New Zealand

Yes, international students are allowed to work part-time in New Zealand for a maximum of 20 hours per week, provided one's course meets one of the below listed criteria:

• Enrolled in a course with a duration more than two years
• Leads to a qualification that helps attain points to be eligible for a Skilled Migrant visa 
• Enrolled in a tertiary institute, that helps develop English language skills, in this case, must possess a IELTS band score of over 5.0.  

Students are free to work full-time over the course of their vacations, provided one is enrolled in a course with a minimum academic duration of 1 year.

Students must share a PDF of the below listed documents along with a scanned photo of theirs & submit it to the official webiste of the New Zealand Immigration department. 

Applicants must provide the documents listed below:

• A passport with minimum validity 3 months more than period of stay
• Complete visa application form (INZ 1012)
• An admission letter from an recognised college or university in New Zealand 
• A letter from your current institute, with the confirmation as a study abroad student
• Two passport sized photographs 
• A valid health & character certificate
• Receipt of application fee 

The fact is New Zealand is one of the best countries to study abroad. While it's more affordable than the US, Canada, and the UK, it's undeniably more expensive than India and other lower-cost study destinations. 

To get a job in a developed countries from India, you have to follow the process mentioned below:

• Choose Your Destination Country (Like USA, Canada, Germany, UAE or Australia)
• Build In-Demand Skills (Like  IT, engineering, healthcare, architecture, finance, or skilled trades)
• Craft your CV according to the industry and optimize Linkedin profile.
• Explore job portals to find jobs (Like, LinkedIn, Indeed (country-specific), and Glassdoor)
• After securing any job, apply for work visa.

Those who are applying for a New Zealand spouse visa are usually worried about getting their visas in hand. The average processing time for a dependent's visa in New Zealand is around 43 days. However, 90% of the applications are assessed within 65 days. Thus, keeping in mind the New Zealand spouse visa processing times, applicants should apply for the visa accordingly. 

Those who already hold this visa and require renewal of the visa can request an interim dependent or spouse visa in New Zealand. 

The following are some of the exceptions would apply and hamper an applicant's spouse to get a spouse visa in New Zealand if they are holding any of the following visa types:

• Foreign Crew of Fishing Vessels Instructions
• Working holiday schemes
• Pacific Quotas Residual Places Work Visa Instructions
• Recognised Seasonal Employer Work Instructions
• Supplementary Seasonal Employer (SSE) Instructions
• Silver Fern Job Search Instructions
• Skilled Migrant Category Job Search Instructions
• Essential Skills, if the partner is into a lower-skilled work

The application process for the February 2026 intake in New Zealand will begin in October or November 2025. It is important to start your preparation by August 2025, such as researching colleges, financial options, and more.

Yes, international students with a gap year are eligible to apply for New Zealand's February intake. There is no hard and fast rule that students with gap year cannot apply for the February intake of New Zealand. But still applicants must check with the concerned New Zealand university if they are accepting backlogs or not. If they do, they can apply for the desired course at the university and of not, then they should hve other options as well. 

Admissions are overall tough for international students irrespective of when they apply - either for July or Feb intake of New Zealand. Applications are just fewer in February intake of New Zealand in comparison to the July intake of New Zealand. Thus, admission for February intake in New Zealand for international students are tough.

There are two intakes in New Zealand just like Australia, one in July and the other is in February. The February intake of New Zealand is the second intake which offers admission to students across a fewer number of courses and institutions. A lot of international students apply for July intake but those who are unable to apply in the july intake apply in the February intake of New Zealand.