is well established: study, then a Post-Study Work Visa, then skilled employment — often on an Accredited Employer Work Visa — and then residence through the Skilled Migrant Category or Green List pathways. Each link depends on the one before it. That is why the course choice at the start matters more than any single document in the application: a qualification that leads nowhere after graduation breaks the chain at its first link. For comparison, see our Canada student visa guide and our guide to Australia’s points-tested skilled migration system, which follows similar logic.
Common mistakes that slow or sink applications
Applying late. Three months before the course start is the minimum buffer; peak intakes stretch processing.
Unexplained money. The most common reason strong applications stall. Every large deposit needs a story backed by documents — salary slips, sale deeds, loan papers.
Ignoring study gaps. A multi-year gap is not fatal, but an unexplained one invites refusal. Address it directly in your statement of purpose.
Choosing a course that does not match your history. A commerce graduate enrolling in an unrelated Level 5 certificate with no explanation looks like a visa play, not a study plan.
Letting insurance lapse. Insurance is a visa condition; a gap in cover causes problems at renewal.
Missing the 3-month PSWV deadline. The Post-Study Work Visa window closes three months after your student visa ends. Graduates who travel home first and apply late discover this the hard way.
Frequently asked questions
How much money do I need to show for a New Zealand student visa?
At least NZD 20,000 per year for living costs (NZD 1,667 per month for courses under a year), plus tuition fees and separate money for return airfare. INZ examines where the funds came from, not just the balance.
Can I work while studying in New Zealand?
Yes — up to 25 hours per week during term and full-time in scheduled holidays. Students 15 or younger cannot work; 16- and 17-year-olds need written permission from a parent and the provider.
How long does the student visa take to process?
It varies by nationality and season. INZ publishes current estimates by office — check the official website for your country, and apply at least three months before your course begins.
Can my partner and children come with me?
Possibly. Partners of students in certain higher-level qualifications can get work visas, and dependent children may be able to attend school. Verify the current rules on INZ’s site and budget for the extra funds required.
What are my work options after graduation?
Graduates of bachelor’s degrees and above can get a Post-Study Work Visa (up to 3 years for Master’s/PhD graduates). From November 16, 2026, Graduate Diploma holders with a bachelor’s degree become eligible for up to 1 year, and a new Short-Term Graduate Work Visa gives Level 5–7 graduates up to 6 months as a bridge to employer-sponsored visas.
Does studying in New Zealand lead to permanent residence?
Not directly, but it is a recognized route: study, post-study work, skilled employment, then residence through the Skilled Migrant Category or Green List. The chain only works if your qualification leads to skilled work.
