Pathway Student Visa

This visa allows you to stay in New Zealand for up to 5 years. 

It may be issued to expire no more than 3 months after you complete your final pathway programme of study, within the maximum stay of 5 years.  The length of your stay may be shorter if your passport expires before the end date of study.

To apply for this visa you must:

• have a pathway offer of place from an  or providers
• have enough money to pay your tuition fees
• have enough money to pay your living expenses during you stay, or have an acceptable sponsor
• be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian and live with that person while studying if aged under 10 and not living in an approved school hostel
• provide evidence that practical work experience is part of your course, where required
• provide information about your holidays and your course, and have written permission, if you plan to work
• show that you are passing your course and meeting attendance requirements, if you already have a student visa
• be in good health
• be of good character
• have a genuine reason for coming to New Zealand
• have full medical and travel insurance for the length of your stay
• have plans to leave New Zealand at the end of your stay.

Study pathway

You must be offered a valid study pathway by a pathway education provider. 

Not all education providers can offer courses for this visa. Check the list of pathway education providers.

Pathway Student Visa information

You will need to get a letter of support from your pathway education provider or a joint letter if your study is with more than 1 provider. The letter must:

• set out the courses that make up your study pathway, and
• include the start and end dates for each course.

Place on a course

You must have been offered a place on a course by an . You will need to provide evidence of this, or confirmation of enrolment if you are a returning student.

The offer of place evidence must include:

• the name of your course
• how long it will last
• whether your study will be full-time, part-time, or as a distance-learning or correspondence student
• if your course is for more than 1 , the dates of all of the course’s scheduled holidays.

Check our 'offer of place' templates to make sure your offer has the information we need:

Offering a place to a student

An offer of a place must also include a declaration signed by your education provider to say they have assessed, and are satisfied that:

• the course they offer is appropriate to your expectations, and
• you have the English language ability and academic capability to pass the course.

If children are going to be studying for more than 2 weeks, their education provider must be a signatory to the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021.

Find out if an education provider is a signatory, and how the code protects international students.

The Tertiary and International Learners Code of Practice — New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA)

Tuition fees

You must provide documents that show you have paid the tuition fees for your first course or first year of study — whichever is shorter — and evidence that you are able to pay for the next years of study with your pathway education providers.

Paying for your first year or first course

Depending on your situation, provide:

• evidence of savings, such as bank statements, you can use to pay for your tuition fees
• a letter from your approved education provider showing you have paid your fees, or that you do not have to pay fees
• documents that show you have applied for a government loan in your home country together with a letter from your education provider confirming they expect to receive the fees, or
• documents that show you have applied for a government loan in your home country and that you are enrolling in a bachelor degree programme or higher at a private training establishment (PTE) — with a letter from your education provider confirming they expect to receive the fees
• a letter confirming you have a scholarship that covers your tuition fees.

Paying for the rest of your pathway courses

Documents you can provide to show you can pay for all your courses can include:

• bank statements showing savings or family income you can access while in New Zealand
• confirmation that you have a scholarship that covers the fees for all your study here.

Parent or legal guardian

If the applicant is aged under 10 years and not going to live in a New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA)-approved school hostel, they must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian and live with that person while studying.

The parent or legal guardian must provide proof that they care for, and have the legal right to care for, the applicant in their home country.

The parent or legal guardian must provide evidence they:

• have the legal right to care for their dependent child (including education and health), and
• care for the dependent child in their home country.

Evidence of the legal right to provide care for the dependent child can include:

• the child’s birth certificate or adoption papers, if they are the child’s parent
• court documents, if they are a court-appointed guardian
• relevant legal documents, for example, if they were named as the child’s guardian in a will.

Evidence a legal guardian cares for this dependent child in their home country can include:

• their passport or residence document showing they have been living with them in the child’s home country
• documents showing that they have paid for the child’s education
• educational records or documents showing they are responsible for this child’s education.

Permission to work

If you are aged 16 or 17, or in years 12 or 13 of secondary school, you must have permission to work for your student visa to be granted with work rights.

Your visa may be issued with rights allowing you to work up to 20 hours a week, and  in the summer holidays. For this, you will need to provide a letter agreeing that you can work, from your:

• parents or legal guardian, and
• approved education provider.

If you are coming to New Zealand as an exchange student, you will also need a letter from the organiser of the exchange.

Working on a student visa

Working full-time in your scheduled holidays

To be given work rights allowing you to work full-time in scheduled holidays, you must provide information about your course and holidays.

You will need to show:

• your course has a value of 120 credits — this information may be on your fee receipt or invoice, or other correspondence provided by your approved education provider
• when holidays are scheduled during your course — you can usually find this in your education provider's offer of place letter.

