Working in New Zealand while and after you study as an international student

International students at AUT who have a student visa may be able to work part-time for up to 20 hours a week during their studies, and full-time during all scheduled holidays and/or during the Christmas and New Year holiday period.

Check your visa – it will show if and when you are allowed to work while you are studying in New Zealand.

Immigration New Zealand website

Part-time work (up to 20 hours a week)

You may be able to work part-time if you are:

• Studying full-time for at least 2 years
• Studying for a New Zealand qualification that gains points under the Skilled Migrant Category
• Studying full-time in a programme that is at least one academic year long and is part of an approved tertiary student exchange scheme

You can only work 20 hours per week - you can't work 10 hours one week and 30 the next to average out to 20 hours per week.

Full-time work

During scheduled breaks in study

You may be able to work full-time if:

• You are studying full-time for at least one academic year; and
• Your course is worth more than 120 credits
• Your course has a minimum of 2 semesters during at least 8 months

During the Christmas and New Year holiday period

You may be able to work full-time if:

• You are studying full-time; and
• Your course has a minimum of 2 semesters during at least 8 months

AUT semester dates and scheduled breaks

PhD or master's by research students

There are no restrictions on the hours you can work if you are studying a:

• Master's by research (dissertation or thesis only); or
• Doctoral degree programme

You need to indicate this when you apply for your student visa at Immigration New Zealand, so that they can endorse the appropriate work condition.

If you don't have this full-time work condition, you can only work part-time in New Zealand for up to 20 hours a week, depending on your programme of study.

Working full-time for your AUT workplace experience

If you are required to do workplace experience (co-operative education) as part of your AUT programme:

• You can apply for the “Holder may undertake practical experience” condition¹, which allows you to work full-time while on your student visa
• You should discuss this condition with Student Hub staff

_{¹ This condition is only valid for the time that you are enrolled in co-operative education, and can't be used at any other time while you hold a student visa}.

As an English language student, you can work part-time (up to 20 hours a week) if you have a valid student visa and your course meets certain conditions.

Courses 6 months and longer - you can work part-time if:

• Your study is full-time; and
• Your programme is for 6 months or longer; and
• We believe the main purpose of your study is to improve your English; and
• You have an International English Language Testing System certificate with an overall band score of 5.0 that’s no more than 2 years old – you’ll need to provide this with your application.

Courses 14 weeks and longer - you can work part-time if:

• Your study is full-time; and
• Your study is for at least 14 consecutive weeks
• You’re studying English language
• Your study is with a university or a Category 1 education provider assessed by NZQA

Shorter courses

When we assess if you’re eligible to work part-time, we’ll look at any English language study you’ve done on previous student visas.

We can count your previous English language study towards the 14 weeks if:

• Your new study follows on from your previous study
• The study is with the same education provider

After you have completed your studies at AUT you may be eligible for a Post Study Work Visa.

Who can work in New Zealand after studying here

You’re eligible for a Post Study Work Visa to work in New Zealand if you studied in New Zealand and:

• You studied a degree level 7 or above qualification (you must have spent at least 30 weeks studying towards a specific qualification in New Zealand and held an appropriate student visa for the specific qualification for at least 30 weeks. (30 weeks refers to study weeks including examination preparation time and excludes holiday periods and time spent repeating failed components)), or
• You studied a non-degree level 7 or below qualification, and your qualification is on the Qualifications Eligible for a Post Study Work Visa list (the whole qualification must be studied in New Zealand and the visa duration mirrors the time spent studying in New Zealand); or
• You studied a degree level 7 qualification immediately followed by honours or a postgraduate diploma qualification and held consecutive student visas for these qualifications (you must have spent at least 30 weeks studying towards each individual qualification). The Post Study Work Visa duration mirrors the total amount of time you spent studying all qualifications in New Zealand up to a maximum of three years).

When to apply

Once you have received your final academic results, your eligibility to graduate from your programme is confirmed by your faculty. You can then apply for a Post Study Work Visa before your current student visa expires.

If you are applying for a Post Study Work Visa from offshore after your current student visa has already expired, you must apply no later than 3 months after the end date of your student visa for the qualification you have completed. If you are a PhD student, the deadline to apply from offshore is no later than 6 months after the end date of your student visa for a doctorate qualification. You have the option to apply for a Post-Study Work Visa after submitting your thesis. However, this doesn’t apply to research master's students who have submitted their dissertation. Research master's students can only apply for a Post Study Work Visa after their dissertation has been marked, official results are available, and eligibility to graduate from the programme is confirmed by the faculty.

Immigration New Zealand will check your records to ensure that you are applying in time.

Despite the above, you won’t be eligible to apply if you didn’t complete the qualification recorded on your student visa. This highlights that if you change programmes, you must change your student visa to reflect the new programme.

Funds requirements

At the time of your Post Study Work Visa application, you need to provide evidence that you have genuine access to at least NZD$5,000 to live on while you are in New Zealand.

Visa conditions related to work rights

A Post Study Work Visa granted on the basis of a bachelor's degree or a qualification at levels 8 to 10 in New Zealand may allow you to work for any employer, in any occupation and in any location in New Zealand.

A Post Study Work Visa granted on the basis of a non-degree level 7 or below qualification only allows you to take a job that is related to what you studied.

How often can you apply for a Post Study Work Visa

According to the current immigration policies, you can only apply for a Post Study Work Visa once. So if you have held a Post Study Work Visa but then apply for a higher level of study you are not eligible to apply for another Post Study Work Visa at the conclusion of the latter programme.

More info about working in New Zealand after your studies

You can find out more about applying for a visa, which qualifications are eligible and how long you can stay in New Zealand on the Immigration New Zealand website.