New Zealand’s educational institutions are well regarded throughout the world. There is a great range of opportunities available to international students here: quality secondary school education, a well established network of English language schools, and internationally respected and recognised tertiary education providers.
Qualifications
New Zealand offers all levels of education, from certificates to doctoral degrees:
secondary school qualifications
Tertiary and industry qualifications
English language qualifications
Everyone who comes to study in New Zealand from overseas must meet certain rules and requirements. If you are coming to New Zealand to study for more than three months, you will need a student visa. In this section you can find out whether you need a visa, whether you’ll qualify, and what a student visa will allow you to do.
You don’t need a visa if you are a citizen of New Zealand or Australia, you hold a New Zealand residence class visa, or you are the holder of a current Australian permanent residence visa including a current Australian resident return visa. If there are conditions on your Australian permanent residence visa or resident return visa, then you will need to apply for a student visa.
If you want to undertake one or more short courses which are approved or exempted by New Zealand Qualifications Authority, for no more than three calendar months duration in total, you do not need a student visa or a variation of conditions.
If you hold a temporary visa that is valid for 24 months or more, you can study one or more courses for up to three months in total in each 12-month period.
Working Holiday Schemes
Participants of working holiday schemes may undertake one or more courses of study as long as the total duration of all of the courses undertaken does not exceed three or six months
depending on the scheme.
Exchange students
If you have been offered a place in an approved exchange scheme you may apply for a student visa for the duration of your exchange, provided you meet our health and character requirements and are a genuine exchange participant.
You must also provide evidence that you:
have been accepted into an approved student exchange scheme (from the scheme organiser), and
have onward travel arrangements for when your exchange scheme has finished.
You must apply for a student exchange visa before you travel to New Zealand. Only in very special circumstances (as determined by Immigration New Zealand) will a student exchange visa be granted if you are already in New Zealand.
Use our free service to find out whether you could qualify for this visa. Fill out the assessment form. Make sure that all information provided is authentic in order to make a proper assessment.