Working on a student visa
You may be allowed to work while you are on a student visa in New Zealand, but when you can will depend on the conditions of your visa.
When you can work on a student visa
With a student visa, you may be allowed to work part-time for up to 20 hours a week, and
To find out if you can work on your student visa, you will need to check the conditions of your visa. These are recorded on your eVisa, the visa label in your passport, or in our visa letter to you.
Visa conditions are the rules you must follow when you have a New Zealand visa. They describe what you can and cannot do on your visa.
If your current student visa does not allow you to do paid work during your stay, you can apply to change the conditions of your visa.
Note
Student visas can only be given with conditions to work if the student is 16 years or older, regardless of the type of study.
Check or change your student visa conditions
If you want to work while studying part-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 different visa. For example, you could get a work or visitor visa and apply for a variation of conditions to allow you to study part-time.
Who can work on a student visa
You may be able to work part-time or
- a tertiary student
- a PhD or Masters student
- some English language students
- secondary school students in Years 12 and 13 who have school and parent permission
- completing practical experience for your study.
Part-time work as a tertiary student
You can work part-time up to 20 hours a week if you are studying full-time:
- for at least 2
, or - for a New Zealand qualification at Level 4 or higher on the
(NZQCF), or - to develop English language skills, on a course that meets certain conditions
- for at least 1 academic year on a course that is part of an approved tertiary student exchange scheme
- on a foundation programme for at least 1 academic year at Level 4 or higher, that you started on or before 28 February 2014 at an education provider in Canterbury.
About the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF) — NZQA website
Note
You cannot work if you are in a training scheme or studying towards a micro-credential as these are not qualifications.
Full-time work for tertiary students during holidays
Your visa conditions will allow you to work full-time during scheduled breaks in study if all of these apply:
- you study
for at least 1 academic year - your course is worth at least 120 credits, and
- your course has a minimum of 2 semesters during at least 8 months.
You can work full-time during the Christmas and New Year holiday period if:
- you study full-time, and
- your course has a minimum of 2 semesters during at least 8 months.
PhD and Masters research students
There is no limit on the hours you can work if you are enrolled in a doctoral degree (PhD) or Research Masters programme at a New Zealand tertiary institution.
If you work full-time, you must also keep studying full-time.
Stopping your PhD studies
If you want to work full-time and take a break from your studies, your education provider must agree to the suspension and let us know. We will confirm the next steps with them, and they will let you know if there is anything you need to do.
Your education provider may not agree to a suspension of your studies. If you decide to end your studies, you must apply for another visa to stay in New Zealand.
Find out more about visas that let you visit, work, study, live or invest in New Zealand.
If you have completed your PhD thesis
If you have submitted your PhD thesis for examination, you can apply for a Post Study Work Visa to stay and work in New Zealand.
Working as an English language student
If you are an English language student, and your course meets the following conditions, you can work part-time up to 20 hours a week while you have a current student visa.
Courses of at least 24 teaching weeks
You can work part-time if all of these apply:
- your study is full-time
- your programme of study is at least 24 teaching weeks
- we believe the main purpose of your study is to improve your English, and
- you have an acceptable English language test result that is no more than 2 years old, such as an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) certificate, with an overall band score of 5.0 — you must provide your test result with your application.
Courses of at least 14 teaching weeks
You can work part-time if all of these apply:
- your study is full-time
- your study is for at least 14 consecutive weeks
- you are studying English language, and
- your study is with a university, or an education provider that has been assessed by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority as a Category 1 provider.
When we assess if you are eligible for work rights, we will look at any English language study you have done on previous student visas.
We can count your previous English language study towards the 14 consecutive weeks if:
- your new study follows on from your previous study, and
- the study is with the same education provider.
Working as a secondary school student
Your visa conditions will allow you to work part-time for up to 20 hours a week during the school year, and full-time in the Christmas and New Year holiday between school years if:
- you are 16 or older, and
- studying in year 12 or 13, the last 2 years of secondary school.
Working to get practical experience
If practical experience is a requirement of your course, we will normally give you a student visa with conditions that allow you to work to complete it.
Work you cannot do
International students cannot be self-employed. You must work for an employer and have an employment agreement.
You cannot provide commercial sexual services. This means you cannot:
- work as a prostitute
- operate a New Zealand prostitution business
- invest in a prostitution business.
If your visa does not allow you to work
If you meet the criteria to work but the work conditions on your eVisa, passport label or letter do not match, you should contact us for help.
Working when your course ends and your visa is still current
If you are a fee-paying student whose studies have finished, and your student visa is still current, you can work full-time if your visa's work condition states that you may either:
- work full-time over the summer holiday
- work full-time during a scheduled holiday.
If your visa's work condition states that you may work part-time up 20 hours per week, then you are limited to these hours if your course finishes.
Staying in New Zealand to work
Depending on what you have studied, you may be able to apply for a Post Study Work Visa to stay and work in New Zealand.
We will consider what you have studied, and for how long, when assessing your application for a Post Study Work Visa. For example, if you have completed your PhD thesis, your visa could be for up to 3 years.
Find out more about staying in New Zealand to work on a Post Study Work Visa.
Contact us
If you have questions about whether you can work in New Zealand, contact us.