How to apply for a New Zealand student visa

At a glance

The process

Secure an offer of place from an INZ-approved education provider. You must be offered a place by an education provider approved by Immigration New Zealand — an unapproved provider will not support a student visa. The offer of place is the anchor document for the whole application and confirms your course, duration and tuition.

Arrange and season your funds (and check if INZ requires the Funds Transfer Scheme). Show NZD $20,000 per year of living costs for tertiary study on top of tuition, evidenced by bank statements with the last 3 months of transaction history, fixed-term deposits held at least 3 months, a scholarship letter, or a secured education loan. Indian students may be directed to the ANZ-operated Funds Transfer Scheme; be ready to explain the source of any recently opened account or large deposits (INZ flags deposits over NZD $2,000).

Pay tuition or evidence your ability to pay. Provide proof that tuition fees have been paid, that you can pay them, or that you are exempt. A tuition receipt from the provider is the cleanest evidence and materially strengthens the application.

Complete health checks with an INZ panel physician. Because India is not a low-TB-incidence country, a chest X-ray is required if you will stay more than 6 months, and is required for everyone staying more than 12 months. A full medical examination is required if you will stay more than 12 months. The chest X-ray certificate must be less than 3 months old when you apply.

Obtain police certificates if your total NZ stay will be 24 months or longer. INZ requires police certificates where your total time in New Zealand across all visits will be 24 months or more — this covers most Indian students on 2-3 year bachelor's or master's programmes. Certificates must be less than 6 months old at submission, and non-English documents need certified English translations.

Apply online through Immigration Online and pay the fee plus IVL. Submit the Fee Paying Student Visa application via your Immigration Online account, uploading the offer of place, funds evidence, health and character documents, and a declaration that you will hold travel and health insurance. Pay the published fee (from NZD $850) and the NZD $100 International Visitor Levy. INZ recommends applying about 3 months before travel.

Give biometrics at a VFS Global visa application centre, then receive your decision. Provide your facial image and fingerprints at the New Zealand Visa Application Centre in New Delhi, Mumbai or Chandigarh as required. INZ publishes a decision time of 80% within 8.5 weeks; once approved you receive an eVisa — check the exact work and study conditions recorded on it before you travel.

Where the dependencies bite

• The offer comes before almost everything. Most routes cannot begin without an unconditional place.
• Financial evidence has a holding period, which starts before the application and cannot be compressed.
• A loan sanction letter, where you are using one, sits between the offer and the application.
• Biometrics and medicals are appointment-based, and appointment availability is the hidden constraint in peak season.

Before you submit

1. Read your own application back as an officer would, looking for anything unexplained.
2. Check every date and figure against the supporting document it comes from.
3. Confirm the fee and the route are the current ones on the official source below.
4. Keep a complete copy of everything you submitted, in the order you submitted it.

A refusal is far more expensive than a delay: it must be disclosed on future applications to several countries, and it is harder to explain than a late submission. If something is not ready, the cost of waiting a week is usually lower than it feels.