Can students work while they’re studying?

The main purpose of a student visa or permit is to allow international students to study full time in New Zealand.  However, in some cases students from overseas can have the conditions of their student permit varied to allow them a limited opportunity to work while studying.

They can undertake work:

• to meet a course requirement for practical work experience
• for up to 20 hours in any given week during the academic year (including holidays within the academic year) if they are:
  • undertaking a full-time, course of study at a private training establishment or tertiary institution and taking at least two academic years to complete, or
  • undertaking a full-time course of study culminating in a qualification that would qualify for points under the Skilled Migrant Category, or
  • undertaking a full-time, full secondary school year course of study in Years 12 or 13, provided they have written permission from their school and written parental consent, or
  • engaged in a full-time, course of study of at least six months duration, at a Private Training Establishment or Tertiary Institution, and a visa or immigration officer is satisfied that the primary purpose of the course of study is to develop English language skills, and, at the time of application for a student visa or permit, the student has an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) overall band score of 5.0 or above
• during the Christmas-New Year holiday period if they are undertaking a full-time course of study of 12 months or more duration.

Can students work in New Zealand after they finish their course of study?

Students can also work after they finish their course of study if:

• they have an offer of employment relevant to their qualification and successfully completed a course in New Zealand that:
  • had a minimum completion time of three years, or
  • would qualify for points under the Skilled Migrant Category
• they do not have an offer of employment but have successfully completed a qualification in New Zealand that would qualify for points under the Skilled Migrant Category of Residence Policy, for a maximum of six months, to transition from study, to work, to residence with a Graduate Job Search Work Visa/Permit.