New Zealand Student Visa Conditions: What You Can and Cannot Do (2026)

## Quick Facts The conditions attached to a New Zealand Fee Paying Student Visa in 2026: 1. You must enrol in and attend the programme specified on your visa within the timeframe stated. You cannot study a different course or at a different institution without first obtaining a variation of conditions or a new visa. 2. Work is limited to 20 hours per week during term time and full-time during scheduled holidays. Self-employment or operating a business is not permitted. 3. You must maintain satisfactory attendance and academic progress — your education provider monitors this and is required to report to Immigration New Zealand if you fall below the acceptable threshold. 4. You must hold approved medical and travel insurance for the entire duration of your stay in New Zealand. Letting your insurance lapse is a breach of visa conditions. 5. You must notify Immigration New Zealand of your residential address within 14 days of arriving in New Zealand and update it whenever you move. This is a legal requirement under the Immigration Act 2009. 6. Your visa is valid only while you are enrolled — if you withdraw, are expelled, or complete your programme early, your visa may cease to be valid before its printed expiry date. 7. Breaching visa conditions can result in visa cancellation, removal from New Zealand, and restrictions on future visa applications to New Zealand and potentially other countries. ## Enrolment and Attendance Conditions The most fundamental condition of your student visa is that you study. Specifically, you must: 1. Enrol at the education provider named in your visa application and in the specific programme approved by Immigration New Zealand. You cannot decide to study a different course — even a related one at the same institution — without INZ approval. 2. Maintain full-time enrolment throughout the academic year. Part-time study is not permitted on a Fee Paying Student Visa. Your programme must meet the minimum full-time credit load as defined by NZQA and your education provider. 3. Attend classes regularly. While New Zealand does not have a legislated minimum attendance percentage for international students, your education provider is required under the Code of Practice 2021 to monitor your attendance and report any concerns to INZ. If your attendance drops below your provider's acceptable standard — typically 80-90% depending on the institution — it may be reported. 4. Make satisfactory academic progress. This means passing your courses and progressing through your programme at a reasonable pace. Repeated course failures, particularly without documented extenuating circumstances, can lead to INZ questioning whether you meet the bona fide student standard. 5. Complete your programme within the expected timeframe. If you need more time due to failed courses or a reduced study load (with approval), you must apply for a visa extension before your current visa expires. The education provider is required to act as INZ's eyes on the ground. Under the Code of Practice, providers must report international students who are not attending, not progressing, or who have withdrawn from their programme. This is a formal reporting obligation, and failing to report can affect the provider's ability to enrol international students in the future. ## Work Conditions in Detail Your work rights are embedded in your visa conditions. Here is what the standard conditions mean in practice: 1. The 20-hour cap applies Monday to Sunday, not on a rolling seven-day basis. If you work 15 hours in one week and 25 the next, the 25-hour week is a breach, even though the two-week average is 20. 2. "During the academic year" includes all scheduled teaching weeks, study weeks, examination periods, and any other period that the institution's academic calendar designates as term time. It does not matter if you personally have no classes or exams in a particular week — if the calendar says it is term, the 20-hour limit applies. 3. "Scheduled holidays" are defined by the education provider's official calendar. Summer break, winter break (if applicable), mid-semester breaks, and inter-trimester periods are all scheduled holidays. You should download and keep a copy of your institution's academic calendar for your records. 4. You cannot be self-employed. This means you cannot run a business, work as a freelance contractor with your own ABN or equivalent, or operate as a sole trader in New Zealand. All work must be as an employee with a formal employment relationship. 5. You cannot provide commercial sexual services or operate or invest in a business that provides such services. This is a specific statutory prohibition under the Immigration Act 2009. 6. If your visa does not include work rights — for example, if you are on a short English language programme — working for any employer in any capacity is a breach. Your eVisa will state your work conditions (or lack thereof). ## Insurance Obligations Medical and travel insurance is not optional — it is a visa condition and a legal requirement under the Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021. Your insurance must cover: 1. Medical treatment, including hospitalisation, surgery, doctor visits, prescription medication, and specialist consultations. 2. Emergency dental treatment (acute pain relief; cosmetic dentistry is not required). 3. Medical evacuation and repatriation — the cost of flying you back to your home country if you have a serious medical condition that cannot be treated in New Zealand. 4. Repatriation of remains in the event of death. 