Study in New Zealand
Fee Paying Student Visa · You generally need an offer from an approved provider, tuition funding, living funds and acceptable insurance.
Plan the application in order
For a Fee Paying Student Visa, assemble an offer from an approved provider, evidence for tuition, living and outward travel, and insurance acceptable to the provider. The funds evidence can come from different permitted sources, but it must be genuinely available.
Tuition, visa evidence and actual spending
Immigration New Zealand publishes NZD 20,000 for each year of tertiary study lasting at least a year, or NZD 1,667 per month for shorter study. That is living-fund evidence, with tuition and outward travel addressed separately; it is not a fixed Auckland or Dunedin rent budget.
Insurance, work and what follows study
A visa may include permission for up to 25 hours of work a week and holiday work, depending on the course and visa conditions. Read the permission on your own visa; any post-study work route has a separate application and qualification criteria.
Editorial source review: 2026-10-12. Conditions depend on your status and may change.
Published financial evidence
NZD 20,000/year for tertiary study of one year or more; shorter study: NZD 1,667/month.
Living cost context
These are visa fund requirements, not a fixed living cost for Auckland or Dunedin.
Government sources
Apply the current rules to your nationality, course, dependants and intake. A visa evidence minimum does not replace a personal spending budget.