Study Abroad
Study in New Zealand
Australia & New Zealand · 8 universities
Education
A small system — eight universities, all state-funded and all internationally ranked. Agriculture, veterinary science, environmental management and film are the strengths, the last built around a genuine industry. The Code of Practice places a legal duty on institutions to look after international students' welfare, which is unusual, and the post-study work visa runs up to three years.
Living there
Small, informal and outdoors-centred, with a strong Māori cultural presence in public life. Class sizes are small and teaching is accessible. Post-study work rights run up to three years, and the job market outside Auckland is narrow, which is worth planning around.
Work rights
20 hours per week
After the course
Post Study Work visa — up to 3 years
Processing time
4–8 weeks
Not sure where you fit?
Tell us your marks and your budget and we will shortlist the courses in New Zealand you actually qualify for.
Studying in New Zealand — one visa route, 8 universities
New Zealand has a single Fee Paying Student Visa for all 8 of its universities — no category split like the USA’s F-1/M-1/J-1. The full process and every official university link are below.
All 8 universities
Every one offers Bachelor’s through PhD. Tap through to each university’s own site for programme lists, entry requirements and current fees.
University of Auckland
Auckland
New Zealand's largest university, known as Waipapa Taumata Rau.
Massey University
Palmerston North
Also teaches out of Auckland and Wellington campuses, known as Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa.
Victoria University of Wellington
Wellington
Also known as Te Herenga Waka.
University of Canterbury
Christchurch
Also known as Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha.
Lincoln University
Lincoln
New Zealand's specialist land-based university — agriculture, viticulture, environmental science and related fields. Specialist in subject focus only: it runs its own Bachelor's through PhD programmes the same as the other seven.
University of Otago
Dunedin
New Zealand's oldest university, also known as Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka.
The process, step by step
- 1
Choose your course and apply
Apply directly to one of the 8 universities. Each sets its own entry requirements and application deadlines — there is no single national application system.
- 2
Receive your Offer of Place
The university issues a formal Offer of Place once you meet its entry and (for most courses) English-language requirements.
- 3
Show you can pay your tuition
You need either enough money to pay your tuition fees outright, or a scholarship that covers them. Evidence can be a bank statement, an education loan, or a sponsorship letter.
- 4
Show living-cost funds — NZD $20,000 for a year or more
NZD $20,000 per year of study (or NZD $1,667 per month for courses shorter than a year), separate from tuition. If accommodation is already prepaid — a homestay booking, for example — that amount can be deducted from what you need to show.
- 5
Apply for the Fee Paying Student Visa — from NZD $850
Submitted online or through a visa application centre, with the Offer of Place, proof of funds, and medical/chest X-ray certificates where required. Unlike the US process, there is no separate pre-visa "SEVIS-style" fee — this one application fee covers it.
- 6
Visa granted, then travel
Once the visa is issued you can travel and enrol. Tuition itself is due on whatever schedule the university sets — showing you *can* pay it is the visa requirement, not paying it early.
A real edge on PhD fees
A genuine advantage over the other destinations on this site: international PhD candidates who live in New Zealand for their doctorate pay the same tuition fee as New Zealand citizens — confirmed on the University of Auckland's own fees page, where the domestic and international PhD rate are identical (NZD $8,847.60/year in 2026), against a non-PhD international rate roughly six times higher. Each university sets its own policy, so this is worth confirming directly for the specific university and programme.
After the course — Post-Study Work Visa
Post-Study Work Visa: up to 3 years for a Level 7+ qualification (postgraduate diploma, master's or doctorate), applied for within 3 months of your student visa expiring (6 months for a doctorate). You need at least NZD $5,000 in living-cost funds for this application. From 16 November 2026, eligibility is extended to Level 7 graduate diploma holders too, provided they also hold a bachelor's degree (from NZ or overseas) and did not use cross-crediting to get it — a genuinely new route that did not exist before that date.