Middle Eastern News
Working While You Study
Friday, 5 September 2008
A lot of students like to help pay for their studies in New Zealand by working part-time. There are strict rules for working in New Zealand as an international student, so make sure you understand them before you look for work.
If you are studying full time in New Zealand on a Student Visa, you are permitted to work if you get a "Variation of Conditions" on your visa. You will have to apply to Immigration New Zealand for this.
You can then work for up to 20 hours per week during the school term, and full time during the holidays, under these circumstances:
• to meet course requirements for practical work experience, or
• during the Christmas and New Year holiday period if you are in a full-time course of study lasting 12 months or longer, and/or
• for up to 20 hours in any given week during the academic year if you are in full-time study:
- at a private training establishment or tertiary institution and taking at least two academic years to complete, or
- culminating in a New Zealand qualification that would qualify for points under the Skilled Migrant Category, or
- at a secondary school full year course of study in years 12 or 13, provided you have written permission from your school and written consent from your parent, or
- in a full-time study course lasting at least six months, at a private training establishment or tertiary institution. Your visa or immigration officer has to be satisfied that the main purpose of your course of study is to develop English language skills, and, you have an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) overall band score of 5.0 or above (General or Academic Module), or
- at a tertiary level of at least one academic year duration as part of an approved tertiary student exchange scheme.
If you are studying part time, you can only work under these circumstances:
• you are coming to New Zealand to study for at least three years and the course requires you to gain practical work experience as part of your study
• your are coming to New Zealand to study for a maximum of nine months, your course meets New Zealand's foreign student policy requirements, you can show us that you have paid the course fees, and you meet INZ visitor requirements.
• you are in the final semester of a course of study in New Zealand, resulting in a New Zealand qualification that would qualify for points under the Skilled Migrant Category.
For the complete rules on working under a Student Visa, check the Immigration New Zealand website.
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