Study in New Zealand – Visa information for international students

Study in New Zealand – Visa information for international students

If you’re an international student who wishes to travel to New Zealand, keep the following new mandates and exceptions in mind. If you have any other doubts, do connect with MWT Education Consultancy, the most reputed overseas education consultants in Kerala.

250 Ph.D and postgraduate students

If you are able to prove that you have NZD $15,000 per year for living costs, and hold, or have held, a visa to study in New Zealand, you could be nominated for an exception to border restrictions. Up to 250 PhD and postgraduate students may be eligible for this exception.

1,000 bachelor and postgraduate students

If you have been nominated by your education provider then you may be eligible for this exception to the border restrictions. Up to 1,000 bachelor and postgraduate students could be eligible under this category. Your education providers will work with the Ministry of Education to identify such eligible students.

The following conditions must be met.

1. You hold (or have held) a student visa to study in New Zealand that was valid in 2020, and
2. You have studied in New Zealand in 2019 or 2020. You intended to resume study in New Zealand in 2020, but the borders were closed due to the pandemic, and
3. You will be continuing to study the same bachelor’s degree or post-graduate qualification, at the same education provider, as you were previously studying in New Zealand, and
4. You are able to provide evidence that you have access to at least NZD $20,000 annually for living costs — or NZD $1,667 for each month of study if your programme of study is less than thirty-six weeks, and
5. You are able to provide evidence that you have additional money to pay for managed isolation and quarantine. In some cases, education providers may choose to assist students with some or all of these costs. Such charges are subject to change.

In these cases, your partners and dependants may be able to apply for a relationship-based visa, in line with current visa requirements. This will be on a case-to-case basis.

Student visa holders and applicants outside New Zealand

In view of the current situation, some students might decide to cancel or defer your study plans. Please contact your education provider for specific advice pertaining to your situation.

In case your visa application has not yet been processed you can contact the appropriate authorities to withdraw it. Such requests for visa application fee refunds will be considered on a case-by-case basis. At present, all student visa applicants who are outside New Zealand can study online without a visa. As soon as New Zealand’s border restrictions are lifted, you will be able to provide evidence of your online study to support your visa application. Even though you might have chosen to study online in your home country first, in order to be granted a student visa, you will still need to meet standard student visa requirements.