Visas for international students , Ngā pane uruwhenua mā ngā tauira nō tāwāhi

Students from outside New Zealand need a valid visa to study here. Your student visa is your responsibility, although we can guide you when you apply to renew your student visa.

You need a student visa to enter New Zealand and start full-time studies. Your visa must be valid for the whole time you are in New Zealand. You apply to Immigration New Zealand for a visa

You need a student visa if:

  • you are not a citizen or permanent resident of New Zealand or Australia
  • you want to study a qualification in New Zealand for more than three months
  • studying is the main reason you’re coming to New Zealand.

Most international students need a Fee Paying Student Visa to study full-time in New Zealand.

Fee Paying Student Visa at Immigration New Zealand

See all student visas at Immigration New Zealand

New international students

Before applying for your first student visa, you need to have:

  • accepted an Offer of Place from Massey
  • paid all of your tuition fees.

You can apply online at Immigration New Zealand. Apply for a visa as early as you can because it can take a few months, depending on things like your nationality and health.

When you get to New Zealand, bring your visa and passport to Campus Information Services Mōhiohio a few days before semester starts.

Apply for a visa at Immigration New Zealand

Documents from Massey for your application

When you apply for your first student visa, you need to give copies of these documents to Immigration New Zealand.

  • Offer of Place from Massey – we email this to you.
  • Receipt of Payment from Massey – log in to the student portal and go to the Messages section to download this.

View details of what to submit in the application checklist on Immigration New Zealand's website

Renew your student visa

As an international student returning to study at Massey, you may need to renew your student visa. If we do not have details of your new student visa before your current student visa expires, this may affect your enrolment at Massey.

Once you have a renewed student visa, check it to make sure all the details are right. Send us your student visa:

  • within two working days of your visa's issue date
  • before your current student visa expires
  • to make sure you can carry on studying.

Send details of your new visa to visa@massey.ac.nz

What you need to renew your visa

To renew your student visa, you need to show Immigration New Zealand that you:

  • are still enrolled as a student at Massey
  • have passed your courses
  • have paid your tuition fees for the next one year, or one qualification, whichever is shorter
  • have attended your course – only if you are studying pre-degree qualifications for international students
  • meet all the conditions of a student visa.

View Immigration New Zealand's student visa application checklist for continuing international students

Check student visa conditions at Immigration New Zealand

Documents from Massey

You need to upload scanned documents or electronic documents from Massey when you apply online to renew your new student visa. You need to submit:

  • Confirmation of Enrolment – log in to the student portal and select All Messages to download this
  • Statement of Account – log in to the student portal, select the Fees and finance tab and download your Statement of Account
  • academic record – log in to the student portal and select the Results and exams tab, then Academic Records to download your Study History Report.

Log in to the student portal

When to renew your student visa

You need the results of your assessments to apply to renew your visa. It is wise to complete the rest of your visa application before you get your results. Then upload your results and submit your completed application.

Immigration New Zealand takes around six weeks to renew a student visa so apply as soon as you can. It is your responsibility to make sure you have a valid visa to be in New Zealand. You can get in touch with us with any questions about renewing your student visa.

Contact us at visa@massey.ac.nz

How to renew your visa

Log in to the Immigration New Zealand website, choose the visa you want to apply for and fill in the online application.

Apply for a visa at Immigration New Zealand

Part-time students

If you will be studying part-time because it is your last semester, you need to tell Immigration New Zealand.

Ask for a confirmation letter from an academic adviser to submit when you apply to renew your student visa.

See more about academic advisers

Pathway or pre-degree qualifications

If you have been studying a pathway or pre-degree qualification, you need to submit an attendance record.

Ask the Massey University College (MUC) office for a copy of your attendance record.

Email MUC at muc@massey.ac.nz

PhD or doctoral research

If you are researching a PhD or doctoral thesis, you also need to submit your:

  • Doctoral confirmation letter (supervisor's letter) – giving your supervisor’s name and contact details, your thesis title and expected dates of your thesis submission and completion, up to six months apart. Submit your request by logging in to the student portal and going to the Research tab.
  • Latest 6-month progress report.
  • Thesis proposal.
  • CV or resume.

