Post Study Work Visa

You can apply for this visa if you hold a student visa and have recently finished your studies in New Zealand. It allows you to stay and work here for up to 3 years, depending on what qualification you studied.

Length of stay
Up to

3 years

Cost
From
NZD $1670
Processing time
80% within
3.5 weeks
With this visa you can
  • Stay and work for 3 years depending on your level of study and how long you studied in New Zealand.
  • Work for any employer in any job if you have a degree level 7 or above qualification, that you studied full-time for at least 30 weeks in New Zealand.
  • Work in a job that is related to what you studied if your qualification is non-degree level 7 or below. Your study must have been full-time in New Zealand, and for the full duration required to gain the qualification. Your qualification must also be on the list of Qualifications Eligible for a Post Study Work Visa.
    Qualifications eligible for a Post Study Work Visa
Things to note
  • You can only apply for this visa once.
  • You cannot provide commercial sexual services or operate or invest in a business that does.
  • Your partner can apply for a work visa and your dependent children can study fee-free as domestic students.
    Bringing family if you have a work visa
  • You must apply for a visa no later than 3 months after your student visa expires. Check the 'Work visa application' section. Exceptions apply.
  • If you applied for your student visa on or before 11 May 2022 you may be eligible for a Post Study Work Visa that lets you work for any employer, even if your qualification is not on the list of Qualifications Eligible for a Post Study Work Visa. You also must have an acceptable qualification.
    Acceptable qualifications for a Post Study Work Visa (pre 12 May 2022)

What you need to apply

Check if you are eligible to apply for this visa and what supporting documents and information you need to provide.

View All Evidence
Tip

Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months after you plan to leave New Zealand.

  • 1 acceptable photo if you apply online, or 2 photos if you use a paper application form.
  • your passport or certificate of identity.

Acceptable photos

If you apply online, you must upload a copy of your passport when you apply. We will let you know if you need to send your passport after you have applied.

Providing your passport for online applications

If you submit a paper application, provide your original passport or a certified copy.  We can usually process your application faster if you provide your original passport.

Tips

You must also provide your Kartu Keluarga.

If you are not a French national, you must provide a copy of your carte d’assuré.

You must also provide a copy of your livret de famille.

If you are a citizen of China and you submit a paper application form in China, you must also complete a supplementary form.

Supplementary form for Chinese citizens (INZ 1027) PDF 338KB

If you are submitting a paper application form, you must provide a supplementary form for Hong Kong and Macao visitors, workers and students.

Supplementary form for Hong Kong and Macao visitors, workers and students (INZ 1220) PDF 240KB

Also provide a copy of your Identity card.

Also provide your:

  • Hukou (household registration book)
  • Chinese identity card.

We may ask you to have a chest X-ray, a medical examination or both as proof of your good health.

If you are staying less than:

  • 6 months you do not normally need a chest X-ray. 
  • 12 months you do not normally need a medical certificate. 

Who needs an X-ray or medical examination

When we process your application we let you know if we need you to have a chest X-ray or medical examination.

Acceptable standard of health criteria for visa approvals

Provide medical certificates if requested

Tips

You must provide a chest x-ray completed in the last 3 months, even if you've provided one to us previously, if:

  • you have spent 6 consecutive months in China since the last x-ray certificate was issued, and
  • you are now coming to NZ for more than 6 months.

If you have a criminal conviction or are a security risk to New Zealand we may not be able to grant you a visa.

Good character for temporary visas

You must provide police certificates if your total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or longer across all visits. This includes any time you have spent in New Zealand in the past on other visas, even if you have been out of the country since then.

You also must provide police certificates if we ask for them.

Police certificates must be less than 6 months old when you submit your application. They must be from any country you are a citizen of, or have spent more than 5 years in since you turned 17.

If you are 16 years old or younger you do not need to provide police certificates.

