Making an offer of place

If you want to study in New Zealand for more than 3 months you must apply for a student visa. To meet the criteria for a student visa, an offer of place from a New Zealand education provider is required, unless student instructions say otherwise.

Offer of place sample templates

Education Providers should use the appropriate offer of place template relevant to them.

We have created offer of place sample templates for different education providers to use as a ‘best practice’ document when preparing an offer for international students.

We are aiming to see a consistent offer of place template used across the education sector as this will allow us to process visas faster.

Universities — offer of place sample template DOCX 34KB

Te Pukenga — offer of place sample template DOCX 36KB

Schools — offer of place sample template DOCX 35KB

English — offer of place sample template DOCX 33KB

Aviation — offer of place sample template DOCX 35KB

What must be in your offer of a place letter

The offer of place letter must:

• be signed and dated by a representative of the education provider, and
• contain the following information:

Provider details

• Name of education provider
• Address
• Phone, fax number, and email address.

Student details

• Full name of student (with the family name underlined)
• Current address of student

Course or programme details

• Length of programme of study (if longer than 1 year, state the minimum completion time).
• Date the programme starts.
• Scheduled vacations if the programme of study or training scheme is 1 academic year or more.
• Year of study, such as ‘year 5’ for primary and secondary schools or ‘first year’ for tertiary.
• Type of study for tertiary:
  • Full-time
  • Part-time

Fee payment details

• Type of fee:
  • Foreign student fee
  • Domestic student fee, or
  • MFAT-funded NZ scholarship funding or other scholarship.
• Fee amount for the complete programme of study (if applicable): $__________
• Fee amount paid: $_______ for:
  • the complete programme of study, or 
  • the term/semester, until (date).

For applications processed outside New Zealand, evidence of payment is not required until after the application has been approved in principle.

Accommodation details

Fee-paying foreign student accommodation must comply with the Code of Pastoral Care for International Students. International students who are 17 and under must provide a statement from their education provider as confirmation their accommodation complies with the Code.

Code of Pastoral Care for International Students — New Zealand Qualifications Authority website

Suitability of Programme offered

The offer of place must also contain confirmation from the education provider that:

• they have assessed and are satisfied that the programme offered is appropriate for the student’s expectations, and
• the student has the English language proficiency and academic capability to succeed in the programme.