New Zealand Student Visa: Application Checklist, Fees and Processing Times
What Immigration New Zealand requires for a student visa: the offer of place, proof of funds, health and character evidence, current fees and processing times, each sourced to INZ's own pages.
Student visa at a glance
- Application fee
- Fee plus a NZD $100 levyCurrent amounts sit on INZ’s fees, processing times and refunds page.
- Processing time
- 2 to 5.5 weeksThe average wait by provider type, published weekly on INZ’s student visa wait times page.
- Core requirements
- Offer, funds, health, characterEach one is set out on INZ’s visas for studying in New Zealand page.
- Who acts first
- The education providerIt issues the offer of place before any visa application can be lodged.
How does applying online work?
Immigration New Zealand processes most student visa applications through its online system. An applicant creates a RealMe account, then uploads the offer of place, financial evidence, and identity and character documents in the formats INZ specifies, and pays the application fee through the same platform.
Draft applications can be saved and returned to before submission. Immigration New Zealand’s applying online page sets out accepted file formats, payment options and the identity checks the system runs before an application reaches a caseworker.
What does the application need?
Immigration New Zealand’s core requirement is a current offer of place from an NZQA-approved education provider, proof of funds to cover the course and stay, and evidence of health and character suited to the visa length. Each of these ties to the others, which is why they are usually gathered together rather than one at a time.
- Offer of place states the course, its duration, and that it meets student visa requirements. A deferred start date generally needs a fresh offer.
- Proof of funds covers tuition (or evidence it is already paid), living costs, and return travel, in the applicant’s name or a sponsor’s with a sponsorship declaration.
- Health and character evidence, including a medical certificate and a police certificate where required, depends on length of stay and country of citizenship.
- Under-18 applicants need confirmation of accommodation arrangements complying with the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021.
- Agent or adviser declaration is required whenever an education agent or immigration adviser has helped prepare the application, via the Student Visa Declaration Form.
The offer of place sets the boundaries for the rest of the file, because Immigration New Zealand’s published guidance ties the proof-of-funds calculation and the health and character requirements to the length and level of the course it names. A one-year diploma and a three-year degree call for different minimum funds, different sponsorship evidence, and, past a set duration, a medical certificate rather than a declaration alone. A deferred start date changes the offer, which changes the dates the funds have to cover, which can change whether a police certificate is required at all. Immigration New Zealand’s own guidance treats these as one interlocking set rather than a checklist to complete in isolation, and applicants unsure which threshold applies to their own course can confirm current figures with a licensed adviser rather than estimate from a different applicant’s experience.
How long does it take?
Immigration New Zealand publishes weekly wait-time data by education provider type, and the gap between the fastest and the slowest is most of a month.
| Provider type | Average wait (weeks) |
|---|---|
| Schools | 2 |
| Universities | 2.5 |
| Private training establishments | 4 |
| Polytechnics and institutes of technology | 5.5 |
Most decisions complete within 5 to 9 weeks depending on provider type. The figures above are averages published weekly, so an individual application can sit either side of them.
Immigration New Zealand recommends applying around three months ahead of an intended start date, and allowing at least 8 weeks for a decision. Current figures are updated weekly on the student visa wait times page and vary by season.
What is the success rate?
Immigration New Zealand does not publish an approval or decline rate for student visas. What it does publish is processing time data and the document requirements set out on its study visas pages, which is the closest public measure of how an application is handled once lodged.
This page reports only what Immigration New Zealand itself publishes, rather than repeating an approval percentage that cannot be traced to an INZ source. A licensed adviser can speak to what supports a decision in a given visa category, based on current INZ guidance.
How much does it cost?
A New Zealand student visa carries an Immigration New Zealand application fee, and many applicants also pay the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) of NZD $100. Exact fee amounts depend on where the application is lodged and are set out on Immigration New Zealand’s fees, processing times and refunds page, since fees change periodically.
Fee amounts are reviewed by Immigration New Zealand from time to time, so a figure quoted anywhere outside its own fees, processing times and refunds page should be checked against that page before it is relied on.
Where does an adviser fit in?
Jumpstart International is a support and coordination service. It connects applicants with a licensed immigration adviser from its partner network; it is not itself a licensed immigration adviser and does not provide immigration advice. Advisers licensed under the Immigration Advisers Licensing Act 2007 are the people qualified to assess an individual application.
This page is general information about Immigration New Zealand’s own published rules and does not address any individual’s circumstances; it is not immigration advice. Confirm current requirements, fees and processing times with a licensed adviser before relying on them for an application.
Where do these figures come from?
Every requirement and every number on this page is Immigration New Zealand’s own. Each entry below names the page it came from, the claim it supports, and the date it was last checked. Wait times are updated weekly and fees are reviewed periodically, so the INZ page is the current one whenever it disagrees with this.
- Immigration New Zealand, Fees, processing times and refunds. Supports the application fee and the NZD $100 International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy quoted in “Student visa at a glance” and “How much does it cost?”. Checked 19 August 2026.
- Immigration New Zealand, Student visa wait times, updated weekly. Supports the 2 to 5.5 week averages by provider type charted in “How long does it take?”. Checked 19 August 2026.
- Immigration New Zealand, Visas for studying in New Zealand. Supports the offer of place, proof of funds, and health and character requirements listed in “What does the application need?”. Checked 19 August 2026.
- Immigration New Zealand, Applying online. Supports the RealMe account, accepted file formats and payment steps described in “How does applying online work?”. Checked 19 August 2026.
This is general information, not immigration advice, and visa rules change often. Check the official Immigration New Zealand website or talk to a licensed adviser before acting on it.