Providing police certificates

How to get a police certificate

If you have already sent us police certificates with a previous visa application and they are less than 24 months old, you do not need to send them again.

When we decide if your intentions are genuine, we consider all the information:

  • you provide to support your application
  • we have about your personal circumstances
  • you provided in any previous applications.

Genuine intentions to visit, study or work in NZ

You must provide:

  • a copy of your qualification, or
  • a letter or academic transcript from your tertiary education provider confirming you have completed your qualification.

If you have completed a degree level 7 or above qualification, you must have studied it full time for at least 30 weeks in New Zealand.

If you have completed a non-degree level 7 or below qualification, it must be on the list of Qualifications Eligible for a Post Study Work Visa. Your study must have been full-time in New Zealand, and for the full duration required to gain the qualification. You can only take a job that is related to what you studied. This will be specified on your visa.

Qualifications Eligible for a Post Study Work Visa

If you applied for your student visa on or before 11 May 2022 the above requirements do not apply to you. You may be eligible for a Post Study Work Visa for up to 3 years after completing your study if you have an acceptable qualification.

Acceptable qualifications for a Post Study Work Visa (pre 11 May 2022)

 

You must apply for a work visa no later than 3 months after your student visa expires, except:

  • if you were granted a visa to complete a doctoral degree, you must apply no later than 6 months after your student visa expires
  • if you completed an eligible qualification for a PSWV that is immediately followed by a higher-level qualification that does not meet PSWV requirements, you must apply no later than 12 months after your student visa for the first qualification expires

We will check our records to make sure that you are applying in time.

You are not eligible to apply if you did not complete the qualification recorded on your student visa.

You need to provide evidence that you have at least NZD$5,000 when you apply. Evidence can include:

  • bank statements
  • credit card statements
  • bank drafts.

This applies to all Post Study Work Visa applications for 1, 2 or 3 years.

Process and costs

The information below will help you understand the process, timeframes and costs involved in applying for this visa, so you can plan ahead and have the best chance of submitting a complete application.

Notes

We cannot display any process or costs information until you have provided your country details. Enter your country details in the panel above to view information relevant to your situation.

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How to submit

Payment methods and receiving centre details if applicable.

Notes

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Conditions

These are the conditions that you must meet once you have your visa.

Entry permission

You must apply for entry permission when you arrive in New Zealand. You can do this by completing a New Zealand traveller declaration (NZTD).

New Zealand Customs and Biosecurity also check that you meet their entry requirements.

Arriving in New Zealand

Notes

You can be refused entry permission if:

  • you do not meet our character requirements
  • your circumstances have changed since you were issued a visa
  • you refuse to let us to take your photo, or provide us with your fingerprints or an iris scan, if we ask you for them.

Travel

If you want to travel in and out of New Zealand, you must have valid multiple entry travel conditions to return to New Zealand.

Varying the conditions of a work visa

Notes

If there are no multiple entry travel conditions and you leave New Zealand the visa will expire.

The travel conditions will be listed on the visa label or in a visa letter.

Work

If you completed a degree level 7 or above qualification that you studied full-time for at least 30 weeks in New Zealand, you can work in almost any job for any employer in New Zealand.

Notes

You cannot provide commercial sexual services, or operate or invest in a business that does.

If you completed a non-degree level 7 or below qualification it must be on the Qualifications Eligible for a Post Study Work Visa list. The job you end up taking must be related to what you studied. This will be specified on your visa. Your study must have been full-time in New Zealand, and for the full duration required to gain the qualification.

Qualifications Eligible for a Post Study Work Visa

Study

You can study for up to 3 months in any 12-month period.

Notes

You may be able to do other study if it’s required by your employer as part of your employment.

If you want to study longer than 3 months, you can apply for a variation of conditions to your work visa.

Changing the conditions of a work visa

Visa expiry

You must leave New Zealand before your visa expires.

Notes

Visa expiry dates are printed on a visa label or included in a visa letter.