Foreign Government Supported Student Visa

• 1 acceptable photo if you apply online, or 2 photos if you use a paper application form.
• your passport or certificate of identity.

Acceptable photos

If you apply online, you must upload a copy of your passport when you apply. We will let you know if you need to send your passport after you have applied.

Providing your passport for online applications

If you submit a paper application, provide your original passport or a certified copy.  We can usually process your application faster if you provide your original passport.

We may ask you to have a chest x-ray, a medical examination or both as proof of your good health.

If you are staying less than:

• 6 months you do not normally need a chest x-ray. 
• 12 months you do not normally need a medical certificate. 

Who needs an x-ray or medical examination

When we process your application we let you know if we need you to have a chest x-ray or medical examination.

Acceptable standard of health criteria for visa approvals

Please only provide medical certificates if requested

If you have a criminal conviction or are a security risk to New Zealand we may not be able to grant you a visa.

Good character for temporary visas

You must provide police certificates if your total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or longer across all visits. This includes any time you have spent in New Zealand in the past on other visas, even if you have been out of the country since then.

You also must provide police certificates if we ask for them.

If you are 16 years old or younger you do not need to provide police certificates.

Providing police certificates

How to get a police certificate

If you have already sent us Police Certificates with a previous visa application and they are less than 24 months old, you do not need to send them again.

Police certificates must be less than 6 months old when you submit your application. They must be from any country you are a citizen of, or have spent more than 5 years in since you turned 17.

When we decide if your intentions are genuine, we consider all the information:

• you provide to support your application
• we have about your personal circumstances, and
• you provided in any previous applications.

Genuine intentions to visit, study or work in NZ

Your Government must have an education agreement with New Zealand and provide a letter setting out the terms of their support, which must:

• agree to pay your education provider for your tuition fees
• agree to pay your living expenses
• confirm you are of good character.

Your offer of place or if you’re a returning student, confirmation of enrolment, must include:

• the name of your course and how long the course is for
• confirmation that your tuition fees will be paid by your Government
• whether your study will be full-time or part-time 
• if your course is for more than one academic year, the dates of all of the course’s scheduled holidays.

Offers of place must also include your approved education provider’s signed declaration that they’ve assessed and are satisfied that:

• the programme offered is appropriate for your expectations
• you have the English language ability and academic capability to succeed

If you already have a Student Visa and you’re applying for another Student Visa, you must provide photocopied evidence of your previous student performance, progress and attendance. This can include:

• academic transcripts
• a letter from your approved education provider
• attendance records.

Evidence can include:

• your travel ticket
• proof you have enough money to buy a ticket out of New Zealand, in addition to the funds you have to live on
• a 'Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry' completed by an acceptable sponsor.

What sponsors must do – responsibilities and obligations

Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry (INZ 1025) PDF 414KB

If you must be accompanied, you must provide proof that your parent or legal guardian cares for you in your home country and has the legal right to provide care for you.

Evidence your parent or legal guardian cares for you in your home country can include:

• your parent or guardian’s passport, or residence document showing that you’ve been living with them in your home country
• documents that show they’ve paid for your education
• educational records or documents that show they’re responsible for your education

Evidence your parent or legal guardian has the legal right to provide care for you can include:

• your birth certificate or adoption papers (if they are your parent)
• court documents (if they are a court-appointed guardian)
• relevant legal documents if they are a testamentary guardian (i.e. they were named as guardian in your parents’ will, and your parents are deceased).

You must have permission to work up to 20 hours a week and/or full-time in the summer holidays from each of the following:

• your parents or legal guardian
• your approved education provider.

If you’re allowed to work full-time in the holidays, proof:

• of the holidays scheduled by your approved education provider, as shown in your offer of place document
• that your course value is 120 credits – this information may be on your fee receipt or invoice, or other correspondence provided by your approved education provider.

Evidence can include either of the following:

• a letter from your approved education provider
• a course outline that shows the practical component requirement, as shown in your offer of place document.

Statement from your approved education provider confirming that they are a signatory to the ‘Code of Pastoral Care for International Students’.

Code of Pastoral Care for International Students

When you apply for your student visa, you must declare in your application that you’ll arrange medical insurance and maintain it for all the time you’re in New Zealand on your Student Visa.