Check or change your student visa conditions
Student visas come with conditions or rules about studying, working, and travelling. Find out how to check your conditions and apply to change them.
Check your student visa conditions
Your student visa will have conditions on it. Conditions describe what you can and cannot do on your visa.
You can find your visa conditions:
- in your eVisa
- on the visa label in your passport, if you have a label
- in the letter we sent you when we gave you the visa
- online using the Visa Verification Service.
- a ticket to leave New Zealand to a
- enough money to buy a ticket out of New Zealand, or
- an acceptable sponsor who can pay for your ticket out of New Zealand.
- how many hours you can work a week
- when you can work.
- the education provider you can study at
- the programme of study you must attend.
The following are some common conditions of student visas.
Visa expiry date
The last day you can stay in New Zealand on your visa.
Return/onward travel not required
Unless your visa states 'Return/onward travel not required', you must have:
Travel conditions
First entry before
The 'First entry before' travel condition means that you must travel to New Zealand before this date.
If you do not enter New Zealand before the 'First entry before' date, your visa will no longer be valid.
Number of entries
If your visa states you have
Expiry date travel
The last day you can enter New Zealand using this visa.
Work conditions
Some visas do not allow you to work.
If your visa allows you to work in New Zealand, You must only work under the conditions specified in your visa, which can include:
Study conditions
Some visas allow you to study for a set amount of time.
You must only study under the conditions specified in your visa, which can include:
If you are in New Zealand and want to stay past the date your visa expires, you cannot extend your visa - instead, you must apply for another temporary visa to visit, study or work before your current one expires.
To apply for another temporary visa while you are in New Zealand, you must have a current visa that is not a limited visa, Interim Visa or Transit Visa.
You should apply for another visa at least 1 month before your current visa's expiry date.
How long it takes to process an application
If your current temporary visa is going to expire while you are waiting for our decision, we will normally issue you an Interim Visa to let you stay in New Zealand lawfully. The conditions on an Interim Visa depend on the visa you previously had and the new visa you have applied for.
Warning
You must have a current New Zealand visa to be in New Zealand lawfully. If your visa expires and you are still in New Zealand without a new visa or an Interim Visa, you will be here unlawfully and may be deported.
Conditions you can change
To change any of your visa conditions, you will need to apply for a variation of conditions.
If you cannot change your visa conditions - for example, if you want to stay longer - you will need to apply for a new visa.
Note
Changing the conditions of your visa will not change its expiry date.
Working on your student visa
You can apply to change your visa conditions to allow you to work part-time or
To apply for a variation of conditions to work, you must meet the requirements for working on a student visa that are relevant to you.
Changing your course or where you are studying
You can apply to change your visa conditions to study a different course or with a different education provider.
If your current course finishes soon, you can apply for a new student visa instead.
If you currently have a Pathway Student Visa and want to change your education provider, you will need to apply for a new student visa.
To apply to change your visa conditions, you will need evidence:
- of an 'offer of place' from the new education provider you want to study at
- that you have paid the course fees - you can provide this after your application is
Warning
You must not leave your current course before we fully approve the changes to your visa. If you do, you will breach the conditions of your current visa and you may have to leave New Zealand.
Staying after scholarship funding ends
If your scholarship funding has stopped and you want to continue your study in New Zealand, before your visa expires you can:
- apply to change the conditions on your current visa - for example to change your course or provider, or
- submit a new student visa application.
If you apply to change your visa conditions, you will need proof that you can pay for your living expenses yourself and that any remaining course fees have been paid. Evidence can include:
- bank statements showing you have enough money to pay for your living expenses
- a letter from your education provider showing fees are paid or that you do not have to pay fees - you can provide evidence that you have paid the fees after your application is
- proof of accommodation pre-payment.
If you apply for a new student visa, you will need to provide proof of:
- your previous student performance
- satisfactory attendance
- an assessment of your progress by your education provider.
Note
Only provide copies of your documents, not the originals.
Changing your travel conditions
If you need to change the travel conditions on your visa, you can apply on paper for a 'variation of travel conditions'.
For example, you can apply to change the date you must first enter New Zealand by.
When you need a new visa
In some cases, it is not possible to apply for a variation of conditions, and you will need a new visa.
Note
You must apply for a new visa before your current visa expires. If your current temporary visa is going to expire while you are waiting for our decision, we will normally issue you an Interim Visa to let you stay in New Zealand lawfully.
The following are some examples of when you will need a new visa.
Studying part-time instead of full-time
Student visas are given for full-time study. If you want to change to part-time study, you will need to apply for a new visa.
In most cases, you can apply for a visitor visa then apply for a variation of conditions to let you study part-time.
Studying by correspondence or distance learning
Most universities offer some correspondence courses - also known as distance learning - where you can do the whole course from anywhere without physically attending lessons in a classroom.
We normally do not give student visas for people to complete correspondence courses.
If you are overseas doing a New Zealand correspondence course and need to come to New Zealand for a practical or an exam, you will need to apply for a visitor visa (if you need to come for less than 3 months) or a student visa to allow you to do this part of your study.
Staying longer to finish your course
Sometimes, you may need to stay longer to finish your study, for example, if you have failed one of your courses.
You will need to apply for a new student visa.
In your visa application, you will need to provide proof of:
- your previous student performance
- satisfactory attendance
- an assessment of your progress by your education provider.
Note
Only provide copies of your documents, not the originals.
Staying after your course finishes
You must have a valid visa to stay in New Zealand after your course finishes. You cannot apply for a variation of conditions.
You can apply for a:
- general Visitor Visa or other visitor visa, if you want to stay for your graduation but plan to leave New Zealand afterwards
- Post Study Work Visa, if you plan to work after graduation
- different visa to visit, work, study, live or invest in New Zealand.
Apply to change your student visa conditions
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Step 1: Complete the application form
Complete the application form and attach all supporting documents.
You will need:
- a
of your passport or - written permission from your school and your parent or legal guardian to work, if required
- an offer of place, if changing course or provider
- evidence you have paid the course fees, if required - you can provide this after your application is
- proof you can pay your remaining course fees and living expenses, if required.
- a
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Step 2: Submit your application and pay the fee
Use the tool on the page 'Fees, decisions times and where to apply' to find out how much it costs to apply for a variation of conditions, where to submit your application, and how long a decision will take.
Fees, decision times and where to apply
Note
Type in 'variation of conditions' to start your search when using the tool.
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Step 3: Wait for our decision
We will check that:
- your original student visa would have been given for the new course or education provider, if you are changing these
- you have met the conditions of your current visa, and
- you still have a genuine intention to study in New Zealand.
Genuine intentions to visit, study or work in New Zealand
We will let you know when we make a decision.
If we give you an approval in principle
If we give you an
it means we need more information from you before we can fully approve your application. We will contact you and let you know what we need. When we fully approve your application
When we fully approve your application, we will give you an updated eVisa.
Note
The changes to your visa do not start until we fully approve your application and give you an updated eVisa.