TLDR;

• There are 6 different student visas in New Zealand;
• Student visa holders may be allowed to work, but their hours are restricted whilst their course is in session;
• From November 3, 2025 there are different work hours restrictions applied to NZ Student Visa holders. 
  • New student visa holders after this date can work up-to 25 hours per week;
  • Existing student visa holders will remain limited to 20 hours but can apply to have this condition varied.
• Employers should always perform a NZI VisaView check to validate the visa holder's specific work rights entitlment.

What are New Zealand student visas?

New Zealand offers non-citizens the ability to study in New Zealand under the terms of various visas. There are 6 dedicated Student Visas:

1. Fee Paying Student Visa
2. Dependent Child Student Visa
3. English Language Student Visa
4. Exchange Student Visa
5. Foreign Government Supported Student Visa
6. Pathway Student Visa

Most of these visas come with the following working rights specification:

work part-time up to 20 hours a week while studying, and full-time in holidays, depending on your course

From the 3 November 2025, this will change to:

work part-time up to 25 hours a week while studying, and full-time in holidays, depending on your course

How long does a student visa last for?

A student visa is generally valid for "up to" either 4 or 5 years depending on the course length and the visa type.

You also need to be aware of the rules pertaining to working additional hours during holidays (see below).

Should I hire someone who is on a student visa?

New Zealand student visa holders typically have limited work rights as outlined above. Employers should perform a New Zealand Immigration ViewView check in order to validate what if any work rights the student visa holder has.

You also need to be aware of the rules pertaining to student visa holders working additional hours during holidays (see below).

How many student visas are active in New Zealand?

There were 66,147 student visa holders in New Zealand as of 31st January 2025, the MBIE population data set shows – a 23.1% increase compared with the 31st of January 2024.

Do student visas have full work rights in New Zealand?

When they are on holidays from their course and meet the criteria outlined below, yes, there are no restrictions on the work rights of student visa holders. BUT as a general rule, student visa holders are limited in the hours they can work to either 20 or 25 hours, dependning on when their student visa was issued.

If you are to allow student visa holders to work beyond the 20 (or 25) hours linmit during holidays, it is best practice compliance to obtain Evidence Of Course dates (or inversely, Evidence of Holidays) AND details about the course from student.

Conditions for full-time work for students visa holders during holidays

Visa conditions will allow students to work full-time during scheduled breaks in study if all of these apply:

• you study full-time for at least 1 academic year
• your course is worth at least 120 credits, and
• your course has a minimum of 2 semesters during at least 8 months.

You can work full-time during the Christmas and New Year holiday period if:

• you study full-time, and
• your course has a minimum of 2 semesters during at least 8 months.

What are the Different Types of Student Visas?

There are 6 different student visa types. However, the visas most commonly encountered in the workplace are as follows:

How can I make sure my employee can work on their student visa?

If you only have a few foreign workers, use the New Zealand Immigration's  VisaView to confirm which work conditions apply to your employee’s visa. If you have more than a few foreign workers, then you need the vSure work rights app (see below).

Make sure that you continue to check regularly during employment to ensure that the visa continues to be in effect.

If an employee’s visa ceases, they may not be able to continue working for you, so make sure that you discuss the situation with the employee well ahead of time.

Are you compliant and checking the work rights of ALL of your workers?

The vSure Work Rights app has been built to ensure New Zealand employers are compliant with the obligations to check employee work rights.

Rather than having to manually check individuals, vSure has been built specifically for employers with more than a few foreign workers to check and automatically keep checking work rights. The app will email or SMS you each time it checks (generally monthly), ensuring you maintain your compliance, without the manual effort.

If you want the easiest and most effective way to ensure work rights compliance, please click here to request a demonstration today.