Working on a student visa

Practical work experience

If you will be doing practical work experience as part of your course, you must provide evidence that it is a requirement of your studies.

Evidence can include:

• a letter from your approved education provider confirming that you must complete work experience as part of your study
• a course outline that shows you must do practical work experience — this information may be in your offer of place document.

If you already have a student visa

If you already have a student visa, you must provide photocopied evidence of your student performance, progress and attendance. This can include:

• academic transcripts
• a letter from your
• attendance records.

If you have not met performance or attendance requirements, you should provide an explanation for this. Genuine reasons for absence will be considered.

If you are studying a bachelor’s degree or higher, you may not have attendance records, but you must still provide evidence of your progress.

Health

You must be in good health.

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

When you apply, you must answer questions about your health. This will help to decide whether you need to provide evidence of a chest X-ray or medical examination. Even if you do not need these when you apply, we may ask for them when we process your application.

Check the situations where we may ask you to have a chest X-ray or medical examination.

Who needs an X-ray or medical examination

Why you may need to provide evidence you are in good health

How to get an X-ray or medical examination

If staying for more than 6 months

If you will be staying in New Zealand for more than 6 months, you must have a chest X-ray if you:

• are a citizen of a country that does not have a low incidence of tuberculosis (TB), or
• have spent more than 3 months in the last 5 years in a country that does not have a low incidence of TB.

You must provide a new chest X-ray certificate, even if you have provided one to us previously, if you:

• have spent 6 months in a row in a country that does not have a low incidence of TB since the date of your last X-ray certificate, and
• are now coming to New Zealand for more than 6 months — if you are in New Zealand this includes any time you have already spent here.

Countries with a low incidence of tuberculosis

Character

You must be of good character.

You may need to provide police certificates as proof of your good character.

If you have a criminal conviction, or are a security risk to New Zealand, we might not give you a visa.

Character requirements for New Zealand visas

You must provide police certificates that are less than 6 months old when you apply, if:

• you are aged 17 or older, and
• your total time in New Zealand will be 24 months or longer — this includes time you spent in New Zealand in the past on other visas.

Police certificates must be obtained from countries:

• you are a citizen of, and
• you have spent more than 5 years in since you turned 17.

If we ask for a new police certificate when processing your application, you will need to send us a new one.

Police certificates

Genuine intentions

You must genuinely intend to study in New Zealand and meet the conditions of your visa.

When we decide if your intentions for coming to New Zealand are genuine, we will consider all the information that:

• you provide to support your application
• we have about your personal circumstances
• you have previously provided to us.

If your course has English language or academic requirements, you can provide evidence to show that you meet those requirements. Evidence of English language test results are not mandatory for most students but can help us assess your genuine intentions to study.

Genuine intentions to study in New Zealand

Enough money to live on

You must have enough money to live on while you are in New Zealand, or have an acceptable sponsor.

The evidence you send us can include:

• bank statements
• evidence of a full or partial scholarship
• evidence of an education loan, including the loan sanction letter (covering the security, the moratorium period, the interest payable, and the repayments) as well as evidence of how the loan will be repaid
• evidence of fixed-term deposits
• documents that show your living costs have been paid — for example, confirmation of a school homestay where you will live with a local family while you study
• a Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry, completed by an acceptable sponsor
• a Financial Undertaking for a Student Form, completed by an acceptable guarantor.

If you are paying for yourself

If your studies are tertiary level, English language or other non-compulsory study, you must have:

• NZD $20,000 for each year if you are studying for 1 year or more
• NZD $1,667 for each month if your study is shorter than 1 year.

If you plan to study for more than 1 year, it can strengthen your application if you show us a credible plan for how you will pay for your living costs for the following years. For example, by showing us evidence of family income.

Cost of living — NauMai NZ

If you have a sponsor

Your sponsor is responsible for your accommodation and living costs while you are in New Zealand. They can be an organisation or an individual. Individual sponsors must be a family member or friend.

Your responsibilities as a sponsor

Sponsorship process for a visa

Your sponsor must complete a Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry. They can provide supporting documents including:

• recent bank statements
• pay slips
• their employment agreement
• ownership papers for your accommodation or receipts for rent payments.

You submit the form and evidence with your application to show us how they will pay your living expenses.

If you have a guarantor

Before you arrive in New Zealand, a third party or guarantor can agree to provide you with financial support while you are in New Zealand. The guarantor can be an organisation or an individual — if an individual, they must be a relative or friend of the child.

The guarantor must:

• complete a Financial Undertaking for a Student form
• provide evidence that they have money that is their own and not loaned, such as recent bank statements or confirmation from the bank.

Paying for health care

You or your sponsor will need to pay for any health care or medical assistance you receive while in New Zealand. 

