Acceptable qualifications for a Post Study Work Visa (pre 12 May 2022)

If you want to apply for a Post Study Work Visa and you applied for your Student Visa on or before 11 May 2022, you must have an acceptable New Zealand qualification.

Work out if your qualification is acceptable

To be acceptable:

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

New Zealand Qualifications Framework | NZQA website

Your qualification is Level 7 or higher

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

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.

Qualification requirements if you were studying, or had applied for a student visa, by 8 August 2018.

You studied English language

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

You want to work for longer

You may be able to apply for another Post Study Work Visa, but only if you complete another qualification in New Zealand that:

• you studied for 30 weeks or more
• is a bachelor's degree or post-graduate qualification
• is at a higher level than the qualification you used to get your previous visa, and
• you applied for your second student visa on or before 11 May 2022.

If you applied after 11 May 2022

If you applied for your Student Visa after 11 May 2022 there are new requirements for a Post Study Work Visa. Go to the staying to work after study page to find out more.

Staying to work after study