The application process below is for people who want to apply for a student visa. This may include people who want to travel to New Zealand to study, people who want to stay temporarily in New Zealand to study, and people already here on other types of temporary entry class visas who want to study in New Zealand full time.
The application steps
Complete the form
Print and complete the form Student Visa Application (INZ 1012) PDF. Also available is the Student Visa Guide (INZ 1013) PDF, which will assist you in applying. If you cannot print the form and guide, they are available from your nearest Immigration New Zealand branch.
Make sure you submit everything we require, including the fee
Along with your completed (and signed) application form you will also need to provide all the information listed at the back of the application form and the correct fee. If you do not submit the required information with your application we cannot accept it for processing.
Make sure you meet our health requirements
What you have to provide us with depends on whether you are a domestic student or a foreign fee-paying student and how long you will be staying in New Zealand.
Foreign fee paying student?
You don’t need to provide a medical certificate unless the Student Visa Application (INZ 1012) PDF or Student Visa Guide (INZ 1013) PDF indicates that you should. You may need to provide a Chest X-ray Certificate (INZ 1096) PDF if you will be in New Zealand for more than six months to show you have been screened for tuberculosis (TB).
You are required to hold acceptable insurance as a condition of your visa regardless of the length of your stay in New Zealand.
Domestic student?
If you are studying in New Zealand for between six months and one year you may need to provide a completed Chest X-ray Certificate (INZ 1096) PDF to show you have been screened for TB.
If you are studying in New Zealand for more than one year you must provide a medical certificate and a Chest X-ray Certificate (INZ 1096) PDF.
Need further information about health or insurance requirements for students?
For full details on our health requirements, see the Health Requirements Leaflet (INZ 1121) PDF and the Student Visa Guide (INZ 1013) PDF.
For details on our insurance requirements see the Student Visa Guide (INZ 1013) PDF and the questions and answers about health screening and insurance requirements for foreign fee-paying students on our website.
Make sure your meet our character requirements
If you are studying in New Zealand for more than two years you will also have to provide a police certificate, less than six months old, from your country of citizenship and from any country in which you have lived for five or more years since reaching 17 years of age.
Lodge your application
If you are applying from outside of New Zealand, your application must be made and approved before you are able to travel to New Zealand. Find out where to send your application.
If you are in New Zealand, please send your student application direct to:
- Student Processing Unit
- Immigration New Zealand
- PO Box 1049
- Palmerston North 4440
Student applications may also be placed in the branch student drop box (Auckland Branches only) and will be forwarded to the Student Processing Unit in Palmerston North.
If your education provider is certified with Students Online you can make your application at your nearest certified educational institute.
See our checklist for help to make sure you have everything you need to apply for your visa, and check up on our current processing times.
Note: Many of our branches provide checklists with local requirements on their branch web pages.
Already here?
If you need to apply for a further student visa to complete your course of study, you will still need to go through the application process. However, if your education institution is on our Students Online list of certified educators, they will be able to process your student visa on campus. Find out which institutes are with Students Online.
Or you may want to change the conditions of your visa if you:
- Are on another visa type and wish to study part time
- Are on a student visa and want to change courses and/or course providers, or
- Want to work while studying.