If you are pregnant, there are additional requirements.

If your pregnant

Citizens of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal or Bhutan applying from any of those countries

If you are applying in South Asia, only immediate family are able to sponsor you or provide a financial undertaking. Immediate family are your partner, parents, siblings, grandparents and parents-in-law.

Medical and travel insurance

You must agree to have insurance for travel and any health care you need from the date that you arrive in New Zealand to the day you leave. This will be a condition of your student visa.

Your insurance policy must cover you for:

• travel — this includes travel to and from New Zealand, within New Zealand, and outside New Zealand if you travel as part of the course
• medical care in New Zealand, including diagnoses, prescriptions, surgery and stays in hospital
• transport out of New Zealand if you suffer a serious illness or injury, including travel for family members assisting you
• death, including funeral expenses, transport to your home country and travel to and from New Zealand for family members.

Your education provider can give you more information about what your policy must cover or arrange insurance for you.

Who can get public health care

Leaving New Zealand

You must be able to show that you plan to leave the country at the end of your stay.

If you are paying for yourself, you will need to provide:

• your ticket for travel out of New Zealand at the end of your stay to a , or
• documents, such as bank or credit card statements, that show you have enough money to buy a ticket.

If you are being sponsored and you do not have a return ticket, your sponsor can provide recent bank statements to show they have enough money to buy you a ticket out of New Zealand.

A guarantor can also decide to cover the costs of leaving New Zealand.

When you apply

When you apply, you will need to provide:

• a copy of your passport or — if you apply on paper, you can provide a , but we will usually process your visa application faster if you provide the original
• 1 acceptable photo if you apply online, or 2 photos if you apply on paper
• an offer of place from each Pathway education provider and a joint letter of support from your Pathway education providers, or a joint offer of place from your Pathway education providers
• evidence you have paid tuition fees, can do so, or do not need to
• evidence you have enough money to live on while you are in New Zealand, and that the money is from a genuine source we can confirm
• a copy of the completed Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry, if you have a sponsor
• a completed Financial Undertaking for a Student Form, if you have a guarantor
• evidence that practical work experience forms part of your study, where applicable
• if accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, proof that they are responsible for you in your home country
• permission from your parent or legal guardian, as well as from the approved education provider, if you will be working during your stay
• information about your course and holidays, if you plan to work full-time in your holidays
• evidence of a chest X-ray, if required
• evidence of a medical examination, if required
• police certificates, if required
• evidence of a ticket (or money to pay for a ticket) for travel out of New Zealand at the end of your stay
• certified English translations of any police certificates or medical certificates that are not in English.

Visa or NZeTA photos

Providing your passport for an online application

Your passport or certificate of identity must be valid for at least 3 months after the date you plan to leave New Zealand.

After you apply

After you apply, we may contact you and ask for police certificates as proof of your good character.

Character requirements for New Zealand visas

When you arrive

When you arrive, you will need to have:

• a ticket to leave New Zealand at the end of your stay, proof you have enough money to buy one, or agreement that a sponsor will pay for one
• proof you have enough money to live on during your stay in New Zealand.

Your visa is valid from:

• the date you enter New Zealand, if you are outside New Zealand when we approve your application, or
• the date you get your visa, if you are already in New Zealand.

You must leave New Zealand before your visa expires.

Entry permission

You must apply for permission to enter New Zealand. You do this by completing a New Zealand Traveller Declaration (NZTD) form.

You can start your digital declaration any time, but the earliest you can submit it is 24 hours before starting your travel to New Zealand.

A paper declaration form is available for travellers who cannot complete it online.

New Zealand Traveller Declaration

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

Arriving in New Zealand

Your visa conditions are recorded in your eVisa.

Attendance and progress

You must study full-time and attend the course at the approved education provider noted on your visa, unless you have a good reason for absences.

You must make satisfactory progress in your studies.

If you want to change your education provider or move to a lower level course, you will need to apply for a new student visa.

If you want to change the course of study at the same education provider, you will need to apply for a ‘variation of conditions’ to continue studying on your Pathway Student Visa.

Travel

If you want to travel in and out of New Zealand, you must have valid on your visa.

If you are applying from inside New Zealand, we will normally give you multiple-entry travel conditions when we give you this visa.

If you do not have multiple-entry travel conditions and you leave New Zealand, your visa will expire.

Your travel conditions will be recorded on your eVisa.

Work

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

You are not allowed to be self-employed. You have to work as an employee with an employment agreement and not as an independent contractor.

You cannot provide commercial sexual services or operate a business that provides these services.

Paying tax

Everyone who has a job in New Zealand pays tax on what they earn. To pay tax, you need an IRD number from Inland Revenue — the New Zealand Government department that collects tax.

IRD numbers — Inland Revenue