You can study on a visitor visa, provided the course duration (whether it's one course of study or more than one) is less than three months in total. If you’re in New Zealand as a visitor and want to study for more than three months, you can apply for a student visa. You’ll need to have an offer of a place from a New Zealand education provider. Find out more about our requirements for studying in New Zealand.

If you're a visitor and you want to attend primary, intermediate or secondary school, you can do so without a visitor visa if:

• it's for a single period of a maximum of three months
• the study period starts and finishes in the same calendar year
• the study period is not during term 1 if you studied while on a visitor visa during term 4 of the previous year

If you study for more than two weeks, or if you are paying foreign-student fees to study, you must attend a school that is a signatory to the Ministry of Education's Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students.