Bringing family if you have a student visa

If you have a student visa you can support visitor visas for your family. You may also be able to support a work visa for your partner and student visas for your dependent children.

Visas you can support for your family

If you have a student visa and are studying for any qualification, you can support a visitor visa for your partner and children. 

Partner of a Student Visitor Visa

Child of a Student Visitor Visa

You may also be able to support a work visa for your partner, and student visas for your dependent children, depending on your study.

Partner of a Student Work Visa

Dependent Child Student Visa

Visas for your partner and children will usually expire at the same time as your student visa.

If your child is studying in New Zealand

If your child is in New Zealand on a student visa, you can apply for a Guardian of a Student Visitor Visa to live with and care for your child.

Guardian of a Student Visitor Visa

When you can support work visas and student visas for your family

You may be able to support a work visa for your partner and student visas for your dependent children depending on what qualification you are studying.

You may be able to support a Partner of a Student Work Visa for your partner if you are studying a:

  • level 9 or 10 qualification (Master's or Doctoral degrees)
  • level 7 or 8 qualification specified for a job on our Green List — listed either as a requirement or a registration qualification
  • level 7 or 8 qualification specified on our Qualifications eligible for a Post Study Work Visa list, or
  • level 7 or 8 qualification on the long-term skill shortage list — if your study started on or before 7 September 2022.

You may be able to support student visas for your dependent children if you are studying:

  • a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
  • under a New Zealand Government
  • under a New Zealand scholarship administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Note

We use the qualification levels from the .

Level 9 or 10 qualification (Master's or Doctoral degrees)

If you are studying a level 9 or 10 qualification, you can support a work visa for your partner.

If you are studying a PhD at a New Zealand university, you can support:

  • a work visa for your partner
  • student visas for your dependent children.

Green List qualifications

If you are studying a level 7 or 8 qualification specified for a job on our Green List — listed either as a requirement or a registration qualification — you may be able to support a work visa for your partner.

Check the Green List appendix for the eligible qualifications.

Green List — Immigration New Zealand Operational Manual

Post Study Work Visa qualifications

If you are studying a level 7 qualification specified on our Qualifications eligible for a Post Study Work Visa list, you can support a work visa for your partner.

Qualifications needed for a Post Study Work Visa

Long-term skill shortage list

If your study started on or before 7 September 2022, and you are studying a level 7 or 8 qualification that is on the long-term skill shortage list, you may still be able to support a work visa for your partner.

Student exchange scheme

If you are studying under a New Zealand Government you can support student visas for your dependent children.

MFAT-funded New Zealand scholarship

If you are studying under a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT)-funded — excluding Short-term Training Scholarships and English Language Training for Officials Scholarships — you can support:

  • a work visa for your partner
  • student visas for your dependent children.

When your partner can support student visas for your children

If you can support a work visa for your partner but not student visas for your dependent children, your partner may be able to support your children's student visas instead.

Example

You are studying a level 8 qualification that is specified on the Green List. You can support a work visa for your partner, but not student visas for your dependent children.

To get student visas for your children:

  1. You get a student visa.
  2. Your partner gets a Partner of a Student Work Visa.
  3. Your children can apply for Dependent Child Student Visas — as dependent children of your partner who has a work visa.

Bringing family if you have a work visa