2011-Nov 04: Copies of offers of place letters for universities and polytechnics; wording in offers of place for PhD students

Visa Pak- 41 Clarification about what information must be included on an offer of place letter issued by Universities and polytechnics.

Visa Paks

4 November 2011

Copies of Offers of Place
Many Universities and Polytechnics advise that they are automatically generating Offer of Place letters for students and emailing them to the students. The providers are moving away from sending hard copies of documents through the post.

Many branches will be presented with a print out of the e-copy offer of place with the student’s visa application, rather than an original version in hard copy. These printed copies of an offer of place should be accepted by branches and MFAT posts, and of course can be verified with the provider if necessary.

Officers may also request to receive an e-copy of the Offer of Place sent to them directly from the provider if required.

Wording in Offers of Place for PhD Students
Universities have approached INZ to enquire about giving greater flexibility to their PhD students by allowing them to commence their studies anytime within six months of the start date mentioned in the offer of place. This is so they do not have to reissue Offer of Place letters if the application is subject to delays in processing. An example of the wording may look like this:

“I’m pleased to let you know that the Board of Graduate Studies has approved your Registration as a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. You may begin your studies within 6 months of your proposed start date of 1 March 2012.”

Offers of Place for PhD students will specify a start date, but will also note that students may take up to six months to commence that study.

The purpose of the new wording for PhD students is to reduce the amount of administrative work the universities have to do if a PhD student’s application is delayed, this means that they do not need to reissue an Offer of Place.

These Offers of Place should be accepted by branches and MFAT posts.

The expiry date of the student visa should continue to be in line with the dates of study specified in the Offer of Place (i.e. we will not be adding an extra six months duration to the visa).