Study in New Zealand

A multicultural nation, which openly invites the students to come and get themselves educated, New Zealand is a beautiful place for a person to be into. New Zealand is nowadays has been populated quite amazingly by people from overseas, mainly European and Asian people. A famous place for tourists, New Zealand has gained an enormous spot in being one of the highly visited tourist places. Apart from the beauty it has, the people of New Zealand highly believe in interacting with other people, mainly the outsiders or the visitors. Being a gem of the culture it has, New Zealand is also called the hub of education for the ones who are indeed planning to get themselves educated being abroad.

There are plenty of courses available in New Zealand such as academics, polytechnics, professional and vocational. The people of New Zealand are very much indulged with the term called “culture exchange” due to which they feel no difference in the people that come from other countries.

The campuses of the colleges and other educational institutes have a level or a high standard in the way of their teachings and hence attract the students from all around the world, mainly from India, South Africa, Japan, Australia, etc. New Zealand guarantees the students for a perfect future with the kind of educational programmers it offers.

VISA PROCESS

New Zealand is a multicultural nation with top amenities in terms of education. Gaining a spot amongst the highest visited tourist spots, New Zealand has now started becoming a hub for further education.

FUNDING

Students opting to study in NZ are required to show some amount to INZ for proof that they can bear the rates of their education. If they are not able to, then the phenomenon of FTS comes into action.

INCOME & EXPENSE

Being a student in NZ, you can surely work as a part-time employee during the ongoing semester, can work as a full-time employee during vacations. Through this, a student can spare his/her living expenses there.

WORK VISA

Working after your qualification in NZ, you are allotted a period of 12 months to find a suitable job. If at all you get the job, you can be eligible for the visa for post-study work in NZ.

Income and Expenses

Being a student in New Zealand, you can surely work as a part-time employee which can easily help you out with the basic living expenditures.

Popular part-time jobs:

  • An attendant in the supermarket.
  • An attendant in small restaurants.
  • Opportunities to work in the campus library, computer lab, etc.
  • Door-to-door marketing opportunities.
  • Call center jobs.

Living Expenses

Part-time Work Rights
The students here will only be allowed to work for up to 20 hours at the time of their ongoing semester excluding the vacation period, which can allow them to work as full-time employees.

Full-time Work Rights
You can work full-time whenever you get a break from the ongoing semester or the academic year. An academic year means a programme of study of a minimum of 120 credits during a period of at least eight months that is a minimum of two semesters. The breaks depend upon the holidays that a college gives e.g. winter holidays, Christmas holidays, etc.

If your full-time programme of study has a duration of at least eight months, and is a minimum of two semesters, but is less than 120 credits, you can work full-time over the Christmas and New Year holiday period. You do not have to have a job offer.

Minimum Wage Rates
All students on a student visa can work for up to 20 hours a week during the semester and full-time during vacations. The minimum wage rate in New Zealand is NZ $14.75 per hour (before taxes) for workers aged over 16. The taxes however can be reclaimed at the end of each financial year through lodging tax returns (values are subject to change in the future).

Tuition Fees

The tuition fees are different for different universities and colleges and vary with courses. We have listed a few courses with the approximate range of annual tuition fees.

Undergraduate Courses

ArtsNZ $10,000 – $12,000 per year
BusinessNZ $12,500 – $15,000 per year
ScienceNZ $12,500 – $18,000 per year

Post-graduate Courses

ArtsNZ $14,000 – $16,000 per year
BusinessNZ $18,000 – $24,000 per year
ScienceNZ $18,000 – $24,500 per year

Living Expenses

The approximate annual living expenses on top of the tuition fees are about NZ $ 12,000 – 15,000, which includes transportation, accommodation, grocery as well as other daily expenses.

However, the expenses are different for different people depending on the lifestyles and this is just a rough idea.

New Zealand has the lowest cost of living among most developed countries. (Values mentioned above are as per the latest criteria and are subject to change in the near future.)

English Language Requirements

Many New Zealand colleges & universities accept only IELTS scores as proof of English Proficiency. The following guidelines for IELTS scores are just an approximation, each university or institutes will have its own benchmark score for its respective courses.

