Visa expires before your course is finished

Most student visas are for the same length of time as your course — but not always. If your visa expires before your course has finished, you’ll need to apply for a new student visa.

Without a valid student visa, you’ll have to leave NZ before your current visa expires.

Leaving NZ when your visa expires

Allow enough time for your visa to be processed

Make sure you apply well before your current visa expires — especially during the peak application period from October to March. If your visa expires while your application is still being processed, Immigration New Zealand may issue you a temporary visa for you to remain legally in NZ.

Student visa wait times — Immigration New Zealand (INZ)

Transfer your visa to a new passport

When you get your new passport, you can apply to transfer the balance of your visa over to your new passport or you can apply for a new student visa.

Apply to transfer the balance of your visa — INZ

Apply for a new student visa

When you apply, you’ll need to provide evidence of:

• your previous performance as a student
• your attendance, if it has been recorded
• an assessment of your progress from your education provider.

You can get this evidence from your education provider.

Apply online

All applications must be made online, there is no longer a paper application. You’ll need a Realme login to do the application.

Apply online (via Realme) — Student Visa Application — INZ