Qualifications needed for a Post Study Work Visa

Check what qualifications you need to have recently completed in New Zealand to apply for a Post Study Work Visa. This could depend on when you applied for your student visa.

Who can apply for a Post Study Work Visa

You can apply for a Post Study Work Visa if you have completed:

  • a degree qualification of level 7, that you studied for full-time, for at least 30 weeks in New Zealand, or
  • a qualification at level 8 to 10 on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework that has been studied full-time for at least 30 weeks in New Zealand, or
  • a non-degree qualification of level 4 to 7, that you studied for full-time in New Zealand for the full duration required to gain the qualification, and which is on the list of qualifications eligible for a Post Study Work Visa. 

Alert

If you applied for your student visa before 12 May 2022, and your qualification is not on the list of qualifications eligible for a Post Study Work Visa, you may still be able to apply for a Post Study Work Visa, but you will need to have an

If you applied for your student visa before 12 May 2022

You can find more information about the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework levels on the New Zealand Qualifications Authority website.

About the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF)

Staying to work after finishing your study

List of qualifications eligible for a Post Study Work Visa

You can only take a job that is related to what you have studied, if it is a non-degree qualification of level 7 or lower. 

If you applied for your student visa before 12 May 2022

If you applied for your student visa before 12 May 2022 and your qualification is not on the list of Qualifications Eligible for a Post Study Work Visa, you may still be eligible for a Post Study Work Visa, but you will need to have an

Work out if your qualification is acceptable

For your qualification to be acceptable:

  • you must have studied in New Zealand, and
  • your qualification must be Level 4 or higher on the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework. 

About the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF) - NZQA website

If your qualification is Level 7 or higher

Your qualification at level 7 or higher is acceptable if your course lasted 30 weeks or more.

If you studied at Levels 4 to 6

Your Level 4, 5 or 6 qualification is acceptable if you:

  • completed it after study of 60 weeks or more, or
  • gained 2 qualifications that:
    • each involved at least 30 weeks' study, and
    • the level of your last qualification was higher than the first.

Note

You may also be eligible for a Post Study Work Visa if you have completed an acceptable qualification, as stated above, on a student visa that you held, or had applied for, on 08 August 2018.

If you studied English language

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) qualifications are not acceptable.

You can find more information about the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework levels on the New Zealand Qualifications Authority website.

About the New Zealand Qualifications and Credentials Framework (NZQCF) - NZQA website