Want to keep studying in New Zealand after your current visa ends?

No. New Zealand has no automatic student visa extension and no renewal process. If you are in New Zealand and want to stay past your visa expiry date, you apply for another student visa before your current one expires.

People call it a renewal, and education providers often use that word too, but INZ treats it as a completely new application. Your previous approval does not carry over. You need to meet requirements again, with current evidence.

This matters more than it sounds. Students who think of it as a renewal tend to leave it late, send last year’s documents, and assume approval is a formality. It is not.

INZ says to apply at least one month before your current visa expires. In practice, earlier is better.

Two things have to line up before you can apply, and both take time to obtain:

• Confirmation of your enrolment or a new offer of place from your provider, showing the period you will be studying
• Evidence that you have paid your tuition fees for one course or one year of study, whichever is shorter. INZ also accepts confirmation from your provider that you do not need to pay fees

You may need time to obtain confirmation of enrolment and evidence of tuition fee payment, so do not leave these documents until close to your visa expiry date.

INZ assesses a subsequent student visa application against the relevant student visa requirements, while also considering your study and immigration record to date. Broadly, it will look at:

• Your enrolment. A current offer of place from an approved education provider, or confirmation of enrolment if you are a returning student
• Your funds. Evidence that you can pay your tuition and support yourself for the period of the visa. If you are applying from inside New Zealand, you can only be sponsored if your first student visa was sponsored, and only by the same sponsor.
• Your progress. Academic transcripts, attendance records, or a letter from your provider showing how you have done so far. If you have not met the performance or attendance requirements, you must explain why. INZ will consider genuine reasons for absence. If you are studying a bachelor’s degree or higher you may not have attendance records, but you still need evidence of academic progress.
• Your study plan. Your study plans and, if they have changed since your last application, why they have changed. See the Student Visa Study Plan Guide.
• Health and character. Whether anything has changed since your last application, and whether new certificates are required for the period you are now applying for.

If you already have a student visa and apply for another one, INZ may ask about your study plans, any changes since your last application, your attendance, your progress, and how you are continuing to pay for your studies.

If you are in New Zealand, hold a current temporary visa, and have applied for another temporary visa, INZ will normally give you an Interim Visa automatically if your current visa expires while the new application is being assessed. For INZ to grant it, your complete application must have been received and accepted for processing before your current visa expires.

An interim visa lets you stay in New Zealand lawfully while your application is assessed. Whether you can keep studying or working on it depends on the conditions of the visa you held before and the visa you have applied for, and INZ writes to you with those conditions when it is granted.

It is granted electronically as an eVisa. There is no physical visa label in your passport.

This is the part almost nobody explains, and it is where the real risk sits.

An interim visa has no travel conditions

An interim visa does not have travel conditions. If you leave New Zealand while holding one, the interim visa expires and you cannot use it to return to New Zealand.

It lasts for a maximum of six months

An interim visa normally starts the day after your current temporary visa expires. If your new visa application is still being considered six calendar months after the interim visa started, the interim visa expires. If you remain in New Zealand after that without another valid visa, you will be unlawfully in New Zealand.

If your application is declined before the six months are up

If INZ declines your new visa application within six calendar months of the interim visa starting, your interim visa expires 21 calendar days after the date of decline. However, if no decision has been made by the six-month point, the interim visa expires then. You do not receive an additional 21 days simply because the application is declined later.

Not every change needs a new visa. A variation of conditions changes the conditions on the visa you already hold, without changing its expiry date.

A variation of conditions will not be granted to let a student visa holder enrol in a programme at a lower level. A change to a different education provider also normally requires a new student visa, although a variation of conditions may be granted where the change of provider is due to circumstances beyond the student’s control.

As a general rule:

• You need a new student visa if you need more time, because a variation cannot extend an expiry date.
• A variation of conditions may be the right application if your visa still has time to run and what is changing is a condition on it, such as your course within the same provider at the same or a higher level.

Applying for the wrong one costs time you may not have, which is the reason to check before you lodge rather than after.

From what we see, the same few things.

Leaving it too late

If you need to stay in New Zealand beyond your current visa expiry date, you must apply for another visa before your current visa expires. INZ recommends applying at least one month before expiry. Returning students will also need confirmation of enrolment and evidence that they have paid, can pay, or are not required to pay their tuition fees

An incomplete application lodged just before expiry

An application that is not accepted for processing does not trigger an interim visa. Students who lodge something partial on the last day, expecting to supply the rest afterwards, can find themselves unlawful.

Attendance and academic progress

If you already hold a student visa and apply for another one, INZ may ask about your attendance and academic progress. If either has been poor, you must explain why and provide any supporting evidence. INZ may still decline the application if it is not satisfied that you are meeting, or are likely to meet, your student visa conditions.

Funds evidence that was fine last year

Requirements and amounts change, and evidence that satisfied INZ for your first visa may not satisfy it now.

Travelling on an interim visa

Covered above, but worth repeating: if you leave New Zealand while holding an interim visa, the interim visa expires and you cannot use it to return to New Zealand.

If your visa has expired and you are still in New Zealand, you are unlawful. You cannot apply for another student visa from that position.

If you want INZ to grant you a visa while you are unlawfully in New Zealand, you can make a request under section 61 of the Immigration Act 2009. A section 61 request asks INZ to exercise its absolute discretion to grant a visa to a person who is unlawfully in New Zealand.

INZ is under no obligation to consider a section 61 request and there is no right of appeal against a decision to refuse it.

Time matters here more than anywhere else on this page. See the Section 61 Requests Guide for what a request involves, and talk to a licensed immigration adviser before you do anything else.

INZ currently lists the Fee Paying Student Visa from NZD 850. Fees change, so check the current amount on the INZ website before you apply rather than relying on what you paid last time.

INZ currently decides 80 percent of applications within eight weeks. Processing is busiest between October and March, which is another reason to apply early.

An interim visa is free.

Can I extend my student visa in New Zealand?

No. You apply for a new student visa before your current one expires. INZ assesses it as a fresh application.

How long before my visa expires should I apply?

At least one month, and earlier during the October to March peak. Your provider’s enrolment and fee payment timelines usually set the real deadline.

Can I stay in New Zealand while my new application is being assessed?

Yes, if your complete application was accepted for processing before your current visa expired. INZ will normally grant you an interim visa automatically.

Can I travel while I am on an interim visa?

You can leave New Zealand, but your interim visa will expire when you leave. It has no travel conditions and cannot be used to return to New Zealand.

Do I have to renew my student visa every year?

Not necessarily. A Fee Paying Student Visa can be granted for up to four years, but many are granted for the length of the study you have paid for, which is often one academic year.

What happens if my new student visa application is declined?

If your interim visa is still current when your application is declined, it expires 21 calendar days after the date of decline. If it has already expired because your application remained under consideration for six months, the 21-day period does not apply. You may request reconsideration if you applied from within New Zealand, are still in New Zealand, still hold a valid visa, and INZ receives your request within 14 calendar days after you receive the decline decision. See the Reconsideration Requests Guide, and get advice quickly.

Can I apply for a student visa if my current one has expired?

If your visa has expired and you remain in New Zealand without another valid visa, you are unlawful and cannot make a standard student visa application from within New Zealand. You may request a visa under section 61 of the Immigration Act 2009, or leave New Zealand and apply for a visa from offshore.

Can I change my course or provider on my current visa?

Moving to a lower-level programme requires a new student visa. Changing education provider also normally requires a new student visa, although a variation of conditions may be available where the change is due to circumstances outside your control. A change to a programme at the same or a higher level with the same provider may be possible through a variation of conditions.