Documents required for New Zealand Student Visas

Firstly, you can complete an application form which is the Study in New Zealand. It has to be applied to the New Zealand Visa Application Centre and can be done by post or in person.

The first basic requirement is to have an unconditional offer of place at a university in New Zealand with acceptance of place in writing and have paid the first tuition fee deposit.

The application form you will fill out will have this list of documentation requirements on the front page:

• A valid passport
• A completed application form
• The application fee
• Two recent passport-sized photos   
• An unconditional offer of place to study at a university in New Zealand
• Receipt showing payment of one year’s tuition fees (provided that your visa application has been approved in principle)   
• Guarantee of accommodation
• Evidence of sufficient funds for maintenance, via a letter or bank statement, or completed Financial Undertaking form (INZ 1014)
• Evidence of sufficient funds to purchase an outward ticket.

On top of the documents, you will also need to show the government that you have good character. What this initially means is that you should not have any criminal convictions .If you are planning on extending your stay over 2  years then you will need to provide police clearances from each country you have citizenship for and police clearances for every country you have stayed in for five years or more since you were 17.

Lastly, you must be in your best health for the duration of your stay in New Zealand. This will need you to provide medical and x ray certificate. It is not compulsory for an international student at application stage unless stated otherwise. An official from the Visa Centre will be in touch if a medical certificate or chest x-ray examination is needed to support your application.Moreover, the duration of your stay must be covered by a comprehensive health insurance as only residents and holders of two year or longer work permits are eligible for publicly funded health and disability services.

If you want your stay to be as legal and clean then you must hold a valid permit at all times or you might not get a visa to travel to New Zealand in future. You cannot add a partner to the study visa as a dependent. They must apply as a whole different file application. The processing time for a student visa is four to six weeks generally.