How to use this calculator
- Pick your study level — tertiary and language students need NZ$20,000/year, school students NZ$17,000/year
- Enter course length; anything under 12 months is charged monthly instead
- Add first-year tuition, which is shown on top of living funds
- Deduct accommodation prepaid to the school or provider, such as a paid homestay term
- Remember the outward-ticket component — a paid ticket or extra money on top
Immigration New Zealand's living-cost requirement has been NZ$20,000 per year for tertiary, English-language and other non-compulsory study since 2012 — or NZ$1,667 per month for courses shorter than a year. School-age students (years 1-13) carry a lower NZ$17,000 per year, or NZ$1,417 per month. These are visa minimums, not budgets: INZ's own cost-of-living guidance acknowledges real spending in Auckland often runs NZ$22,000-26,000.
Two adjustments are built into the rules. Prepaid accommodation — for example a homestay term paid directly to the school — is deducted from the requirement, with any shortfall evidenced separately. And outward travel must be covered: a fully paid ticket out of New Zealand, or enough extra money to buy one, on top of everything else.
Evidence is two-layered. Primary evidence shows the amount: bank statements with at least 3 months of history, term deposits held 3+ months, scholarship award letters, or education-loan sanction letters from recognised banks secured against fixed assets. Secondary evidence shows the source: INZ may ask where the money came from, and any deposit over NZ$2,000 should carry a paper trail — salary, business income, property sale, or a documented gift.
Sponsorship follows different tracks by region. In most countries, any New Zealand citizen-resident family member or friend, or a registered organisation, can sponsor. For applications from South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan), only immediate family may sponsor or provide a financial undertaking — a rule that catches many applicants who planned to use an uncle or family friend.
Insurance is a visa condition, not a suggestion
Every fee-paying student must hold medical and travel insurance covering the entire stay from arrival to departure — the provider arranges or approves it, and PhD students are the only exemption. Budget roughly NZ$500-800 per year for a compliant policy on top of everything else.
Fee and levy budgeting
The Fee Paying Student Visa application costs from NZ$850 including levies. Eighty percent of applications are decided within 8.5 weeks, so apply as soon as you hold an unconditional offer rather than close to intake.