Top 6 requirements for New Zealand Student Visa in 2022

New Zealand's government has strong quality assurance procedures in place to provide high-quality education at all levels of the public and private education systems. The teaching system is so comprehensive and objective oriented that it offers practical, hands-on learning, which enables the student to get a head-start in the international job market.

The New Zealand Qualification Framework (NZQF) is a system for acknowledging the level and quality of qualifications offered by New Zealand education providers. There are certain requirements a student needs to meet to qualify for a student visa.

After the 12th a student is eligible to apply for a bachelor's degree under level 7 of the NZQF or a diploma which is under level 5 and level 6 of NZQF. The duration of the bachelor course would be ideally 03 years and diploma courses are of 02-year duration. The bare minimum marks required for the bachelor and diploma programme is 55% marks in the board examination at the secondary level of education. This prerequisite may differ based on the subject you choose to pursue or the school district where you completed your secondary education.

If you have done graduation, the course options are either a graduate diploma which is at level 7 of NZQF, a postgraduate diploma (PG Diploma) at level 8 of NZQF or a master's degree at level 9 of NZQF. A four-year certification requires a 60 per cent or higher extent of grades in level 7 or more courses. It varies depending on the course's unique requirements and the higher education institution is chosen. Students must ensure that the courses they apply for are related to their past studies when applying for a graduate diploma in order for their visa applications to be successful

New Zealand's primary language and the de facto official language is English. With almost 95 per cent of the population using English in their daily lives, it is the most widely spoken language in the country. The other language spoken in New Zealand is Maori (by 4.1% of the population) and New Zealand's Sign language (by 0.5 % of the population).

Being an English speaking country, a student must have an acceptable level of language proficiency while applying for a student visa. You can prove your language proficiency with an acceptable IELTS, TOEFL or PTE score. For levels 5 and 6, the required score is IELTS 6.0 not less than 5.5 in any of the four modules or an equivalent score in TOEFL or PTE. For bachelor programs, the required score is 6.0 not less than 5.5 in any module and for postgraduate levels an IELTS score of 6.5 not less than 6 in any module or its equivalent in TOEFL or PTE.
However, the exceptions include a few courses which require a higher score in IELTS, such as teaching where the IELTS requirement is 7.0 in each of the four modules to qualify.

When applying for a study visa in New Zealand, students must have adequate funds to cover the tuition fees and living expenses that they would incur throughout the course. That means if you are applying for a 02-year diploma course in New Zealand, you should have sufficient financial provisions to support both the years of study. Out of this, the amount for first-year tuition fees and expenses should be readily available whereas the corresponding expense for the second year can be shown in the form of a payment plan.
So for the first year, the required funds to be maintained are the amount towards tuition fee depending on your chosen course and the amount to meet the living expenses which are currently pegged at New Zealand Dollar 20,000 per year.

Apart from arranging funds students have to provide authenticated documents to substantiate the source of income, which are acceptable by New Zealand Immigration. These documents include savings bank account statements, income tax return proofs, fixed deposit receipts, educational loans, pay slips, business licenses, current account statements, etc.

A student must have acceptable health standards as per the criteria set by New Zealand immigration to qualify for a student visa.

Students have to obtain a police clearance certificate (PCC) as part of the New Zealand visa application process. If any history of a previous ban from any other country can become an impediment in grating a New Zealand study visa.