Student visas

The New Zealand Government requires all international students to have a valid study visa for the period of enrolment at AUT. This page describes the applying process and the documents you will need to supply with your visa application.

Why you need a study visa

AUT will need to sight your study visa so that we can complete your enrolment.

Your study visa should show the correct programme and institute of study details (for example, Bachelor of Business at AUT). Once you become a student you need to ensure that your visa or permit is valid throughout the duration of your study at AUT. AUT can provide support and information when you need to renew your visa.

What happens if you don't have a valid visa

If you do not provide a valid visa you will not have access to education services at AUT and risk being removed from your programme of study.

How to apply for your student visa

You need to apply for your student visa online through Immigration New Zealand – the process is the same whether you are in New Zealand or overseas.

  • Go to the Immigration Online website
  • You will need to create a RealMe account to be able to apply for your student visa online. Follow the instructions given in our RealMe Guide

If you are not eligible to apply online, Immigration NZ will direct you to apply using a paper form.

Immigration Online website
Download RealMe Guide
Download RealMe Guide (Chinese version)

It's important that you follow the Immigration New Zealand checklist when you apply for your visa. It helps Immigration New Zealand make a decision on your visa application faster. You can find the checklist on the Immigration New Zealand website.

Student visa information (Immigration New Zealand)

What you need

  1. Passport quality photo of yourself, as a JPG file – check the Immigration New Zealand website for more details
  2. Police, medical or x-ray certificates – you may need to supply these. Check the Immigration New Zealand website for more details
  3. Scanned documents – listed in the section below
  4. A debit or credit card to pay for your application online - check the Immigration New Zealand website for more details

Acceptable photos (Immigration New Zealand website)
Police and medical certificates (Immigration New Zealand website)
Fees, decision times and where to apply (Immigration New Zealand website)

You need to scan and save the following documents as PDFs, so you can upload them when you complete your application.

All students

All students must upload the following documents with their application. If you are a PhD student, you need to provide some extra documents – these are described in the next sections.

  1. Bio-page of your passport (page that shows your photo and date of birth details, etc). Check that your passport is not going to expire within the next six months.
  2. Offer of Place (available from your Arion correspondence)
  3. Evidence that you have paid your international tuition fees. You need to supply one of these documents:
    • AUT receipt or payment acknowledgement letter (you can download these from Arion)
    • Scholarship confirmation letter or financial guarantee letter (if applicable)
  4. Attendance confirmation from your previous institute of study if you are new to AUT.
  5. Proof of living expenses: you need to show you have access to at least NZ$20,000 for one year or NZ$10,000 for one semester. You need to supply one of these documents:
    • A financial guarantee or scholarship letter indicating you are fully funded for the duration of your study
    • A bank statement in your name only, with three months of transaction history (Immigration New Zealand does not accept a printout of a balance only) and not older than three days at the time of your visa application
    • A completed Sponsorship Form (INZ1025) from a sponsor who is a New Zealand resident or citizen, filled out by the same person who completed this form for your initial (first ever) student visa application before you arrived in New Zealand
    • A completed Financial Undertaking Form (INZ1014) filled out by the same person who completed this form for your previous student visa application before you arrived in New Zealand

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) students

If you are a PhD student you must include some extra documents with your application. You can upload these under the 'Other' section in your application:

  1. Thesis title (abstract) and the names of all your supervisors
  2. Progress update (recent PGR approval)
  3. Updated CV

When you submit your online application the status will change to “submitted”. You can log in at any time to check the status of your application.

Check your email often

You should regularly check your email inbox as Immigration New Zealand may ask you to provide other documents. You should also check your junk or spam folder in case correspondence from Immigration New Zealand is there.

Your application outcome

Immigration New Zealand will issue you with an outcome on your application. If you are issued with an eVisa they will send it to your email. You should print out your eVisa and keep it with your passport at all times. You will not be issued a visa label.

Send AUT a copy of your visa

If you already have your updated visa or have had an interim visa sent to you by email, please provide a copy to us as soon as possible. The quickest way to do this is to upload your visa directly to Arion.

You need to log into arion.aut.ac.nz and choose: Academic Details > Student Documents > Add Document > Select Document Type > Valid Visa.

Log into Arion website

Current AUT students: what you need to know about visas

Visa processes can be daunting and complicated to navigate. If you’re currently studying at AUT, find out what you need to about student visas, how to renew your visa and where to get support with your visa application.

READ MORE

Immigration New Zealand (INZ)

Visit the Immigration New Zealand website to find out more about student visas.

Immigration New Zealand website

Working while you study in New Zealand

The conditions of your study visa will show if you're allowed to work while studying. To find out about the types of work you can do and how many hours you can work, read our page about working while you study.

Working while you study