Working on a student visa

You may be allowed to work part-time for up to 20 hours a week, and full-time during all scheduled holidays and the Christmas and New Year holiday period.

Check your visa conditions

Your visa's conditions, including your work rights, are recorded on your eVisa, the visa label in your passport, or in our visa letter to you.

If you are allowed to work in New Zealand, you will have work rights.

If you work when you have no work rights, it is a breach of your visa conditions. This can affect your ability to stay in New Zealand, or our decision on your next visa application.

Deportation and how you can appeal

Types of students who can work

You may be able to work part-time or full-time if you are:

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.

Working as a tertiary student

Part-time work while studying

You can work part-time up to 20 hours a week if you are doing a full-time course that:

is for at least 2 academic years, or
results in a New Zealand qualification at Level 4 or above on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF), or
is at least 1 academic year long and is part of an approved tertiary student exchange scheme.

You generally need to be studying full-time to be eligible for in-study work rights, however this does not apply if you are:

in your final semester of a programme of study in New Zealand, resulting in a New Zealand qualification at Level 4 or higher on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework, or
studying part-time, and are in the final semester of a programme that is at least 2 academic years duration.

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.

You can also work part-time up to 20 hours a week if you are aged 18 or older, enrolled full-time and are included in a 2021 Resident Visa application as a dependent child.

You cannot work part-time if you are:

a study abroad student, or
a tertiary exchange student studying a course with a duration of less than 1 academic year.

2021 Resident Visa

Full-time work during breaks and holiday

Your visa conditions will allow you to work full-time during scheduled breaks in study if all of these apply:

you study full-time 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 by research students

There are no restrictions on the hours you can work if you are enrolled in a Research Masters or doctoral degree programme (PhD) awarded by a New Zealand tertiary institution.

If you work full-time you must also keep studying full-time.

Suspending PhD or Masters studies to work full-time

Your education provider must agree to a suspension of studies. They then need to tell us they have agreed to a suspension. We will confirm the next steps with them.

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.

Explore visa options

English language students

If you are an English language student, you can work part-time up to 20 hours a week while you have a valid Student Visa, if your course meets the following conditions.

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.

Secondary school students

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.

Note

If you are under 18, you must have written permission from your school and your parents or legal guardian to work. You do not need written permission to work full-time in the Christmas and New Year holiday period if you are over 18.

Practical experience

If practical experience is a requirement of your course, we will grant you a Student Visa with conditions that allow you to work to complete it.

Work you cannot do

International students are not allowed to 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, contact us for assistance.

Working when your course ends and your visa is valid

If you have finished your studies and your student visa is still valid, you can work full-time if your visa's work condition is either:

May work full-time over the summer vacation
May work full-time during a scheduled vacation.

If your visa's work condition is 'work part-time up 20 hours per week', then you must continue working these hours if your course has finished.

Staying in New Zealand to work

Depending on what you have studied you could apply for a Post Study Work Visa.

We use what you studied as a means of working out if we can grant the visa and for how long. For example, if you have submitted your completed 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.
Staying to work after study

Contact us

If you have questions about your ability to work, contact us.