Change your visa

Your visa needs to change if you change what, where or how you study. Changes that affect your student visa include:

  • completing your qualification
  • changing your qualification or place of study to another Massey campus or to another university or education provider
  • studying part-time
  • deferring your qualification – taking a break from studying for a while and going back to study later
  • withdrawing – stopping studying.

See more about changes affecting your student visa at Immigration New Zealand

It is your responsibility to:

  • tell Immigration New Zealand about changes that may affect your visa
  • apply for variations of conditions on your current visa or for a new type of visa.

Get advice from visa@massey.ac.nz

Variation of conditions

Your student visa is usually valid only for the qualifications, campus and education provider named on it. You need to have a variation of conditions to your visa if you want to change your:

  • qualification
  • campus or place of study
  • education provider.

Variations of conditions from Immigration New Zealand

Before semester starts, show us your variation of conditions. If the qualification you have enrolled in at Massey is not given on your student visa, you may not be able to study.

Part-time study

If you are in the final semester of your qualification, you may study part-time on a student visa. But you can do this once only and in your final semester.

Before your final semester, you need a visitor or work visa with a variation of conditions to study part-time.

New visa

You need a new visa if you want to:

  • change to a lower-level qualification
  • change from full-time to part-time study
  • defer your qualification – take a break from studying for a while
  • withdraw from your qualification – stop studying
  • stay in New Zealand after completing your qualification.

Explore all visas at Immigration New Zealand

If you are about to complete your qualification, you need to apply for another visa to stay in New Zealand. You may be able to apply for a Post-Study Work Visa.

See more about Post-Study Work Visas at Immigration New Zealand

Expiry of your student visa

If your student visa expires or runs out, what happens depends on whether you've applied to renew it.

If you:

  • have applied to renew your visa, you may be given an interim visa
  • have not applied to renew your student visa, you can ask for a new visa under Section 61 of the Immigration Act 2009.

If your student visa has expired, you cannot apply for a new visa.

Everyone in New Zealand with visas must leave when their visas expire. Find the date your visa expires in your eVisa letter from Immigration New Zealand.

Interim visa

Your student visa may run out or expire before Immigration New Zealand decides on your application to renew it. They may grant you an interim visa while they look at your application. An interim visa lets you stay in New Zealand and may let you keep on studying.

If you have not applied to renew your student visa before it runs out, you do not get an interim visa.

Interim visas at Immigration New Zealand

If Immigration New Zealand grants you an interim visa, you need to send us a copy, along with any conditions it has.

When Immigration New Zealand approves or refuses your student visa, your interim visa is no longer valid. If Immigration New Zealand approves your student visa, send us a copy within two working days.

Send your interim visa to visa@massey.ac.nz

Section 61 applications

If your student visa has run out, you must leave New Zealand.

You can ask Immigration New Zealand for a new visa under Section 61 of the Immigration Act 2009 but it may take a long time to get a visa this way. You cannot be enrolled at Massey so you will miss at least one semester.

You cannot apply online. If you have good reasons to think you have a special case, email Immigration New Zealand with the information they ask for.

Details of Section 61 from Immigration New Zealand

Studying on a work or visitor visa

You can study short courses such as professional development training or longer qualifications part-time if you have another type of visa. Examples are work visas, visitor visas and working holiday visas.

See more about studying part-time on a work visa at Immigration New Zealand

You may need to apply for a new visa to study longer. Or you could apply for changes to your work or visitor visa. This is a 'variation of conditions'.

See changing work visa conditions on Immigration New Zealand

Becoming a resident or citizen of New Zealand

You do not need a student visa if you become a:

  • permanent resident of New Zealand
  • citizen of New Zealand.

You need to show us official documents of your new status before you start studying.

As a permanent resident or citizen of New Zealand, you:

  • are a domestic student and pay domestic tuition fees
  • do not need travel and medical insurance to study
  • have more qualifications to choose from
  • can apply for scholarships open to New Zealanders.

See tuition fees for domestic students

Contact us for visa help and advice

Email Student Registry if you have any questions about student visas on visa@massey.ac.nz

Related content

International students' entry requirements

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Admission & enrolment

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Planning your study

Find the information you need to plan your qualification, courses and study workload at Massey.

International students' tuition fees

See what you can expect to pay in tuition fees, depending on what you're studying and for how long.