New Zealand Expands Student Visa Work Allowances

The government of New Zealand announced adjustments to the work permits for student visa holders in July. Here’s what’s new and what it implies for students from other countries who are studying in New Zealand.

New Zealand announced its International Education Going for Growth strategy in July. The goal of this plan is to double the economic output of the country’s international education sector by 2034. As part of the Plan, Education.

New Zealand (ENZ) and Immigration New Zealand (INZ) have promised to let student visa holders work more hours during term time, going from the current maximum of 20 hours per week to 25 hours per week.

What is the new allowance?

Beginning in November 2025, all international students in recognized higher education programs will be able to work 25 hours a week while they are studying.

According to the rules of the present administration, overseas students with student visas can work up to 20 hours a week during the school year and full-time during breaks from school, such Christmas and New Year.

Who qualifies for eligibility?

Under the new rules, students who have a student visa or are on an exchange or study-abroad program will be able to work up to 25 hours a week while they are in school.

This will cover students who are only taking classes for one semester. Before, only students in exchange or foundation programs that lasted at least one school year could work.

The additional payment will only go to students whose visas are approved on or after November 3, 2025. If your visa was accepted before this date, you will need to ask for revised conditions or apply for a new visa.

What’s next?

In the launch of the International Education Going for Growth Plan, Amanda Malu, the CEO of ENZ, said:

International education leads to new ideas, helps [New Zealand’s] economy grow, opens up commercial prospects, and gives them skills to work with people from other cultures.

The International Education Going for Growth Plan makes a dream come true: making New Zealand the best place for international students to go. There are three key goals in the Plan, which are:

Making more people aware of New Zealand as a place to study. By 2034, the number of overseas students who enroll should go up by at least 42%. Getting more overseas students to put New Zealand in their top three study locations

On July 14, Education Minister Erica Stanford made a statement about the plan’s goals and objectives.

Since 2023, the number of overseas students enrolling in New Zealand has been steadily rising. We aim to speed up that increase and make New Zealand the top choice for international students.

The Plan includes actions to keep and improve the quality of education offerings, increase the growth capacity of the international education sector, strengthen and build international relationships, and make the student visa process easier. It also includes expanding the work allowance for student visa holders.

The Plan also said that Immigration New Zealand is thinking about making short-term work visas for international students who generally can’t get post-study work visas, like those who have finished vocational studies.

Since the epidemic, New Zealand’s overseas education sector has seen some good signals of growth. In 2016, there were around 132,000 international students, which was the most ever.

By 2022, that number had dropped to just over 41,000. New Zealand’s foreign education sector brought in NZ$3.6 billion to the economy in 2024, making it the country’s fourth-largest export.

The International Education Going for Growth Plan wants to raise the amount to NZ$7.2 billion by 2034.