English Language Student Visa

At a Glance

Item	Details
Visa name	English Language Student Visa
Purpose	Full-time English language study
Stay	Up to 4 years
Cost	From NZD $850
Processing	80% within 8.5 weeks
Apply timing	Apply 3 months before travel
Study	Full-time approved English course
Work rights	Up to 25 hours weekly
Holiday work	Full-time, if visa permits
Medicare	Not stated in the source
Health care	Insurance required; public care possible
Travel facility	Multiple entry if granted
Citizenship	Not stated in the source
Family sponsorship	Partner and children apply separately
Visa record	eVisa issued if approved
Application method	Online only

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Purpose

This visa allows you to study a full-time English language course in New Zealand with an approved education provider.

Your provider must be a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021.

Stay

Your visa is normally granted for:

• The period of study you have paid for, or
• Until your passport expires, if earlier.

The maximum stay is 4 years. You must leave New Zealand before the visa expires.

If approved while outside New Zealand, the visa starts when you enter New Zealand. If approved in New Zealand, it starts on the date it is granted.

Cost and Processing

• Cost: from NZD $850.
• Processing: 80% of applications within 8.5 weeks.
• International students are strongly encouraged to apply 3 months before intended travel.

Costs and processing information may vary by nationality and application location.

Eligibility

You must:

• Have an offer of place on a full-time English language course from an approved provider.
• Have enough money to pay tuition fees, or hold a scholarship.
• Have enough money for living costs, or an acceptable sponsor.
• Be in good health and of good character.
• Genuinely intend to study in New Zealand.
• Show you can leave New Zealand when your stay ends.
• Hold full medical and travel insurance throughout your stay.

If applying from outside New Zealand, a conditional offer of place may be accepted initially. An unconditional offer is required before the visa can be approved.

Tuition Fees

Unless exempt, you must show that you have paid tuition fees for:

• One course, or
• One year of study,

whichever is shorter.

If applying from outside New Zealand, you may wait to pay fees until approval in principle. This can lengthen processing because payment evidence is required before visa issue.

For study lasting more than one year, a credible plan to fund later tuition fees and living costs can strengthen the application.

Living Funds

If paying for yourself, you must show access to:

• NZD $20,000 for each year of study, or
• NZD $1,667 for each month if studying less than one year.

The funds must be from a genuine source that Immigration New Zealand can verify.

Acceptable evidence may include bank statements, paid accommodation costs, scholarships, education loans, or fixed-term deposits.

Sponsors and Guarantors

An acceptable sponsor may be an organisation or an individual. An individual sponsor must be a family member or friend. Provide the sponsor’s sharing ID.

A guarantor may be an organisation or, if an individual, a relative or friend. The guarantor must complete a Financial Undertaking for a Student form (INZ 1014) and show they have their own available funds.

If applying for a further student visa in New Zealand, you can only be sponsored if your first student visa was sponsored by the same person or organisation.

For citizens of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal or Bhutan applying from those countries, only immediate family may sponsor or provide a financial undertaking.

Leaving New Zealand

You must show that you can leave New Zealand at the end of your stay. Provide either:

• An onward or return ticket to a country you may enter, or
• Evidence of enough money to buy one.

This money must be additional to your required living funds. A sponsor or guarantor may agree to cover onward travel.

Health and Character

You must be in good health. Immigration New Zealand may require a medical examination, chest X-ray, or both.

Health evidence must be less than 3 months old when received.

If staying more than 6 months, you need a chest X-ray if you are from, or recently spent more than 3 months in, a country without a low incidence of tuberculosis.

You may need police certificates if you are aged 17 or older and your total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or longer. Certificates must:

• Be less than 6 months old when submitted.
• Cover countries of citizenship.
• Cover countries where you lived more than 5 years since age 17.

Applications may be declined or granted for a shorter period without required police certificates.

Students Under 10

If you are under 10 and will not live in an NZQA-approved school hostel, you must:

• Be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, and
• Live with that parent or guardian while studying.

The parent or legal guardian must apply separately for their own visa and prove they have the legal right to care for you.

Work Rights

Your visa may allow you to work:

• Up to 25 hours per week while studying.
• Full-time during scheduled holidays, including Christmas and New Year holidays.

Check your visa conditions before working.

Students aged 15 or younger cannot work on a student visa.

If you are aged 16 or 17 at a tertiary provider, or in years 12 or 13 at school, you need written work permission from both:

• Your parent or legal guardian, and
• Your approved education provider.

To receive full-time holiday work rights, provide evidence that your course:

• Is worth 120 credits, and
• Has scheduled holiday dates.

If you work in New Zealand, you must pay tax and obtain an IRD number.

Study Conditions and Obligations

You must:

• Attend the course named on your visa, unless you have a good reason for absence.
• Make satisfactory academic progress.
• Keep full medical and travel insurance for your entire stay.
• Pay for health care or medical assistance received, unless eligible for public health care.
• Continue to meet visa conditions.

If applying for another student visa, provide evidence of previous performance, progress and attendance. Explain any failure to meet attendance or performance requirements.

Travel

You may travel in and out of New Zealand only if your visa has valid multiple-entry travel conditions.

If you leave New Zealand without multiple-entry travel conditions, your visa will expire. Your travel conditions appear in your visa letter or visa label.

Family

You cannot include your partner or dependent children in this visa application.

They may apply for visas based on their relationship to you.

Required Documents

Provide:

• Passport or travel document information-page scan.
• One acceptable photo.
• Offer of place, or enrolment confirmation for returning students.
• Tuition-fee payment evidence, exemption evidence, or evidence you can pay.
• Living-fund evidence, sponsor sharing ID, or guarantor’s INZ 1014 form.
• Evidence of onward travel or funds for a ticket.
• Medical or chest X-ray evidence, if required.
• Police certificates, if required.
• Evidence of guardianship, if travelling with a parent or legal guardian.
• Work permissions and course-holiday information, if seeking work rights.

Your passport or certificate of identity must remain valid for at least 3 months after your planned departure from New Zealand.

Police and medical certificates not in English require certified English translations. Translated copies of other non-English evidence may help avoid processing delays.

How to Apply

1. Obtain an offer of place from an approved education provider.
2. Gather identity, course, fee, fund, health, character and onward-travel evidence.
3. Apply online through Immigration New Zealand.
4. Upload documents and pay the applicable fee.
5. Respond to any requests for further information.
6. Check application status online.

Paper applications are no longer accepted.

If approved, Immigration New Zealand issues an eVisa.

Arrival Requirements

Before arrival, complete a New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD):

• By air: from 24 hours before your journey begins.
• By sea: from 24 hours before the ship leaves its last overseas port.

At arrival, you may need to show:

• Your onward ticket, funds for one, or sponsor agreement.
• Proof of enough money for living expenses.

You may be refused entry permission if you no longer have genuine intentions, no longer meet character requirements, have changed circumstances, refuse biometric collection, or cannot show you intend to leave New Zealand.