Educational institutions in New Zealand offer a wide variety of courses and New Zealand welcomes international students at all of its institutions.If you study in New Zealand you can be assured of earning world-class qualifications.

Quality assurance of education in New Zealand

The New Zealand Government has established strong national quality assurance systems, designed to help institutions maintain the quality and consistency of training programs and assessment practices. NZQA is the quality assurance body for non-university providers, such as English language schools.
Private training establishments must be registered with NZQA in order to offer you an officially recognized (approved) course. Immigration New Zealand will only issue a student visa if the course, program or qualification you are planning to do is approved by a quality assurance body.

Caring for International Students – The Code of Practice

If you are an international student, your provider must be a signatory to the Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students. The Code sets the minimum standards of advice and care that are expected of providers who enroll international students. The Code applies to care and welfare of students only, not to academic standards.

Schooling at Secondary level in New Zealand

Secondary study lasts five years and begins when students are 12 or 13 years old. The National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is the main school qualification at this level.

Studying at tertiary level in New Zealand

The term ‘tertiary’ describes all aspects of post-school education and training. New Zealand has a large number of institutions that teach at the tertiary level. They include universities, polytechnics, wānanga and private training establishments (PTEs).
Your rights and protections

As a tertiary student in New Zealand you are protected:

• NZQA requires all registered PTEs to have policies and procedures for student withdrawals and refunds. Your PTE sends you this information before you enroll
• Registered PTEs must protect student fees if they stop offering a course in which a student is enrolled. This can happen if a PTE becomes insolvent, is de-registered by NZQA and/or partially or completely loses accreditation
• If you have any problems with your provider you can make an official complaint to NZQA about the provider.

Check your visa type before you enroll
The type of visa you get affects the type of course you can enroll in.
Before enrolling in a course, check your visa type.
• Visitor visa – If you have a visitor visa, you are only allowed to enroll in a course of 12 weeks’ duration or less. Recreational courses of 12 weeks or less do not have to be run by a registered provider. Even if it is run by a registered provider, it is exempt from course approval. This means that some protections, such as student fee protection, do not automatically apply.
• Student visa – If you have a student visa, you are allowed to enroll in courses of 13 weeks’ duration or longer (as well as on shorter courses). This gives you a much greater variety of courses and providers to choose from.

Cost of Education
• Undergraduate degree: NZ$ 18,000 – NZ$ 25,000 per year
• Diploma and Post Graduate Diploma: NZ$ 10,000 – NZ$ 20,000 per year
• Post –graduate Degree: NZ$ 20,000 – NZ$ 30,000
• Estimated Living Expenses: NZ$10,000-NZ$ 12,000 P.A