Diploma programs: Overall band score of 5.5 with no band less than 5.0

Bachelor’s Degree: Overall band score of 6.0

Graduate Diploma: Overall band score of 6.0

Master Programs: Overall band score of 6.5

However, both New Zealand immigration and most institutes also accept TOEFL or Pearson’s tests as an indicator of a student’s English language ability. In most cases, the required score for TOEFL or PTE would be equivalent to the above IELTS benchmark score.

Financials

You must submit evidence of sufficient funds for maintenance during your stay in New Zealand including:
Financial Undertaking Form/s (If more than one guarantor).

Affidavit/s of Support from Guarantors (also stating the exact relationship of the guarantor with the applicant). The guarantor must provide the documents of evidence of their identity including date of birth, signature, and contact details including telephone numbers.

Authorization letter(s) from guarantors authorizing Immigration New Zealand to verify their financial documents on their behalf. If guarantors are outside India, the contact name and numbers/email addresses can be taken for verification by the Bank officials.

The students should provide evidence of funds upfront for courses for the first year inclusive of living expenses (NZ$ 15,000) in New Zealand. If the duration of the course is longer than one academic year, students should provide a plan of payment to show that they have access to funds and have the ability to meet the rest of the course cost and living expenses while they are studying in New Zealand.

The following evidence of funds can be accepted:
Education loan sanction letter from a nationalized or multinational bank only

Latest bank statements for the past 6 months. It should not be more than 1 week old at the time of lodgment of the application. Please ensure that statements and not balance certificates are provided.

Fixed Deposits. In case of providing fixed deposits as evidence of funds please ensure that a copy of the deposit along with a letter from the bank giving the details of the deposit is provided.

Public Provident Fund Accounts/Employers Provident Fund Accounts.

Post Office Accounts.

National Saving Certificates.

Acceptable Payment Plan

EPF or GPF accumulated over a period of 1 year

Fixed deposits

NSC’s due to mature in the following year

KVP’s due to mature in the following year

LIC due to mature in the following year

Funds Transfer Scheme

Immigration New Zealand has introduced a system wherein the students are able to choose to transfer their living expenses of 12 months to a bank account in New Zealand which will be in addition to paying a tuition fee for 1 year. The amount is deposited in the bank and is sealed for a year, and is then provided to the student on a prearranged basis.

The fund transfer option is available for the students who are genuinely intended to stay in New Zealand and do not have sufficient funds that are 6 months old. Here the student is made to transfer $15,000 to the NZ’s bank account through which the student is provided only $1,250 per month for his/her living expenses. Students who opt for this option find no need to verify any documentary evidence to demonstrate their source of funds.

Admission & Visa Process:

The student has to choose an academic programme and check the entry criteria

We assist the students with completing the application form and guiding them for required supporting documents.

Once the application is made, expect to receive a response or an acknowledgment within a week or two. Outstanding documents will be requested (if required).

Once the application is done, it will be academically assessed and if you meet the entry requirement, you will be issued with an Offer of Place and Tax invoice from a New Zealand Institute.

We then apply for your student visa with Immigration New Zealand.

After visa lodgment, a telephonic interview will be conducted by the designated visa officer.

Once the visa is approved in principle, then the student must pay the course fees in full.

Immigration then completes the process and the student then receives the visa.

Documents Checklist:

  • A completed Student Visa Application Form (INZ 1012)
  • Visa application fee
  • A valid passport
  • Two passport-sized, colored photographs
  • Educational certificates
  • IELTS certificate
  • Medical or chest x-ray certificates
  • Covering letter
  • Letter of acceptance from your host institution.
  • Receipt of the payment of your tuition fees.
  • A police certificate
  • Proof that you will have access to enough funds to support yourself for the duration of your study programme: you will need to provide NZ$15,000 for each year of study.
  • Evidence of accommodation (highly recommended)
  • Evidence of outward travel (or additional funds to purchase an outward ticket)
  • Evidence of employment (if applicable)
  • Letter of recommendation (if applicable)

Note: Additional documents and forms may be required as per individual cases to support the application further. All the supporting documents should be notarized and self-attested.