5. Travel-related cover — trip cancellation, lost or stolen baggage, and personal liability. You must hold this insurance from the day you arrive in New Zealand to the day you depart, including any period after your course ends but before you leave the country. If you change insurers mid-stay, ensure there is no gap between policies. Many education providers include insurance in their enrolment packages or have a preferred provider arrangement. If you purchase your own insurance independently, you must confirm with your provider that the policy meets the Code of Practice standards — not all travel insurance policies do, particularly those that exclude routine medical care. A lapse in insurance is a breach of visa conditions. While it is unlikely to be detected immediately, if you need medical treatment and are uninsured, the provider will report it, and it will come to INZ's attention. ## Address Reporting Under Section 300 of the Immigration Act 2009, every person in New Zealand who is not a citizen must notify Immigration New Zealand of their residential address. For student visa holders, this means: 1. You must provide your residential address within 14 days of arriving in New Zealand. 2. You must update your address within 14 days of moving. 3. This can be done through Immigration Online — log in to your account and update your contact details. 4. A "residential address" is where you physically live — not a postal box or a friend's address where you do not reside. 5. Failure to report your address is technically a breach of immigration law, though INZ does not aggressively enforce this against compliant students. However, if your file is reviewed for any other reason — such as a visa renewal — unreported changes of address reflect poorly on your compliance attitude. ## What Happens If You Breach Conditions Breaching your visa conditions can trigger a chain of increasingly serious consequences: 1. First breach or minor breach. Immigration New Zealand may issue a warning or take no action, depending on the severity and circumstances. A single week of working 22 hours during term, for example, is unlikely to result in visa cancellation if it appears accidental. However, you should never assume that a breach will be overlooked. 2. Serious or repeated breach. INZ may issue a Deportation Liability Notice (DLN). This is a formal notice stating that you are liable for deportation because you have breached your visa conditions. You have a limited time — typically 14 to 28 days — to provide good reason why deportation should not proceed. 3. Visa cancellation. Your visa can be cancelled by INZ if the breach is significant. Once your visa is cancelled, you must leave New Zealand immediately unless you hold another valid visa. 4. Deportation. If you do not leave voluntarily after your visa is cancelled, you may be deported. Deportation carries a ban on re-entering New Zealand — typically five years for a first deportation, and permanently for serious criminal offending. 5. Future visa applications. A history of visa breaches in New Zealand must be declared in any future application for a New Zealand visa, and in visa applications for many other countries. The declaration asks: "Have you ever been removed, deported, or excluded from any country?" Answering yes will make future applications more difficult. ## FAQ ### Q1: Can I volunteer or do unpaid work without counting toward my 20 hours? Genuine volunteer work for a registered charity, where there is no payment and no expectation of future payment, is generally not considered work for visa purposes. However, an unpaid internship that involves productive work that would normally be done by a paid employee may be considered work even if no money changes hands. If in doubt, treat it as counting toward your 20-hour limit. ### Q2: What if my education provider goes on strike or is closed temporarily? If your provider is closed due to a strike, natural disaster (as happened with some institutions during recent weather events), or other circumstances beyond your control, you are still bound by your visa conditions. You do not suddenly gain additional work rights. Contact your provider's international office and Immigration New Zealand for guidance on your specific situation. ### Q3: Can I study an additional short course alongside my main programme? Generally not without INZ approval. Your visa is granted for a specific programme at a specific provider. Taking an additional course — even a short, informal one — at another provider may be considered studying outside the scope of your visa. Small non-credit courses (such as a weekend cooking class) are unlikely to draw attention, but enrolling in a formal certificate programme at a second institution would require a variation of conditions. ### Q4: Do I need to carry my visa document with me? You do not need to carry a printed copy of your eVisa, but you should have access to it — for example, as a PDF on your phone or in your email. Your eVisa is electronically linked to your passport, and employers or education providers can verify it online. However, having a copy available when starting a new job or enrolling for a new semester is good practice. ## Sources - Immigration New Zealand — Fee Paying Student Visa Conditions: www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/visas/visa/fee-paying-student-visa - Immigration New Zealand — Immigration Act 2009, Section 300: www.legislation.govt.nz - Education (Pastoral Care of Tertiary and International Learners) Code of Practice 2021: www.legislation.govt.nz - New Zealand Qualifications Authority — International Students: www.nzqa.govt.nz - Employment New Zealand — Employment Rights: www.employment.govt.nz